Malad, ID

Malad, ID

  • Settled: Established in 1864, Malad is one of the oldest communities in Idaho
  • Origin of Name: Named after the nearby Malad River by Donald Mackenzie, a Scottish-Canadian trapper, who passed through the valley between 1818 and 1821 with a party of trappers: some of his men became sick, and believing  the illness was caused by drinking water from the valley’s principal stream, he named it “Malade,” French for ‘sick’ or ‘bad’ 
  • Notable History: After Brigham Young came through the Malad Valley in 1855, in 1856, at his request, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints migrated to the region from Utah: Malad Valley professes to have the largest population of Welsh descendants anywhere outside of Wales; holds Annual Welsh Festival; also well known for selling an incredibly high number or Idaho Lottery tickets, as Utah citizens travel across the state line to buy tickets there, since Utah has no lottery
  • Notable Features: County seat of Oneida County; City offices, American Legion Hall, Fire Dept, City Parks with water pad & pickleball courts, Ball Diamonds, Recreation Program, Airport; Hospital, Cemetery;  LDS, Catholic and several Protestant churches, Public Schools K-12, Idaho Distance Education; Funeral Home, Convenience Stores, Eating Places, Idaho Lottery Locations, Grocery Store, Furniture Store, Insurance Services, Banks, Chamber of Commerce; once the fastest-growing community in Idaho; Malad’s Idaho Enterprise in its 144th year of publication, is Idaho’s oldest newspaper
  • Well Known Residents: LaDell Andersen, head basketball coach at Utah State University, Brigham Young University and ABA Utah Stars Professional Basketball Team; John Victor Evans Sr., Idaho’s 27th governor from 1977 to 1987; Colen Sweeten Jr. nationally known Cowboy Poet; Devere Harris, General Authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Location: 36 miles north of Tremonton, UT on I-15 N at exit #13
  • Population 2024: 2,360- up from 2,273 in 2022

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