Minidoka County, ID

About Minidoka County

Early History: In 1811, early fur-trapping tycoon John Jacob Astor sent a party led by Wilson Price Hunt that established a fort on the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon; the party, known as the “Astorians,” was the first recorded group to travel the Snake River.  Traveling by canoe in the Caldron Linn, near  Milner, they suddenly encountered treacherous rapids, capsizing their canoes and most of their provisions were lost. Scrambling to safety, the party, now split on opposite sides of the Snake, were unable to reunite. Frenchman Antoine Clappine drowned, the first known white man to die in what later became the State of Idaho. The divided party finally united at Fort Astoria in early 1812.

The Oregon Trail runs along the southern banks of Snake River in adjacent Cassia County’s northern borders and brought numerous travelers on their way to Oregon. In 1866, Henry Schodde, an early cattleman, is credited as the first white man to settle in Minidoka county, when the Schodde family settled north of the Snake in what became known as the Emerson area. His herds of cattle (as large as 5,000 head) grazed from Hagerman to American Falls.

Origin of name “Minidoka:” The common belief is that ‘Minidoka’ is an Anglicized Indian word, though there is no word that is close in the native languages of the Shoshoni or Bannock Indians, who populated the area. There are at least three versions of its origin;  about the only thing they share is that both identify “Minidoka” as a Native American term. 1)  Wikipendia identifies “Minidoka,” as a Dakota Sioux term, meaning “A fountain or spring of water.” 2) However,  Minidoka.us.history, quotes the Bureau of Reclamation as saying it is a “Shoshoni term, meaning ‘broad expanse.’ 3.) Since the term was first used in 1883 as a name for the Union Pacific’s Short line spur, it is believed by some that E.P. Vining, then general freight agent of the Union Pacific system, was instrumental in assigning names. That explanation says that rail stops were given Dakota Indian names to distinguish the stops from local communities. Wapi, Minidoka, Kimama, Owinza, Ticeska were taken from the Dakoka (also known as Sioux) dialects, since the language was formalized in print and fairly widely accepted by those who studied Indian affairs in this era. The resulting village of Minidoka grew along the railroad spur. The Minidoka Reclamation Project included construction of the Minidoka Dam on the Snake River. Completed in 1904, during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, the project opened approximately 480,000 acres to farmland. 

Known for: What is now known as Minidoka County was once a part of Alturas County, an enormous landmass, north of the Snake River in south central Idaho. The Oregon Short Line Railroad established a key depot in the town of Minidoka, which became a communications hub throughout the early twentieth century. Lake Walcott, and Minidoka Dam were key components in the Department of the Interior’s Minidoka Project.

Notable Features: Magic Valley, known as a breadbasket for America’s ag industry, is said to raise the largest variety of farm products in the US.  Farmland is irrigated by dams and canals constructed during the Minidoka Reclamation Project, The area is known for its abundant wildlife in mountains and along waterways, which also provide quality outdoor recreation. The Mini-Cassia area is becoming equally known as a trucking hub, because of its strategic location on major highways, located along I-84.  The area is almost equally located between destinations in Boise and Salt Lake City, Seattle and Denver and other markets.

Twentieth Century History:  Minidoka county is unique in that it was opened twice for homesteading: 1) after the construction of Minidoka Dam in 1904, which opened 55,000 acres to gravity-fed irrigation. 2) When the Northside Pumping Project was completed, between 1954 and 1961 76,802 acres were opened by the government and another 70,000 by private individuals, awarded by lottery to veterans of World War II. Homestead drawings were held in 1953 and more acreage was reclaimed each year, with approximately 5,000 acres added in 1965.

Population 2020 Census: 21,613– up from 20,069 in 2010