Welcome to Save Benewah County. Benewah County lies within the Panhandle of Idaho. The western half is the home of the Tribe of the Coeur d’ Alene. The eastern half consists of the City of St. Maries, communities nestled in the national forests and outlying homesteads of sturdy American pioneers.
Much of the western half is still privately owned from when the land was settled under the Homestead Act of 1862, before the tribal reservation came into existence. It forms roughly a U-shape beginning on the southwestern shore of the Lake Coeur d’ Alene and follows south along the western edge of the Benewah foothills. It then loops westward at the St. Joe National Forest and follows the McCroskey State Park until reaching the Washington State line. It then proceeds north into Kootenai County and finally follows eastward back to the lake.
Most of this land is agricultural and forms the eastern part of the Palouse [puh-loose] which it shares with Latah County and Washington’s Whitman County. It is one of the most fertile regions in the world and famous for its lentil, pea, and wheat production.
The people of Benewah County have been largely free of zoning, building codes, and various land-use regulations, But in recent years, land developers have been expanding operations to exploit various lakeside development schemes which have now reached St. Maries and the St. Joe River.
A new breed of entrepreneur has arrived in the county and with it has come the governance of the Metrocrats. This website is a response to the new situation, and is ready to provide a platform for those who want to keep their freedom.
Groups such as the McCroskey Territorial Agrarian Society are being formed to promote our current way of life and the independence of landholders who continue to form the backbone of our local economy.
To read the Editorial Letter in the St. Maries Gazette-Record which gave inspiration to this effort, you can read it here:
To view the “Thought of the Day” as advertised in the Gazette-Record, go here:
James Stivers, Website Creator