Henry Heitfeld, served from 1897 to 1903

Henry Heitfeld was born in St. Louis, Missouri on January 12, 1859. He attended public and private schools, moving to Kansas, then Washington, and finally to Lewiston, Idaho, in 1883.

Heitfeld engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock raising while living in Lewiston until he was elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1894. In 1897, he was elected as a Populist to the United States Senate. He served from March 4, 1897, until March 3, 1903. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1902, and an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Idaho in 1904.

After his defeat in 1904, he was elected as mayor of Lewiston and served in that capacity until 1909. Heitfeld then became Register of the United States land office at Lewiston in 1914 and also engaged in fruit growing.

He was member of the board of county commissioners from 1930 through 1936, serving two terms as chairman. He then retired in 1938, and moved to Spokane, Washington. Heitfeld lived there until his death in that city on October 21, 1938. He is buried in Normal Hill Cemetery, Lewiston, Idaho.

Photos provided by the Idaho State Historical Society.  Biographical information compiled by Congressional Research Service.