Elmore County

Description and History

Elmore County is located in southwestern Idaho.  It is bounded on the north by Boise County, on the east by Blaine, Camas, Gooding, and Twin Falls Counties and to the south by Owyhee County, and on the west by Ada County.

 Elmore is the largest county, covering over 3,000 square miles.  Approximately 60% of the county is mountainous.  The remaining 40% slopes gently down into the Snake River Plain.  Elmore County has altitudes ranging from 2500 feet to over 9700 feet.  70% of the county is owned by varying departments of the federal government including the US Forest Service, US Department of Defense, and the Bureau of Land Management.  Approximately 22% of Elmore County’s lands are designated farm lands. 

The topography of Elmore County is extremely varied, from low elevation plains to high, steep mountainous terrain.  The county is divided into two provinces, the Northern Rocky Mountain Province – Idaho Batholith, and the Columbia Plateau Province – Snake River Plain in the southern 1/3 of the county.

 High glaciated mountains in the northern province, especially the area north of Atlanta, are dotted with several hundred glacial lakes.  The terrain is very steep, rocky, and rugged, and much is granite rock covered with alpine vegetation. 

The Snake River Plain supports both irrigated agriculture and spring-fall grazing for cattle and sheep.  The major limitation to further expansion of agriculture in this area is water.  Soils also are a limiting factor in a few sections of the Snake River Plain.

 HISTORY OF ELMORE COUNTY 

One hundred and fifty centuries before the appearance of white explorers, this majestic land belonged to the American Indians.  The Shoshone and Bannock Indians roamed Elmore County, winter camping on the banks of the Snake River, returning to the Camas Prairies in late spring.  They lived in small extended families surviving on small game, fish, roots, berries, and whatever else they could obtain by using their primitive tools, snares, and weapons.  A dietary staple for the tribes was the sugar-producing blue flower “camas”.  The flower grows wild and abundantly in the high desert.  Indian women would harvest the camas roots and then prepare it into thin dry cakes.  Indian culture was based upon the procurement of food and changed little from generation to generation as they followed their food supply in Elmore County.  But, with the arrival of white men this simple nomadic life-style ended abruptly.

 In 1803, Thomas Jefferson arranged for the United States to buy Oregon Country from Napoleon Bonaparte.  The Oregon Country comprised those states now generally referred to as “The Northwest”, inclusive of Idaho.  President Jefferson paid three and three-fifths cents an acre for the land.  In 1804, he dispatched two men, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore the Oregon Country and its neighbor, the Louisiana Territory.  Their tales of a wealth in furs enticed trappers into the area. 

The first trappers in Southern Idaho were the John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company.  They made a treacherous journey down the Snake River trying to navigate it in canoes.  They were the first white men to make contact with the Shoshone and Bannock Indians.  Soon, other trappers in search of beaver followed.  They trapped the waterways extensively until the beaver population was almost extinct by the 1840’s.

 The relationship between the Indians and the white men during the fur trapping era was generally peaceful.  The trappers lived a life-style similar to that of the Indian, and white exploration and trade did not seriously disrupt Indian social or cultural institutions.  The conflict between cultures arose during the next era, when wave after wave of emigrants arrived and settled in the west. 

Between 1840 and 1862, more than 250,000 emigrants traveled through Elmore County on their way “west”.  They traveled the historic Oregon Trail, a grueling 2000 mile trip that was referred to as the “longest cemetery in the nation”.  On the more hazardous parts of the journey involved crossing the Snake River.  A popular ford was located in Elmore County at the Three Island Crossing above Glenns Ferry.  The crossing was not without risk; many animals, supplies, and wagons were lost.  Three Island Crossing is now a state park commemorating the valiant struggles of the early pioneers.

 During this early westward period the majority of emigrants passed through Idaho on their way to California or Oregon.  Only a handful of pioneers settled in Idaho and they mostly were merchants who supplied the needs of the wagon trains.  But, in the early 1860’s, the discovery of gold in Idaho resulted in a population boom.  For the first time in our nation’s history a reverse migration eastward occurred.  The California miners returned to Idaho and Alturas County, later to become Elmore County.  Alturas is a Spanish name which means “mountain summit or heavens” and was one of the original counties in Idaho.  Established on February 4, 1894, Alturas encompassed a huge area in southern Idaho.  Old records report the size of Alturas as extending from the north fork of the Boise River, south to the Snake River, and from American Falls west to Indian Creek. 

In the beginning years, the county’s population was concentrated in Rocky Bar and Atlanta.  These early mining communities reflected a mixture of peoples from all walks of life.  Some were petty thieves, shysters, and restless unfortunates who rushed from strike to strike with visions of wealth bright in their eyes.  Others were destitute Southerners who had lost everything in the Civil War.  They came to the gold fields in search of a new start.  The influence of these Southerners is evident in the names of the gold fields: Atlanta, Jeff Davis, and the Southern Confederacy.  Also participating in the early mining camps were the Chinese.  A census in 1870 showed that the majority of miners were Oriental.  The Chinese miners were often willing to work for less, almost slave wages, and had a reputation of being very industrious and clannish miners.

 As mining activities in the camps began to show results, the character of the mining camps changed.  On the heels of the prospectors came permanent settlers.  The camps attracted not only faro dealers, bawdy houses, and dance hall girls, but also merchants, lawyers, and editors; men and women who were willing to endure the rugged lifestyle for the high prices that their services could command.

Early farmers and ranchers arrived upon the heels of the miners.  Small ranches and farms began to spring up around the way stations.  The families settled on land near transportation routes and water.  Settlement was encouraged by the offer of up to 320 acres to each individual who could make the required land improvements and locate water.  This process was called “proving up the land”.  The ranchers and farmers continually expanded operations to supply agricultural products to the booming mining communities.

 Many farm and ranch families came to Elmore County because of the land schemes promoted by the railroad and land developers.  Promotional campaigns referred to Idaho as the “Switzerland of the West”, and Mountain Home as the garden spot of Southern Idaho.  Settlers were promised successful crops, plentiful water, and healthful climate.  The claims, although exaggerated, contained some truth.  The land was rich, producing 3 to 5 time as many bushels per acre as land in Illinois, Virginia and Tennessee.  The land was also capable of producing a variety of crops, and prosperous farmers invested in cherries, plums, apples, grain, cattle, horses and sheep. 

Cattle, horses, and sheep raising became important industries in Elmore County.  By 1888 the county had 35,000 cows, 60,000 sheep, and 8,000 horses.  Wool and mutton production rivaled the cattle and horse industry.  Sheep adapted well to the desert and high mountain ranges, although according to cattlemen they ruined the ranges for grazing cattle.  Conflict resulted between the Glenns Ferry cattlemen and the Mountain Home sheepherders.  The disagreements persisted until sheep production became more profitable then cattle.

Young Basque men from the Pyrenees Mountains, between France and Spain, provided the labor for the sheep industry.  In their native land they had been fishermen, craftsmen, and farmers, but in America, they turned their hands to sheep herding and shearing.  These Basque emigrants had a significant cultural impact on Elmore County.

 As the communities of Mountain Home, Glenns Ferry, Rocky Bar and Atlanta grew, residents began to push for a new county with a centrally located county seat.  The creation of Elmore County was hotly debated.  Finally, as its last act, the last Territorial Legislature created Elmore County in February 7, 1889.  The county seat changed location several time, but in 1891 it settled permanently in Mountain Home.

The period of 1890-1913 was known as the growth years for the county.  The completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad (OSL) in 1883 allowed for the shipment of mining and agricultural products to world markets.  The outbreak of WWI intensified demand for these products, especially wool, which was used to manufacture military uniforms.  The end of the war also was the end of agricultural boom.  The slump that began in the 1920’s intensified during the Great Depression.  Many small farmers and ranchers lost their land.  Economic conditions did not improve significantly in the county until WWII.  With the outbreak of WWII, crop prices improved and constructions of Mountain Home Air Force Base began.

 The post-war era heralded permanent changes in the character of the county.  The mining industry had collapsed, sheep were replaced by cattle, and farming exploded with the introduction of new technologies.  The Air Base remained after the war, although it de-activated for brief periods between 1945 and 1964.  The base had tremendous impact on the community.  First, it became the largest employer in the county.  Second, the influx of military personnel and their families resulted in a rapid growth of population.  Thirdly, the population was further multiplied as service and business sectors grew to meet the needs of the air base and its military family.  And, finally a diverse military population provided the community with a wealth of cultural diversities unique to the state of Idaho. 

Early settlers were attracted to Elmore County because of the promise of unlimited opportunities.  These opportunities still exist today.  And, the future promises to be as exciting, turbulent, and unpredictable as the past.