When was Nez Perce County founded?

Nez Perce County was founded in 1861, formed from Missoula County, Shoshone County and Spokane County, and named after Nez Perce.

What is the county seat of Nez Perce County?

The county seat of Nez Perce County is Lewiston.

Is there an online parcel map for Nez Perce County?

Yes. Idaho Department of Water Resources publishes a parcel map of 25,759 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has Nez Perce County's boundary or name changed?

Nez Perce County was created in 1861 from Missoula County, Shoshone County and Spokane County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 13 later changes, chiefly involving Idaho County, Spokane County and Clearwater County.

Who issues building permits in Nez Perce County?

The county's page on building permits: Building Permits, Nez Perce County Planning and Building. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for Nez Perce County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

County · code 16069

Nez Perce CountyIdaho

Nez Perce County is a county in Idaho with its seat in Lewiston, formed on December 20, 1861.

Founded1861
County seatLewiston
Named forNez Perce
Land area848 sq mi + 8.2 sq mi water
Population42,090 2020 Census
Parcels mapped25,759 checked 16 October 2026

Open the free map Click any parcel in Nez Perce County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated 20 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Formed in 1861 from Missoula County, Shoshone County and Spokane County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Created by Washington Territory from Missoula County (Montana), Shoshone County (Idaho), and Spokane County, Nez Perce County became part of Idaho Territory in 1863. The county continued as an Idaho county when Idaho became a state on July 3, 1890.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

1861
Nez Perce County created Nez Perce created by Washington Territory from Missoula (Montana), Shoshone and Spokane (Wash. Terr., original, extinct).
from Missoula (Mont.)from Shoshonefrom Spokane
20 December 1861 · Wash. Terr. Laws 1861-1862, 9th sess., p. 4
1863
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Spokane (Wash. Terr., original, extinct).
from Spokane
21 January 1863 · Wash. Terr. Laws 1862, 10th sess., p. 5
1863
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to Spokane (Wash. Terr., original, extinct) and became an Idaho Territory county when the United States created Idaho Territory from Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington Territories.
to Spokane
3 March 1863 · U.S. Stat., vol. 12, ch. 117 [1863]/pp. 808-814; Van Zandt, 156-158
1864
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Idaho, lost to Non-County Area 1. Non-County Area 1 attached to Nez Perce for "all civil and judicial purposes".
from Idaho
4 February 1864 · Id. Terr. Laws 1863, loc. and spec., 1st. sess., sec. 1/p. 628
1890
Became part of Idaho Nez Perce continued as an Idaho county when the state of Idaho admitted to the Union and Idaho Territory eliminated. 3 July 1890 · U.S. Stat., vol. 26, ch. 656 [1890]/pp. 215-219; Van Zandt, 156

Show all 18 changes (13 more)

1861
Nez Perce County created Nez Perce created by Washington Territory from Missoula (Montana), Shoshone and Spokane (Wash. Terr., original, extinct).
from Missoula (Mont.)from Shoshonefrom Spokane
20 December 1861 · Wash. Terr. Laws 1861-1862, 9th sess., p. 4
1863
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Spokane (Wash. Terr., original, extinct).
from Spokane
21 January 1863 · Wash. Terr. Laws 1862, 10th sess., p. 5
1863
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to Spokane (Wash. Terr., original, extinct) and became an Idaho Territory county when the United States created Idaho Territory from Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington Territories.
to Spokane
3 March 1863 · U.S. Stat., vol. 12, ch. 117 [1863]/pp. 808-814; Van Zandt, 156-158
1864
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Idaho, lost to Non-County Area 1. Non-County Area 1 attached to Nez Perce for "all civil and judicial purposes".
from Idaho
4 February 1864 · Id. Terr. Laws 1863, loc. and spec., 1st. sess., sec. 1/p. 628
1866
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Idaho.
from Idaho
5 January 1866 · Id. Terr. Laws 1865, 3rd. sess., ch. 38/pp. 182-183
1867
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Lah-Toh (extinct), lost to Idaho; Lah-Toh eliminated.
from Lah-Tohfrom Idaho
9 January 1867 · Id. Terr. Laws 1866, 4th sess., ch. 48/p. 126
1875
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to Idaho.
to Idaho
8 January 1875 · Id. Terr. Laws 1874-1875, comp., rev., 8th sess., pp. 730-732
1885
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to Idaho.
to Idaho
21 January 1885 · Id. Terr. Laws 1884, 13th sess., p. 126
1887
Boundary clarified Nez Perce boundaries redefined (no change).
no change
1 June 1887 · Id. Terr. Laws 1887, comp., spec. and loc., 14th sess., p. 146
1888
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to creation of Latah.
to Latah
14 May 1888 · U.S. Stat., vol. 25, ch. 251 [1888]/pp. 147-149; Id. Encyclopedia, pp. 297-298
1889
Exchanged territory Nez Perce exchanged with Idaho.
with Idaho
7 February 1889 · Id. Terr. Laws 1888, 15th sess., pp. 50-51
1890
Became part of Idaho Nez Perce continued as an Idaho county when the state of Idaho admitted to the Union and Idaho Territory eliminated. 3 July 1890 · U.S. Stat., vol. 26, ch. 656 [1890]/pp. 215-219; Van Zandt, 156
1901
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Clearwater (proposed) from Nez Perce and Shoshone. Proposal failed on 14 June 1901 when the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the act invalid (no change).
Clearwater Shoshone
21 March 1901 · Id. Laws 1901, 6th sess., pp. 209-210; Id. Rpts. 1903, vol. 7/pp. 752-762; ISHS Ref. Series #334
1904
Gained territory Nez Perce gained from Shoshone. Act approved 10 March 1903, became effective through a vote in the general election of 8 November 1904.
from Shoshone
8 November 1904 · Id. Laws 1903, 7th sess., pp. 204-206; Id. Laws 1905, 8th sess., pp. 331-333; Id. Code Ann. (1996), vol. 6, ch. 1, sec. 31-137 "Nez Perce Co."/p. 49
1909
Boundary clarified Nez Perce boundaries redefined (no change).
no change
11 March 1909 · Id. Laws 1909, 10th sess., pp. 319-320
1911
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to creation of Clearwater.
to Clearwater
27 February 1911 · Id. Laws 1911, 11th sess., ch. 24/pp. 49-60
1911
Lost territory Nez Perce lost to creation of Lewis.
to Lewis
20 March 1911 · Id. Laws 1911, 11th sess., ch. 37/pp. 77-84
1978
Boundary clarified Nez Perce boundaries clarified (no change).
no change
27 March 1978 · Id. Laws 1978, 44th leg., 2d reg. sess., ch. 248/pp. 543-545

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Nez Perce

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Good enough

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 25,759 parcels from Idaho Department of Water Resources. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
checked 16 October 2026
Address points Official

One point per address, 19,075 in all from State of Idaho ArcGIS Online organization (owner pbond__idaho; Idaho Geospatial Council / Idaho Office of Information Technology Services, 'The Idaho Map').
edited 2 October 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

Nez Perce by the Census

Population

42,090 2020 Census count

Housing units

18,364 2020 Census count

Land area

848 square miles

Water area

8.2 square miles

People per sq mi

50 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Assessor and property recordsfrom co.nezperce.id.us · checked 13 October 2026

Permits

Building Permits, Nez Perce County Planning and Buildingfrom co.nezperce.id.us
Land Use Permits, Nez Perce County Planning and Buildingfrom co.nezperce.id.us

Zoning and code

Planning and zoningfrom co.nezperce.id.us · checked 13 October 2026
Land Development Codefrom library.municode.com
City of Lewiston Planning and Zoningfrom cityoflewiston.org

County government

County government
The official website of Nez Perce County.
co.nezperce.id.us

See your own lot on these maps

Open Nez Perce County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about Nez Perce County

When was Nez Perce County founded?: Nez Perce County was founded in 1861, formed from Missoula County, Shoshone County and Spokane County, and named after Nez Perce.
What is the county seat of Nez Perce County?: The county seat of Nez Perce County is Lewiston.
Is there an online parcel map for Nez Perce County?: Yes. Idaho Department of Water Resources publishes a parcel map of 25,759 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Nez Perce County's boundary or name changed?: Nez Perce County was created in 1861 from Missoula County, Shoshone County and Spokane County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 13 later changes, chiefly involving Idaho County, Spokane County and Clearwater County.
Who issues building permits in Nez Perce County?: The county's page on building permits: Building Permits, Nez Perce County Planning and Building. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for Nez Perce County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby