Meet Mr. Mullan

COEUR d'ALENE - Residents of North Idaho frequently drive the Mullan Road - now known as Interstate 90.

They know of Mullan schools and Mullan streets, the town of Mullan. They know about banks and shopping plazas and housing subdivisions named Mullan. Many have seen some of the more than two dozen monuments that adorn the 625-mile Mullan Road, making it one of the most monumentalized historic sites in the West, with more memorials than many Civil War battlefields. But they know little about the man who built the road.

The Idaho Humanities Council will offer a lecture by Idaho's State Historian, Keith Petersen, on "Searching for John Mullan" at 7 p.m. Thursday at North Idaho College Molstead Library Todd Lecture Hall. The evening talk is part of a two-day workshop for K-12 teachers exploring Idaho Territorial History (1863-1890), made possible by the Idaho Humanities Council, with support from the Idaho Education Association. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Although most historical accounts of the Pacific Northwest mention U.S. Army Lt. John Mullan (1830-1909) as the builder of the road, they present only a caricature of the man. Mullan undertook some of the most extensive explorations in the American West, and followed up by constructing the first engineered highway in the Pacific Northwest. And then, in 1862, at the age of 32, the dashing Army officer exits the historical scene.

"John Mullan lived a long, controversial life," Petersen said in a press release. "He gained fame and wealth and ultimately went bankrupt - three times. In many ways, Mullan's life is the story of western entrepreneurship in the 19th century."

Thanks in part to a research fellowship from the Idaho Humanities Council, Petersen has been researching the life of John Mullan for five years in archives and manuscript repositories and libraries literally from coast to coast. His forthcoming biography, "Towards the Setting Sun: John Mullan's Passage West," is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2014.

Petersen serves as state historian and associate director of the Idaho State Historical Society. He is the author of numerous articles and books on Idaho and the Northwest, including "Company Town: Potlatch, Idaho," and "The Potlatch Lumber Company," "River of Life, Channel of Death: Fish and Dams on the Lower Snake," "This Crested Hill: An Illustrated History of the University of Idaho" and more. He's the recipient of several awards, including the Idaho Humanities Council's Award for "Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities," and he has twice received the Idaho Book of the Year Award from the Idaho Library Association.

The IHC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting greater public awareness and appreciation of the humanities, and deepening understanding of human experience by connecting people with ideas.

Info: IHC at 345-5346; or check IHC's website at www.idahohumanities.org.