Idaho Black History Museum, Boise

Founded in 1995, The Black History Museum works for the recognition of the contribution of black Americans. It explores the legacy of black people and black cultures in Idaho and across the world.

The museum is ensconced in Julia Davis Park, one of the jewels in the "Ribbon of Jewels" along the Boise River. The museum building is the former Saint Paul Baptist church. The church was built in 1921 by the African Americans of Boise. In 1982 the church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1904 there was a wave of black migration to the city of Boise. Among the new arrivals was the Reverend William Riley Hardy. No sooner had he arrived he became the first pastor of the African American Church in Boise.

The church met wherever it could at first. There was a forgotten building on Main Street in downtown Boise. This was followed by the back room of Gottlieb Lach's Blacksmith Shop on South Street. Finally, in 1918 the Saint Paul Baptist Church lodged at the GAR Hall by the Capitol.

A plot of land was donated and Reverend Hardy, who also was a skilled carpenter, commenced the construction of a permanent home for the church. By 1994 the church faced overcrowding. It was replaced by the new Saint Paul's. The old church became the Idaho Black History Museum and it found a new home in Julia Davis Park in 1998.