Idaho City, Idaho
Encyclopedia
Idaho City is a city
in and the county seat
of Boise County
, Idaho
, United States
, located about 36 miles (57.9 km) northeast of Boise
. The population was 458 at the 2000 census
.
Idaho City is part of the Boise City
–Nampa
, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
during the Civil War
, the largest since the California gold rush a dozen years earlier. Near the confluence of Elk and Mores Creeks, its plentiful water supply allowed it to outgrow the other nearby camps in the basin, such as Placerville
, Pioneerville, and Centerville. As its population swelled, the new Idaho Territorial
legislature changed the town's name to "Idaho City," to avoid confusion with Bannack
, Montana
, in present-day Beaverhead County
, the southwestern corner of Montana
.
At its peak during the mid-1860s, there were more than 200 businesses in town, including three dozen saloons and two dozen law offices. Its 1864 population of 7,000 made it the largest city in the Northwest
, bigger than Portland
. Wood was the prime source of both shelter and heat, which caused Idaho City to burn four times: 1865, 1867, 1868, and 1871.
In 1863, St. Joseph's Catholic Church was established; it was the first Catholic
parish in the new Idaho Territory
.
Idaho City is an important location in local Masonic
history. The Grand Lodge of Idaho
was founded in Idaho City in 1867. Idaho Lodge No. 1 was originally located in Idaho City, but is now located in Boise
.
During the boom, the greater Boise Basin population numbered in the tens of thousands, but most departed the mountains once mining declined. Idaho City's population fell below 900 by 1870 and was down to 104 by 1920. The modern economy relies mainly on hunting and fishing tourism, and visits to the many historic buildings in town. Outside of town, the mining tailings of the era are ubiquitous.
, escaped enslavement from the "world's oldest profession". She escaped from a member of the Yeong Wo Company in the 1870s to Boise to marry her lover, another Chinese man. Charged by her owner with grand larceny, she told a judge that she wanted to stay in Boise City. The judge subsequently granted her freedom.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all of it land.
Idaho City experiences a continental climate
(Köppen
Dsb) with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 458 people, 191 households, and 119 families residing in the city. The population density
was 652.5 people per square mile (252.6/km²). There were 257 housing units at an average density of 366.2 per square mile (141.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.36% White, 3.06% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.66% from other races
, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% of the population.
There were 191 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples
living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,068, and the median income for a family was $33,295. Males had a median income of $25,750 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,370. About 17.3% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
, a two-lane undivided highway that connects to Boise to the southwest. To the northeast, State Highway 21 continues on to Lowman
and Stanley
. The highway is designated as the "Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway."
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in and the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Boise County
Boise County, Idaho
Boise County is a rural mountain county in the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census; it was estimated at 7,571 in 2007...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located about 36 miles (57.9 km) northeast of Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
. The population was 458 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
Idaho City is part of the Boise City
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
–Nampa
Nampa, Idaho
Nampa is the largest and the fastest growing city in Canyon County, Idaho, USA. The population of Nampa was 81,557 at the 2010 census. Nampa is located about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. Nampa is part of the Boise metropolitan area...
, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area
Boise metropolitan area
The Boise City-Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area , as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in southwestern Idaho, anchored by the cities of Boise and Nampa...
.
History
Idaho City was founded in December 1862 as "Bannock" (sometimes given as "West Bannock"), amidst the Boise Basin gold rushGold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the largest since the California gold rush a dozen years earlier. Near the confluence of Elk and Mores Creeks, its plentiful water supply allowed it to outgrow the other nearby camps in the basin, such as Placerville
Placerville, Idaho
Placerville is a city in Boise County, Idaho, United States. The population was 60 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Pioneerville, and Centerville. As its population swelled, the new Idaho Territorial
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
legislature changed the town's name to "Idaho City," to avoid confusion with Bannack
Bannack, Montana
Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, in present-day Beaverhead County
Beaverhead County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Beaverhead National Forest * Big Hole National Battlefield* Nez Perce National Historical Park * Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge-History:...
, the southwestern corner of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
At its peak during the mid-1860s, there were more than 200 businesses in town, including three dozen saloons and two dozen law offices. Its 1864 population of 7,000 made it the largest city in the Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, bigger than Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Wood was the prime source of both shelter and heat, which caused Idaho City to burn four times: 1865, 1867, 1868, and 1871.
In 1863, St. Joseph's Catholic Church was established; it was the first Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
parish in the new Idaho Territory
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
.
Idaho City is an important location in local Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
history. The Grand Lodge of Idaho
Grand Lodge of Idaho
The Grand Lodge of Idaho is one of several bodies that govern Freemasonry in the U.S. state of Idaho as recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England. It was established in 1867 by five Masonic Lodges operating in Idaho Territory.Membership in Freemasonry nation-wide peaked during the period...
was founded in Idaho City in 1867. Idaho Lodge No. 1 was originally located in Idaho City, but is now located in Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
.
During the boom, the greater Boise Basin population numbered in the tens of thousands, but most departed the mountains once mining declined. Idaho City's population fell below 900 by 1870 and was down to 104 by 1920. The modern economy relies mainly on hunting and fishing tourism, and visits to the many historic buildings in town. Outside of town, the mining tailings of the era are ubiquitous.
Chinese
There were four thousand Chinese living in the Idaho Territory from 1869 to 1875. Like many Chinese immigrants, they came to "Gold Mountain" to work as miners, or found work as laundrymen and cooks. The store of Pon Yam, a prominent Chinese businessman Pon Yam House from 1867 is one of the only remaining buildings from Idaho City’s Chinese. Although today Chinese are rarely seen except as tourists, the 1870 census reported at 1,751 Chinese who were nearly half of city residents. Annie Lee was one legendary Idaho city woman who like Polly BemisPolly Bemis
Polly Bemis was a famous Chinese American pioneer woman who lived in Idaho in the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th and early 20th century. Her story became a biographical novel, and was fictionalized in the 1991 film A Thousand Pieces of Gold.-Life:Polly Bemis was born in China...
, escaped enslavement from the "world's oldest profession". She escaped from a member of the Yeong Wo Company in the 1870s to Boise to marry her lover, another Chinese man. Charged by her owner with grand larceny, she told a judge that she wanted to stay in Boise City. The judge subsequently granted her freedom.
Geography
Idaho City is located at 43°49′43"N 115°49′56"W (43.828513, -115.832175), at an altitude of 3907 feet (1,191 m).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all of it land.
Idaho City experiences a continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dsb) with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 458 people, 191 households, and 119 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 652.5 people per square mile (252.6/km²). There were 257 housing units at an average density of 366.2 per square mile (141.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.36% White, 3.06% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.66% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% of the population.
There were 191 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,068, and the median income for a family was $33,295. Males had a median income of $25,750 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $13,370. About 17.3% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
The city is served by State Highway 21Idaho State Highway 21
Idaho State Highway 21 is the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, primarily a two-lane highway from Boise to Stanley. With two-thirds of its length in Boise County, it passes by historic Idaho City and the village of Lowman to the western edge of the Sawtooth Mountains, then along their northern...
, a two-lane undivided highway that connects to Boise to the southwest. To the northeast, State Highway 21 continues on to Lowman
Lowman, Idaho
Lowman is a small unincorporated rural census-designated place in Boise County, Idaho, United States, nestled along the banks of the South Fork of the Payette River in the central part of the state...
and Stanley
Stanley, Idaho
Stanley is a city in Custer County, Idaho, United States. The population was 100 at the 2000 census. The center of population of Idaho is located in Stanley.-Geography:...
. The highway is designated as the "Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway."