The brothers staked a claim and mined for a year, before building a cabin in 1863 on the Cottonwood Creek near the site of the present Julia Davis Park.

It was about that time we met in our cabin and formed a town co.” [2] Thomas Davis came to play a pivotal role in the development of Boise as a city and sought to help attract visitors and pioneers to the valley.

With his mining claim being less than profitable, Davis turned to the promotion of agriculture by planting 7,000 apple trees on his land along the Boise River.

[3] Within several years, Davis went on to purchase the first water rights in the valley, as well as an additional 1,150 acres (4.7 km2) from the federal government along the foothills and where the town of Garden City was developed.

In the decade following Davis's death, the city worked to improve the park and upgrade the land by adding walls, planting vegetation, and creating a general development plan with the help of Arthur L. Peck in 1912.

The Bob Gibb Friendship Bridge was built to connect the greenbelt, as well as the park, with Boise State University across the river in 1980.

Along Julia Davis Park, the BAM organizes the appearance of fine art that would otherwise pass from the community’s eyes.

Being so, the museum, as well as Julia Davis Park, proves Idaho's rich foundation of history, diversity, and “reinvention”.

Contributing activities, events, and information, the Idaho Black History Museum is a contributor to Julia Davis Park and all of Boise.

Work on the project began in earnest in 1939 with a total of 2800 roses planted (some from Villa Nurseries in Portland, Oregon).

During the stop, a monkey escaped from captivity and was finally found in the Mountain Home Desert, long past the circus's departure.

In 2018 construction started on a 3 acre expansion focusing on Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, bringing the zoo total acreage of exhibits to be close to 17.

The new exhibit opened in the summer of 2019 and includes the addition of olive baboons, African painted dogs, vervet monkeys, crocodiles, warthogs and more.

In addition, the old primate house near the front of the zoo and buildings around that were demolished and a modern new plaza with exhibits for gibbons and sarus cranes were constructed.

[citation needed] The Grand Plaza is planned to take the form of a broken circle centered on a bronze medallion inset into the pavement and is intended to provide social and operational space.