Leonia, Idaho — State Line Drawn Across a River Corridor

Leonia sits along the Moyie River at Idaho's border with Montana.

The river cuts one of the practical routes through northeastern Boundary County's mountains, so railroads and roads followed it. Timber work and transportation supported the small settlement that grew along the corridor.

Then a political line divided the geography.

The Leonia name appears on both sides of the Idaho-Montana border because the valley itself does not change when the state does. Trains continue through; the river continues through; the forest continues up the slopes.

Leonia remained tiny, but its location explains its persistence.

Here the state line is absolute in law and almost invisible in the terrain.