POCATELLO — A four-day history conference held in the Gem State every two years is coming to the Gate City this September.

The Idaho State Historical Society is hosting the fourth Biennial Idaho’s Heritage Conference in partnership with the Idaho Heritage Partners and the City of Pocatello Sept. 19-22.

“Idaho’s Heritage Conference was created to engage statewide partners in preservation, history, museums, and archaeology in a cross-discipline conference that would allow for collaboration, inspiration, and networking,” according to the Heritage Conference’s website. “Whether you are an archaeologist, teacher, student, community leader, museum professional or volunteer, amateur preservationist or simply a local history buff we invite you to attend.”

Pocatello will serve as the host city for the event for the first time since the conference was launched in 2013. Those who attend will have a chance to learn about Idaho’s history, anthropology, archaeology and many more heritage disciplines during dozens of speeches and presentations. Additionally, attendees will have the chance to participate in one of five field trips and 30 different breakout sessions.

Idaho’s Heritage Conference will begin on Sept. 19 at the Bannock County Museum/Fort Hall Replica located at 3000 Avenue of the Chiefs in Pocatello with a Pioneer Festival including demonstrations, entertainment, activities and a traditional Pioneer meal. The kickoff event is open to the public.

Sept. 20 marks the field trip day, which includes a tour of the highlights of the Oregon Trail west of Fort Hall including the trail ruts and emigrant burial sites; a tour the Fort Hall Indian Reservation historical sites including the Tribal Museum, the historical Fort Hall Depot, an original community lodge called Eagle Lodge, the original Fort Hall Trading Post located at Bottoms and visit the Tribes buffalo herd and wild horses; a Pocatello museum tour including the Museum of Clean, Rainey Park and the Portneuf River, The Bannock County Historical Museum and the Brady Memorial Chapel; A rolling tour of five of Pocatello’s finest religious buildings including the Brady Memorial Chapel, the Bethel Baptist Church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and the Trinity Episcopal Church; and lastly a tour of Historic Downtown Pocatello buildings and sites.

Additionally, over 30 breakout sessions will be held. Local historian Arlen Walker will host a breakout session on the naming of the Pocatello streets after U.S. presidents, which began with the ninth President, William Henry Harrison, and how an act of congress essentially created the Gate City.

“It took us quite a while to convince folks that this was a great place to hold the event,” Walker said. “This is our chance to showcase our area. If you look at the history of the area, the entire Pacific Northwest, it was through the gap that travelers, settlers and the first railroad came. This was an obvious place to split off for East and West developments. The Gold Rush started in Montana and many of the settlers had to come through here. This was the wintering grounds for many Native Americans as well. From the very first trappers and explorers that came through this is why Pocatello was called the Gate City — it truly was a gateway to the West.”

Walker said that Randy Dixon will host a breakout session on Relight the Night and the efforts of that committee to preserve neon signs throughout the area and educate folks about the history of all the neon signs.

The keynote speaker of the conference is Ruth J. Abram, founder of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, the National Women’s Agenda and Coalition, the Institute on Women’s History, and the traveling exhibition and book “Send Us a Lady Physician: Women Doctors in America.

In 2014, Ms. Abram founded Behold! New Lebanon, the nation’s first living museum of contemporary rural American life, and in 2019 was presented with the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s highest national recognition for her paradigm-shifting leadership that has directly inspired countless organizations to radically expand cultural and interpretive concepts at historic sites around the world.

The Early Bird Registration cost is $99 and the cutoff date is July 31. Scholarships are available to attend. More information can be found by visiting idahosheritageconference.org.

“This is a huge win for Pocatello, for Southeast Idaho and for Idaho State University because they are a major sponsor of all the breakout sessions,” Walker said. “This event is a great opportunity and for the early-bird fee of $99 that is really a great deal, which includes a great dinner out at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Casino as well as access to a field trip of your choice and all of the breakout sessions. It’s a great opportunity for people who live here to understand the history and the heritage of the place they call home.”