Idaho’s Oldest Operating Bar and Restaurant Began as a Railway Hub
Nestled where the Coeur d’Alene River forks in North Idaho sits the state’s oldest operating bar and restaurant, a building that has served patrons continuously for nearly a century and a half, BoiseDev reported.
The Snake Pit opened its doors in 1880 near Enaville, operating initially as a boom-town watering hole, a railroad layover, a hotel, and a brothel. It also functioned as the starting point for loggers and miners heading into the rugged local terrain.
The establishment sits roughly a 30-minute drive from Coeur d’Alene, just north of Kingston along Interstate 90. During the late 1800s, the surrounding community served as a transportation center for railroaders, miners, and loggers, earning the local moniker “Gateway to the Upper North Fork.” Finnish immigrants originally settled the community, and its local post office eventually operated as a mail distribution hub for hundreds of young men working in Civilian Conservation Corps camps along the Upper North Fork during the 1930s and 1940s.
A Century-Old Interior Preserved in Wood and Paint
Almost everything inside the historic building today carries tangible historical significance. The flooring was salvaged from a bungalow in Cataldo, while one of the interior walls features a painting created by Joe Breckenridge, locally recognized as the “fastest artist in the West.” Custom furniture built during the 1950s by a craftsman named Equil remains scattered throughout the property.
He would work on one piece till it was finished,
notes the establishment’s official history on its website, detailing how Equil spent his summers searching for timber and working from a cabin behind the main building. Upstairs (closed to the public), we have beds, dressers, chairs, and other pieces also built by him.
Among the most distinct artifacts is the elk-horn chair, known locally as the “horny chair,” which was constructed using the hide and antlers of an elk shot in 1954.
Origins of a Curious Name
Local lore offers competing explanations for how the Snake Pit earned its peculiar moniker. Some historical accounts attribute the name to the water snakes frequently spotted near the property’s old outhouses, while others suggest it referenced the women who frequented the establishment during its rough-and-tumble frontier days.
Today, the historic site is owned and operated by Autumn and Viljo Basso, who purchased the business three years ago. The kitchen serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with operations running Thursday through Sunday.
