Boise, Idaho

In 1862, Thomas and Frank Davis traveled West to the Idaho Territory. They were two of many drawn to the Boise area by rumors of gold and the hopes it inspired in the hearts of men with little to lose. The Davis brothers were orphans, and Boise was not yet a town. But in the city he helped found and develop, Thomas Davis would find a family and a home.

Decades later, when his beloved wife Julia passed away and his own life was drawing to a close, Thomas gave back one final time to the community he’d helped build. He deeded 40 acres of Davis land to the city of Boise, land to be known from then on, “always and forever,” as Julia Davis Park.

Today, Julia Davis Park boasts many attractions, including the Idaho Black History Museum, the Zoo Boise, the Discovery Center of Idaho, and the Boise Art Museum.

Unique among U.S. cities, Boise contains a human rights memorial. At the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, visitors can view the statue of the young diarist, as well as a sapling from the tree in Amsterdam that Anne Frank described in her diary and the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

Worth Checking Out

• Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
• Julia Davis Park
• Bogus Basin