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Gem County was established March, 1915 with its county seat at Emmett. It was named for the state nickname, "Gem State." Fur trappers were in the area as early as 1818 and Alexander Ross explored Squaw Creek in 1824. Squaw Creek flows southerly through the eastern leg of the county. Prospectors and miners moved through the county in 1862 enroute to the gold rush in the Boise Basin, and by the next year irrigation begain along the Payette River, which flows westerly through the southern portion of the county.
In late summer of 1862 Tim Goodale brought his wagon train through the valley, crossed the Payette River, followed Haw Creek into the foothills to the north, crossed Willow Creek (Payette County) traveled up Four-Mile Grade and followed Indian and pack trails to Brownlee Ferry in Hells Canyon.
The area now known as Gem County was first part of Boise (1863) and Ada (1864) Counties. When Canyon County was formed in 1891 it included a portion that later became southern Gem County.
It contains one incorporated town Emmett
and the communities of Sweet
Montour
Ola and Gross
Letha
Pearl
Part of the northern portion of the county is in the Boise National Forest and parts of the southern portion are under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. BLM maintains a fire lookout on 5906-foot Squaw Butte, which stands about 3550 feet above the valley. The Bureau of Reclamation's Black Canyon Dam on the Payette River is also in this county. In the '30's & '40's there were at least five Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC's) projects in Gem County. How many of these workers remained in Gem County is unknown.
William Mitchell established the "Squaw Creek Post Office" in this area in 1871. (at the base of the hill, roughly to right of train engine) It was on the route into the Boise Basin mining district to the east in Boise County. The Idaho Northern Railroad reached here in 1912. It is now on the Thunder Mountain Line. (see Montour postmasters and history)
I would like to thank Sherri Paustian and Jeanette Harper, past county coordinators, for all the work they did on this site.
If I can answer your questions -- keep them simple, please!-- or point you in the right direction, I will do so. If you have anything you would like to share, please do not hesitate. My e-mail address is Sharon McConnel This site is a collaborative effort of all us who have roots in Gem County.
visitor to this site since 1 May 2004.
Site Updated 21 June 2009
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