Idaho County
| Idaho County, Idaho | ||
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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 4, 1864 | |
| Named for | A steamer called Idaho that was launched on the Columbia River in 1860 | |
| Seat | Grangeville | |
| Largest city | Grangeville | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 8,503 sq mi (22,023 km2) | |
| • Land | 8,477 sq mi (21,955 km2) | |
| • Water | 26 sq mi (67 km2), 0.3% | |
| Population | ||
| • (2010) | 16,267 | |
| • Density | 1.9/sq mi (1/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 1st | |
| Time zones |
Pacific: UTC-8/-7 North of Salmon River |
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Mountain: UTC-7/-6 South of Salmon River |
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| Website | idahocounty |
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Idaho County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,267. The county seat is Grangeville. Previous county seats of the area were Florence (1864–68), Washington (1868-75), and Mount Idaho (1875–1902).
Idaho County's oldest non-native settlements are ghost towns. Discovery of gold occurred in succession at Elk City, Newsome, and Florence during the spring and summer of 1861. At the time, all of the settlements were within Shoshone County, Washington Territory. Thousands flocked to Florence. As a result, Idaho County was founded 156 years ago as a region of Washington Territory in 1861, named for a steamer called Idaho that was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It was reorganized by the Idaho Territorial Legislature on February 4, 1864. In this context, the Idaho Territory and the State of Idaho are both preceded by the county name.
Settlements at Cottonwood, Mount Idaho, and Warrens were established in 1862. The Warrens settlement was a fractured settlement as a result of settlement there by both Union and Confederate affiliated miners. The Union affiliated miners on the northern edge of the settlement named their portion of the settlement Washington while the Confederate affiliated miners named their portion Richmond. Richmond dwindled by 1866 and Washington went on to become the county seat in 1868 and was the name of the settlement used in most government documents during the period of settlement. Out of all these settlements, only Cottonwood went on to eventually become one of Idaho County's seven incorporated cities.
Idaho Territory conducted a census in 1863 and another in 1864. Population data was returned for both years for Warrens(660/521), Florence (575/254), Elk City (372/219), Slate Creek (216/117), Clearwater Station (212/76), and Newsome (62/24). For 1864, data was also returned for the settlements of Mount Idaho (74), Miller's Camp (36), and Cottonwood (17). Between 1863 and 1864, Idaho County saw a decrease from 1,601 residents to 955.
Settlement at White Bird occurred some time prior to 1870 as a precinct under the same name is listed with 71 inhabitants at the 1870 census. Efforts to force White Bird's band of Nez Perce tribesmen to the Nez Perce Reservation led to a battle at White Bird in 1877. The town was established in 1891.
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