Gem County, Idaho
| Gem County, Idaho | ||
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Gem 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 | March 15, 1915 | |
| Named for | the state nickname, "Gem State". | |
| Seat | Emmett | |
| Largest city | Emmett | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 566 sq mi (1,466 km2) | |
| • Land | 561 sq mi (1,453 km2) | |
| • Water | 4.8 sq mi (12 km2), 0.8% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2015) | 16,852 | |
| • Density | 30/sq mi (12/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 1st | |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 | |
| Website | www |
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Gem County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,719. The county seat and largest city is Emmett.
Gem County is part of the Boise, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Gem County is home to the Idaho ground squirrel.
Named for the state nickname, "Gem State," the county was established on March 15, 1915, partitioned from Canyon County and Boise County. Fur trappers were in the area as early as 1818, and Alexander Ross explored Squaw Creek in 1824. Prospectors and miners moved through the county in 1862 en route to the gold rush in the Boise Basin around Idaho City, and by the next year irrigation began along the Payette River. Under Washington Territory, the area was part of Idaho County from the time of settlement until the territory south of the Payette River became part of Boise County at its creation in 1863. Picket's Corral, northeast of Emmett was the base of operations for a gang of horse thieves and "bogus dust peddlers" between 1862 and 1864. The Payette Vigilance Committee eliminated the gang, bringing safety for citizens of the area. The act creating Ada County in 1864 established the Ada County boundary common to Boise County as a line from Grimes Creek to Picket's Corral and then north from that point to the existing northern boundary of Boise County, leaving the areas outside of Emmett within Boise County. Jonathan Smith and Nathaniel Martin settled near Emmett about 1862. They established a ferry on the Payette River at Emmett in 1866. On May 31, 1867, a post office was established at the ferry and named Martinsville. Martinsville was renamed Emmettsville on October 31, 1868. Postal officials shortened the name of the post office to Emmett in 1885.
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