Potlatch, Idaho
| Potlatch, Idaho | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Location in Latah County and the state of Idaho |
|
| Coordinates: 46°55′18″N 116°53′54″W / 46.92167°N 116.89833°WCoordinates: 46°55′18″N 116°53′54″W / 46.92167°N 116.89833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| County | Latah |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.43 sq mi (1.11 km2) |
| • Land | 0.43 sq mi (1.11 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,546 ft (776 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 804 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 812 |
| • Density | 1,869.8/sq mi (721.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 83855 |
| Area code(s) | 208 |
| FIPS code | 16-64900 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0397063 |
| Website | City of Potlatch |
Potlatch is a city in Latah County, Idaho, United States, located about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the Idaho-Washington state border, in the north central part of the state. It is along State Highway 6, bordered on the northeast by the small community of Onaway. The population was 804 at the 2010 census.
Potlatch was founded in 1905 as a company town by the Potlatch Corporation. The townsite was chosen because of proximity to Potlatch Corporation's large holdings of Western White Pine on the Palouse River. Potlatch was chosen as the mill site. When the mill was built, it was one of the largest sawmills in the US and was the largest white pine sawmill in the world.
Most of Potlatch was built in 1906 and 1907. A total of 143 houses were built in 1906, with 58 more built the following year; other building constructed during that period include boarding houses, an ice house, a Catholic church, hotel, school, and general store.
The company developed and ran Potlatch on a model mostly patterned after that used by Pullman Company for its company town in Illinois. It provide police and fire protection, a school, churches, a hospital, an inexpensive company store, and recreational amenities. It banned prostitution, prohibited alcohol, and encouraged its workers to marry by allowing only married couples to rent the houses it owned. The paternalism was profitable, even though rents were low: during 1943 the company showed a profit of $59,000 for its "townsite" services. Less than a decade later, with labor costs significantly reducing its townsite profit, the mill sold most of the homes and other buildings it owned, and Potlatch was incorporated.
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