Elmore County, Idaho
| Elmore County, Idaho | ||
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Elmore County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Idaho |
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 Idaho's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | February 7, 1889 | |
| Named for | The Ida Elmore mines, producer of silver and gold in the 1860s | |
| Seat | Mountain Home | |
| Largest city | Mountain Home | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 3,101 sq mi (8,032 km2) | |
| • Land | 3,075 sq mi (7,964 km2) | |
| • Water | 26 sq mi (67 km2), 0.8% | |
| Population | ||
| • (2010) | 27,038 | |
| • Density | 8.8/sq mi (3/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 2nd | |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 | |
| Website | elmorecounty |
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Elmore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,130. The largest city and county seat is Mountain Home.
Elmore County comprises the Mountain Home, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boise-Mountain Home-Ontario, ID-OR Combined Statistical Area.
Elmore County was established February 7, 1889, with its county seat at Rocky Bar. It is named after the Ida Elmore mines, the area's greatest silver and gold producer of the 1860s, located near Silver City in Owyhee County.
While the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake River in Elmore County, at Three Island Crossing near Glenns Ferry, the significant early settlements of Elmore County were mining settlements located primarily in northern Elmore County surrounding the ghost town of Rocky Bar. Settlement at Rocky Bar commenced in 1863 with the settlement having 560 residents at the Territorial Census of that year. Nearby, Atlanta was settled in 1864. Elmore County north of the Snake River was originally part of Alturas County when it was created in 1864 and Rocky Bar became its county seat. The portion of Elmore County south of the Snake River was within Owyhee County until 1930. A small portion of Ada County was also annexed in 1948, bringing Elmore to its present boundary. The settlement at Rocky Bar was impacted by poor management by mining companies, mining lawsuits, and its geographic remoteness between 1869 and 1880. The Wood River experienced a surge in settlement at Hailey starting in 1880 that led to Rocky Bar's loss of the county seat to Hailey in 1882. Rocky Bar would briefly become a county seat upon the creation of Elmore County in 1889.
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