Bennington, Idaho
| Bennington | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place | |
 Location of Bennington in Bear Lake County, Idaho. |
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 Bennington
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| Coordinates: 42°23′28″N 111°19′15″W / 42.39111°N 111.32083°WCoordinates: 42°23′28″N 111°19′15″W / 42.39111°N 111.32083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| County | Bear Lake |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.342 sq mi (16.43 km2) |
| • Land | 6.338 sq mi (16.42 km2) |
| • Water | 0.004 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 190 |
| • Density | 30/sq mi (12/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| FIPS code | 16-06670 |
| GNIS feature ID | 396104 |
Bennington was one of the camping places for Indians that came through the Bear Lake valley each year on their hunting and fishing trips. They camped there until the 1930s, asking for food from the residents. An emigrant massacre happened at the mouth of four Mile Canyon. The emigrants head camp of the main road for better feed and plentiful water. A band of Shoshone led by Paughatello killed all the members of the company except for one 15-year-old boy, who hid in a wash and made his way back to another company. He went on to Oregon or California with the team. The battle spanned over 40 acres along the creek. Seven wagons, 20 people, 33 horses and 14 head of livestock were involved. Wagon parts, bones, cap and ball pistols, swords and other relics could be found decades later. The first town site of Bennington was located on block West on highway 30 at the Cemetery and Wright Roads, where the old Amos Wright log cabin still stands. The first settlers, Jared Bullock, and Jonathan Hoopes, came in the fall of 1864 and settled on the south side of Bennington Creek. Then Evan M. Greene, Hyrum Hoopes and Edmond Homer came. Six families spent the winter in 1864.In 1865 and 1866 more people were called to settle . In 1866 the community was officially named after a town in Vermont where Brigham Young once lived. In 1873 the town had a meeting, and the present town site was chosen. A church, school, store/post office and new homes were eventually built. Evan Green was the first Presiding Elder serving from 1864 to 1865, followed by Dudley Merrell, who presided until 1870, then Alonzo became the first Bishop. Church was held in a vacant house until one could be built. The first living white baby born Feb. 18, 1866 was Winnifred Rebecca Wright daughter of Amos R. Wright. The first death was Admanza Greene who died of pneumonia at age 10. Jared Bullock's wife died of childbirth. She was buried at the end of the haystack and then moved to the present cemetery later. Deep snow, cold weather and primitive living conditions made living here hard. A traveling band and a dancing academy taught by John Dunn was organized to help people get through the long winter mounts. In 1934 there was a terrible drought. At that time each home and building at the new town site had their own well. They all dried up except the one at the school so people carried water from there. The WPA helped with a new water system and during 1934-35 the men of the community dug ditches and laid the pipe to their homes. They had a big celebration at its completion in August 1936. Today Bennington is a thriving town with many new homes and a big church.Bennington is an unincorporated census-designated place in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 190. It is located in the southeast corner of the (State of Idaho) on U.S. Route 30 about five miles north of Montpelier and 12 miles south of Georgetown. Bennington is a small farming community settled by Mormon Pioneers in 1864. It was named by Brigham Young after a town in Vermont near where he was born and grew up. Many of the inhabitants in Bennington are direct descendants of these early pioneers.
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