Pocatello, Idaho
Encyclopedia
Pocatello is the county seat
and largest city of Bannock County
, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation
in neighboring Power County
, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state
of Idaho
. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area
, which encompasses all of Bannock and Power counties. As of the 2010 census the population of Pocatello was 54,255.
Pocatello is the fifth largest city in the state, just behind Idaho Falls
(population of 56,813). In 2007, Pocatello was ranked twentieth on Forbes
list of Best Small Places for Business and Careers. Pocatello is the home of Idaho State University
and the manufacturing facility of ON Semiconductor
. The city is at an elevation
of 4462 feet (1,360 m) above sea level and is served by the Pocatello Regional Airport
.
, the city later became an important center for agriculture
. It is located along the Portneuf River
where it emerges from the mountains onto the Snake River Plain
, along the route of the Oregon Trail
. The city is named after Chief Pocatello
of the Shoshoni tribe, who granted the right-of-way for the railroad across the Fort Hall Indian Reservation
.
The section of the city along the Portneuf River was inhabited by the Shoshoni and Bannock
peoples for several centuries before the arrival of Europe
ans in the early 19th century. In 1834, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
, a U.S. fur trade
r, established Fort Hall
as a trading post north of the present location of the city. The post was later acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company
and became an important stop on the Oregon Trail, a branch of which descended the Portneuf through the present-day location of the city. A replica of the Fort Hall trading post is now operated as a museum in southern Pocatello.
The discovery of gold
in Idaho in 1860 brought the first large wave of U.S. settlers to the region. The Portneuf Valley became an important conduit for the transportation of goods and freight. In 1877, railroad magnate Jay Gould
of the Union Pacific Railroad
acquired and extended the Utah and Northern Railway
, which had previously stopped at the Utah
border, into Idaho through the Portneuf Canyon. "Pocatello Junction", as it was first called, was founded as a stop along this route during the gold rush. After the gold rush subsided, the region began to attract ranchers and farmers. By 1882, the first residences and commercial development appeared in Pocatello.
Pocatello absorbed nearby Alameda
in 1962 and briefly became the largest city in the state, ahead of Boise. Pocatello was the second largest city in the state (behind Boise) until the late 1990s
, when rapid growth in the Treasure Valley
of southwestern
Idaho placed Nampa
and Meridian
ahead of Idaho Falls and Pocatello, which are now the state's fourth and fifth largest cities, respectively.
, the city has a total area of 73.1 square kilometres (28.2 sq mi), all land.
BSk), with winters that are moderately long and cold, and hot, dry summers.
of 2000, there were 51,466 people, 19,334 households, and 12,973 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,822.5 people per square mile (703.7/km²). There were 20,627 housing units at an average density of 730.4 per square mile (282.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.32% White, 0.72% African American, 1.35% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 2.18% from other races
, and 2.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.94% of the population. The top 5 ethnic groups in Pocatello are.
· English - 21%
· German - 16%
· Irish - 9%
· Danish - 4%
· Swedish - 4%
There were 19,334 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples
living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 16.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,326, and the median income for a family was $41,884. Males had a median income of $33,984 versus $22,962 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,425. About 10.7% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
operates the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center (PWCC) in Pocatello.
The United States Postal Service
operates the Pocatello, Bannock, and Gateway Station post offices.
(ISU) is a public university operated by the state of Idaho. Originally an auxiliary campus of the University of Idaho
and then a state college, it became the second university in the state in 1963. The ISU campus is in Pocatello, with outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls. The university's crown jewel is the 123000 square feet (11,427.1 m²) L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center, which occupies a prominent location overlooking Pocatello and the lower Portneuf River Valley. The center's three venues provide state-of-the-art performance space, including the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall.
Idaho State's athletics teams compete in the Big Sky Conference
, the football
and basketball
teams play in Holt Arena
.
Pocatello is a part of the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District. The city has three public high schools:
Feeding the high schools are three public middle schools, thirteen public elementary schools, two public charter schools, and various alternative and church-based private schools and academies.
, a multipurpose indoor stadium which opened in 1970 on the ISU campus. Known as the "Minidome" until 1988, Holt Arena was the home of the Real Dairy Bowl, a junior college
football Bowl game
. Holt Arena also plays host to the Simplot Games, the nation's largest indoor high school track-and-field meet.
The Idaho Gateway Chorus, a barbershop singing group, is based in Pocatello.
The Pocatello Zoo
features only native Idaho species and is located in Ross Park.
The North American Vexillological Association
ranked Pocatello's flag 150th of 150 city flags in its 2004 American City Flags Survey.
's song "Somebody Help Me" in the "REVIVAL" album (2007). Pocatello is mentioned as the hometown of Aaron Davis, a character from the motion picture Latter Days
played by Steve Sandvoss
. Part of the 2006 film Bonneville
took place in Pocatello. Although it was not filmed in Idaho, actress Kathy Bates attended an LDS Church in Pocatello to research her character.
The Pocatello region is the setting for Ruth Ozeki
's novel All Over Creation and for Tom Spanbauer
's Now Is the Hour.
Portions of the movie Napoleon Dynamite were also filmed there.
(1908–2002), known for films such as "Home Alone" and "Sixteen Candles", was born in Pocatello, where she maintained family ties.
Danish-born photographer Benedicte Wrensted
lived in Pocatello from 1895 to 1912 where she recorded the growth of the town and took many photographs of the native American inhabitants of the area.
Merril Hoge
, currently an ESPN analyst, was born in Pocatello and played football at Highland High School as well as Idaho State University
. He spent eight seasons in the NFL as a running back
.
Kware Manguel, Burkina Faso
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....
and largest city of Bannock County
Bannock County, Idaho
Bannock County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It was established in 1893 and named after the local Bannock tribe. It is part of the Pocatello, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Bannock and Power counties. As of the 2000 Census...
, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation
Fort Hall Indian Reservation
The Fort Hall Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain north of Pocatello, and comprises 814.874 sq mi of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power,...
in neighboring Power County
Power County, Idaho
Power County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 7,538 ....
, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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....
. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area
Pocatello metropolitan area
The Pocatello Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in eastern Idaho, anchored by the city of Pocatello...
, which encompasses all of Bannock and Power counties. As of the 2010 census the population of Pocatello was 54,255.
Pocatello is the fifth largest city in the state, just behind Idaho Falls
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho Falls is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813, with a metro population of 130,374....
(population of 56,813). In 2007, Pocatello was ranked twentieth on Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of Best Small Places for Business and Careers. Pocatello is the home of Idaho State University
Idaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
and the manufacturing facility of ON Semiconductor
ON Semiconductor
ON Semiconductor , is a semiconductors supplier company. Products include power and signal management, logic, discrete and custom devices for automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, LED lighting, medical, military/aerospace and power applications...
. The city is at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 4462 feet (1,360 m) above sea level and is served by the Pocatello Regional Airport
Pocatello Regional Airport
-History:In 1943, the Pocatello Army Airfield was built as a Second Air Force heavy bomber training base.In 1949, it became surplus property and was obtained by the city of Pocatello to build a commercial airport....
.
History
Founded as an important stop on the first railroad in Idaho during the 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...
, the city later became an important center for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. It is located along the Portneuf River
Portneuf River (Idaho)
The Portneuf River is a tributary of the Snake River in southeastern Idaho in the United States. It drains a ranching and farming valley in the mountains southeast of the Snake River Plain...
where it emerges from the mountains onto the Snake River Plain
Snake River Plain
The Snake River Plain is a geologic feature located primarily within the state of Idaho in the United States of America. It stretches about westward from northwest of the state of Wyoming to the Idaho-Oregon border. The plain is a wide flat bow-shaped depression, and covers about a quarter of Idaho...
, along the route of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. The city is named after Chief Pocatello
Pocatello (Shoshoni chief)
Chief Pocatello was a leader of the Shoshone, a Native American people in western North America. He led attacks against early settlers during a time of increasing strife between emigrants and Native Americans...
of the Shoshoni tribe, who granted the right-of-way for the railroad across the Fort Hall Indian Reservation
Fort Hall Indian Reservation
The Fort Hall Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain north of Pocatello, and comprises 814.874 sq mi of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power,...
.
The section of the city along the Portneuf River was inhabited by the Shoshoni and Bannock
Bannock (tribe)
The Bannock tribe of the Northern Paiute are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. Their traditional lands include southeastern Oregon, southeastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southwestern Montana...
peoples for several centuries before the arrival of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans in the early 19th century. In 1834, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth was an American inventor, ice harvester, and explorer and trader in the far west.-Early life:Wyeth was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Jacob and Elizabeth Wyeth...
, a U.S. fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
r, established Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
as a trading post north of the present location of the city. The post was later acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and became an important stop on the Oregon Trail, a branch of which descended the Portneuf through the present-day location of the city. A replica of the Fort Hall trading post is now operated as a museum in southern Pocatello.
The discovery of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
in Idaho in 1860 brought the first large wave of U.S. settlers to the region. The Portneuf Valley became an important conduit for the transportation of goods and freight. In 1877, railroad magnate Jay Gould
Jay Gould
Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
acquired and extended the Utah and Northern Railway
Utah and Northern Railway
The Utah and Northern Railway is a defunct railroad that was operated in the Utah Territory and later in the Idaho Territory and Montana Territory in the western United States during the 1870s and 1880s. It was the first railroad in Idaho and in Montana....
, which had previously stopped at the Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
border, into Idaho through the Portneuf Canyon. "Pocatello Junction", as it was first called, was founded as a stop along this route during the gold rush. After the gold rush subsided, the region began to attract ranchers and farmers. By 1882, the first residences and commercial development appeared in Pocatello.
Pocatello absorbed nearby Alameda
Alameda, Idaho
Alameda was a city in Bannock County, Idaho, United States. Alameda was established as a village in 1924 at the consolidation of the villages of Fairview and North Pocatello which were platted on the northern boundary of the town of Pocatello in 1911 and 1914 respectively...
in 1962 and briefly became the largest city in the state, ahead of Boise. Pocatello was the second largest city in the state (behind Boise) until the late 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, when rapid growth in the Treasure Valley
Treasure Valley
The Treasure Valley is the area of the Western United States where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, Owyhee, and Burnt rivers drain into the Snake River. Treasure Valley includes all the lowland areas from Vale, Oregon on the west to Boise, Idaho on the east. Formerly, the valley had been known...
of southwestern
Southwestern Idaho
Southwestern Idaho is a geographical term for the area along the state of Idaho's borders with Oregon and Nevada. It includes the populous areas of the Boise metropolitan area, Treasure Valley and Magic Valley.-Counties:Ada |Adams |Boise |Canyon |...
Idaho placed 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...
and Meridian
Meridian, Idaho
-History:The town was established in 1891 on the Onweiler farm north of the present site and was called Hunter. Two years later an I.O.O.F. lodge was organized and called itself Meridian because it was located on the Boise Meridian and the town was renamed...
ahead of Idaho Falls and Pocatello, which are now the state's fourth and fifth largest cities, respectively.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 73.1 square kilometres (28.2 sq mi), all land.
Climate
Pocatello experiences a semi-arid climate (KöppenKöppen 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...
BSk), with winters that are moderately long and cold, and hot, dry summers.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 51,466 people, 19,334 households, and 12,973 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 1,822.5 people per square mile (703.7/km²). There were 20,627 housing units at an average density of 730.4 per square mile (282.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.32% White, 0.72% African American, 1.35% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 2.18% 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 2.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.94% of the population. The top 5 ethnic groups in Pocatello are.
· English - 21%
· German - 16%
· Irish - 9%
· Danish - 4%
· Swedish - 4%
There were 19,334 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% 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, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 16.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,326, and the median income for a family was $41,884. Males had a median income of $33,984 versus $22,962 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 $17,425. About 10.7% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
Idaho Department of CorrectionIdaho Department of Correction
The Idaho Department of Corrections mission is to Protect Idaho through Safety, Accountability, Partnerships and Opportunities for Offender Change. IDOC is responsible for the incarceration and community supervision of felony offenders in Idaho. The department operates eight prisons, five...
operates the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center (PWCC) in Pocatello.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Pocatello, Bannock, and Gateway Station post offices.
Education
Idaho State UniversityIdaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
(ISU) is a public university operated by the state of Idaho. Originally an auxiliary campus of the University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
and then a state college, it became the second university in the state in 1963. The ISU campus is in Pocatello, with outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls. The university's crown jewel is the 123000 square feet (11,427.1 m²) L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center, which occupies a prominent location overlooking Pocatello and the lower Portneuf River Valley. The center's three venues provide state-of-the-art performance space, including the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall.
Idaho State's athletics teams compete in the Big Sky Conference
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...
, the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams play in Holt Arena
Holt Arena
Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic stadium, located on the campus of Idaho State University, in Pocatello, Idaho. It is the home field of the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference...
.
Pocatello is a part of the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District. The city has three public high schools:
- Pocatello High SchoolPocatello High SchoolPocatello High School is a high school in Pocatello, Idaho commonly known as "Poky." The high school is a very historic fixture of Old Town Pocatello and is claimed to be haunted.-History:The school was constructed during the late spring of 1892...
("Poky High") is a four-year public secondary schoolSecondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, with a current enrollment of 1140 students. PHS was opened in 1892, and was a senior high school (grades 10–12) until recently. Its mascot is the IndianNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and the colorsSchool colorsSchool colors are the colors chosen by a school to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification. Most schools have two colors, which are usually chosen to avoid conflicts with other schools with which the school competes in sports and other activities...
are red, blue, and white. The school's athletic teams compete in class 4AIdaho High School Activities AssociationThe Idaho High School Activities Association oversees high school athletics in the state of Idaho. Idaho high schools are classified in five categories based on their enrollment...
, the state's second highest classification.
- Highland High SchoolHighland High School (Pocatello, Idaho)Highland High School is a four-year public high school located in Pocatello, Idaho. Its school colors are black,white and red. Its mascot is the ram.The school band was invited to Florida to play in the 2009 BCS Championship game halftime show....
is a four-year secondary public school. Opened in 1963, its current faculty is 72 with an enrollment of 1,465 students in four grades. The school mascot is the Ram and the school colors are black and red. Until the fall of 2002, Highland was a senior high school (grades 10-12); the graduating class of 2006 was the first to graduate after attending all four years at Highland. The school's athletic teams compete in class 5AIdaho High School Activities AssociationThe Idaho High School Activities Association oversees high school athletics in the state of Idaho. Idaho high schools are classified in five categories based on their enrollment...
, the state's highest classification.
- Century High School is a four-year public secondary school, opened in 2000 for grades 9–12 with a current enrollment of 971 students. The school mascot is the DiamondbackRattlesnakeRattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
and the school colors are purple, teal, black, and white. The school's athletic teams compete in class 4AIdaho High School Activities AssociationThe Idaho High School Activities Association oversees high school athletics in the state of Idaho. Idaho high schools are classified in five categories based on their enrollment...
, the second-highest classification.
Feeding the high schools are three public middle schools, thirteen public elementary schools, two public charter schools, and various alternative and church-based private schools and academies.
Sports
Pocatello is home to Holt ArenaHolt Arena
Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic stadium, located on the campus of Idaho State University, in Pocatello, Idaho. It is the home field of the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference...
, a multipurpose indoor stadium which opened in 1970 on the ISU campus. Known as the "Minidome" until 1988, Holt Arena was the home of the Real Dairy Bowl, a junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
football Bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
. Holt Arena also plays host to the Simplot Games, the nation's largest indoor high school track-and-field meet.
Culture and arts
In Pocatello, it was against the law not to smile. Today, this law is remembered with the annual Smile Fest.- On December 10, 1987, representatives from the American Bankers Association declared Pocatello the “U. S. Smile Capital.”
The Idaho Gateway Chorus, a barbershop singing group, is based in Pocatello.
The Pocatello Zoo
Pocatello zoo
The Pocatello Zoo is a zoo in Pocatello, Idaho, that features animals native to the Intermountain West and has been open since 1932.-History:The Pocatello Zoo opened in 1932. The attractions were a monkey and a raccoon held in two small wire pens...
features only native Idaho species and is located in Ross Park.
The North American Vexillological Association
North American Vexillological Association
The North American Vexillological Association is a membership organization devoted to "vexillology as the scientific study of flags." Flag researchers, designers, collectors, activists, merchants, and other enthusiasts from the United States and Canada meet annually at NAVA meetings in order to...
ranked Pocatello's flag 150th of 150 city flags in its 2004 American City Flags Survey.
In popular culture
Pocatello gained pop culture fame from the 1954 musical "A Star is Born", in which Judy Garland sang the song "Born in a Trunk" about being born in the "Princess Theatre in Pocatello, Idaho". Pocatello is mentioned in John FogertyJohn Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
's song "Somebody Help Me" in the "REVIVAL" album (2007). Pocatello is mentioned as the hometown of Aaron Davis, a character from the motion picture Latter Days
Latter Days
Latter Days is a 2003 American romantic drama film about a gay relationship between a closeted Mormon missionary and his openly gay neighbor. The film was written and directed by C. Jay Cox. It stars Steve Sandvoss as the missionary, Aaron, and Wes Ramsey as the neighbor, Christian. Joseph...
played by Steve Sandvoss
Steve Sandvoss
Steve Sandvoss is an American actor.-Career:Sandvoss's break as an actor came when he landed the role of a football star competing against Will Estes in the NBC drama series American Dreams. His other television roles include appearances on Dr...
. Part of the 2006 film Bonneville
Bonneville (film)
Bonneville is a 2006 American dramedy film directed by Christopher N. Rowley. The screenplay by Daniel D. Davis is based on a story by Davis and Rowley.-Plot:...
took place in Pocatello. Although it was not filmed in Idaho, actress Kathy Bates attended an LDS Church in Pocatello to research her character.
The Pocatello region is the setting for Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki is a Canadian-American novelist, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. She worked in commercial television and media production for over a decade and made several independent films before turning to writing fiction.-Life:...
's novel All Over Creation and for Tom Spanbauer
Tom Spanbauer
-Biography:He studied creative writing with Gordon Lish at Columbia University. As a gay writer, he has explored issues of race, of sexual identity, of how we make a family for ourselves in order to surmount the limitations of the families into which we are born...
's Now Is the Hour.
Portions of the movie Napoleon Dynamite were also filmed there.
Notable residents
Comedienne and actress Billie BirdBillie Bird
Billie Bird was an American actress and comedienne.-Early life:Born Berniece Bird in Pocatello, Idaho, Bird was discovered at the age of eight while living at an orphanage...
(1908–2002), known for films such as "Home Alone" and "Sixteen Candles", was born in Pocatello, where she maintained family ties.
Danish-born photographer Benedicte Wrensted
Benedicte Wrensted
Benedicte Marie Wrensted was a notable Danish-American photographer, who emigrated to the United States after running a studio for a few years in Horsens, Denmark. She is remembered above all for the many photographs she took of the Shoshone native people in Idaho.-Early life:Benedicte Wrensted...
lived in Pocatello from 1895 to 1912 where she recorded the growth of the town and took many photographs of the native American inhabitants of the area.
Merril Hoge
Merril Hoge
Merril DuAine Hoge is a former professional American football player. He played eight seasons at running back for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears, retiring after the 1994 season. Since 1997 he has been a football analyst for ESPN television....
, currently an ESPN analyst, was born in Pocatello and played football at Highland High School as well as Idaho State University
Idaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
. He spent eight seasons in the NFL as a running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
.
Sister cities
Iwamizawa, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
Kware Manguel, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...