I shared visiting the Parish House at Old Mission State Park in this blog post.
Today, I am sharing photos of the Mission of the Sacred Heart. This is the oldest building in Idaho.
*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!
“In 1850, the church was taken over by Italian Jesuit missionary Antonio Ravalli, who began designing the new mission building. He had the building constructed by the Indians themselves, so they would feel part of the church. It was built using the wattle and daub method, and finished some three years later without using nails.”
“Though they had few materials to decorate the church, they used ingenious techniques to beautify it. The walls were decorated with fabric bought from the Hudson’s Bay Company and hand-painted newspaper from Philadelphia that Fr. Ravalli had received in the mail. Tin cans were used to create an idea of chandeliers. Both wooden statues were carved by hand by Fr. Rivalli with nothing but a knife and we’re intended to look like marble. The blue coloring of the interior wood is not paint but a stain created by pressing local huckleberries into the wood.”
This is a beautiful place to visit!
LC's Cottage 