About Nez Perce County Historical Society The Museum located at 0306 Third Street is on the site of Lewiston's first hotel, the Luna House, built in 1862 by Hill Beachy. Ownership changed often and at one point the hotel sold for $500.00 and a pack of mules. During the 1880's, the hotel was used as the County court house. It was torn down in 1890. The property stood empty until 1937 when the current Art Deco building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration for use as government offices. The Historical Society, founded in 1960 just prior to Lewiston's centennial year (1961), moved into the building in the late 1970's. The Historical Society is first and foremost a museum organization and is the repository for historical items of the county. In addition to preserving artifacts, the Society maintains a research library of local history and works with the public to provide educational information. An extensive photograph collection consists of early day citizens as well as historic scenes. A copy of our "Photograph/Document Use Agreement" policy and fee schedule is available upon request. We invite the public to visit the museum, use our research library and become members of the Society.