The Village of Craigmont, located in Lewis County in the center of the Camas Prairie wheat section, is a major wheat shipping point in the state of Idaho. It is on the main Federal-State north and south highway (U.S. 95), approximately 45 miles south and east of Lewiston, Idaho. It is served by the Camas Prairie Railroad. In 1955 the population of Craigmont was about six hundred; by 1965 it had grown to around seven hundred.

This small town has an interesting history. On November 18, 1895 the Nez Perce Indian Reservation was opened for settlement; by 1898 there were 60 lots in a little townsite called Chicago. The first building was a general store which changed hands several times during its first year of existence, and was eventually bought by O.W. Leggett who established the first permanent business in the new town. From 1898 to 1902 the town grew rapidly and new businesses were established. The United States Post Office often confused Chicago, Idaho with Chicago, Illinois, and mail for one was frequently sent to the other; often these mix-ups caused delay in receipt of much needed replacement parts for farm machinery required by the Idaho farmers. In 1902 or 1903 Leggett, who was a notary in Chicago, had the town renamed for his older daughter, Ilo, thus ending the confusion.

In 1904 a fire destroyed most of the town, but residents soon had it rebuilt. From 1907 to 1909 the Camas Prairie Railroad extended its tracks south from Lewiston, but the tracks were a mile from the Ilo townsite. To remedy this situation the residents moved the entire town to the south side of the tracks, the present location of the town of Craigmont.

At the same time John Vollmer, a Lewiston businessman, built a townsite named for himself on the opposite side of the tracks. Thus there were two towns, each with its own church, bank, newspaper, school, post office, business and residential districts existing side by side in complete disharmony, each town trying to out do the other.

This state of affairs continued until the two towns were finally consolidated on June 17, 1920. At the annual picnic on June 18 a mock wedding was performed and "Miss Ilo" and "Mr. Vollmer" were united and pronounced CRAIGMONT, the new town being named after Colonel William Craig, the first permanent white settler in Idaho.