Charles L. Heitman was born in North Carolina and attended Trinity College (Duke University). He came to Idaho in 1890 and located at Rathdrum, where he opened a law practice. At the time Rathdrum was the county seat of Kootenai County, which embraced all of present-day Kootenai, Bonner, and Boundary Counties.
Beginning in 1895, Heitman actively opposed the division of Kootenai County into two counties. Every time county division legislation was presented in the state legislature, Heitman would travel to Boise for extended periods to lobby against passage. He was also active in county and state Republican politics, although he never sought political office. In 1925 he was appointed judge in the eighth judicial district in Idaho.
From the guide to the Charles L. Heitman Papers, 1896-1920, (Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives)
