Black Pioneers
Boise, Ada County, Idaho
Marker Inscription
Black Pioneers Many emigrants came West in the 1840s and 1850s because of increasing political and social tensions over slavery issues. In an effort to avoid the same problems in the West, laws were passed to keep slaves and free descendents of slaves from settling in the Oregon Country. Still, a trickle of black emigrants settled in the West. One early black pioneer, Elvina Moulton, came to Boise in the 1860s. She walked the trail and when she arrived in Boise refused to walk any further. She made a living taking in laundry and was a charter member of Boise's First Presbyterian Church.
The Story
As tensions over slavery pushed emigrants west in the 1840s and 1850s, laws in the Oregon Country sought to bar both enslaved people and free Black settlers — yet a determined few came anyway. Among them was Elvina Moulton, who walked the trail and settled in Boise in the 1860s, declaring she would walk no farther. She built a life taking in laundry and became a charter member of the city's First Presbyterian Church.
Why it matters
Her journey illustrates the overlooked presence of Black pioneers in the American West, who claimed a place on the frontier despite laws written to exclude them.
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Related people
- · Elvina Moulton
Themes & tags
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