History of Sandpoint, North Idaho, & Bonner County Click here
for a North Idaho History Timeline To understand the history of
Sandpoint, and Bonner County, North Idaho, one must first take
into account our geography. While our area is dominated by
mountains, the most prominent feature is Lake Pend Oreille, with
an area of 148 square miles, and 111 miles of coastline.
Flathead Lake in Montana and some man-made lakes are larger. It
is 65 miles long, and 1,150 feet deep in some regions (5th in
the US). Fed by Clark Fork River and drained by the Pend Oreille
River. It is surrounded by national forests and many small
towns, including Bayview, Hope, and Sandpoint. All but the
southern tip of the lake is in Bonner County, the southern tip
which is home to Farragut State Park, the original home of the
Farragut Naval Training Station, and the home of the NAVSEA's
Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division's Acoustic
Research Detachment (ARD) is in The lake is home to many species
of fish including: rainbow trout,