Histories

History of Adams County

This is one of the new counties of Idaho, having been created by the Act of March 3, 1911, from the northern part of Washington County. It is bounded on the north by Idaho County, on the east by Valley County; on the south by Gem and Washington counties; and on the west by Washington County and the State of Oregon, from which it is separated by the Snake River.

The county is irregular in shape and being at a comparatively low altitude, with considerable rainfall, the sheltered valleys are particularly adapted to agriculture and fruit growing. Some of the largest apple orchards in the Northwest are in the Weiser Valley in this county. The southern part of the mountain range called the "Seven Devils" extends into Adams County. In this section large deposits of copper ore exist, but there has not been sufficient development of them owing, chiefly, to the lack of transportation facilities, the nearest railroad being the Huntington & Homestead branch of the Oregon Short Line, west of the Snake River in Oregon. The central part of the county is traversed by the Pacific & Idaho Northern Railroad, the northern terminus of which is at New Meadows, in the northeastern part of the county, and this affords an easy method of transporting to market the products raised. The Adams County stations on this line (going north) are: Goodrich, Vista, Council, Mill Creek, Fruitvale, Hot Springs, Glendale, Evergreen, Woodland, Tamarack and Rubicon.

The act creating the county assigned it to the seventh judicial district and designated the town of Council as the temporary seat of justice, the location of a permanent county seat to be decided by the people at the general election of 1912. At the election a majority voted in favor of Council on account of its central location and railway accommodations.

As Adams County was not created until after the census of 1910 was taken, its population at that time was included in Washington County and cannot be given. In 1918 the property of the county was valued for tax purposes at $4,561,445. The Oxbow power plant, one of the great electric power developments on the Snake River, is in this county.

COUNCIL - This village is the county seat of Adams County and is beautifully situated in the "Council Valley," a place that was a favorite resort and meeting place of the Indians in early days, and from which the village takes its name. It was incorporated in 1903 and when Adams County was created in 1911 it was made the county seat. Council has a bank, a weekly newspaper, a number of well stocked stores, a public school building, electric light and waterworks, arid is an important shipping point on the Pacific & Idaho Northern Railroad. The population in 1910 was 312 and in 1918 it was estimated at 600.

NEW MEADOWS - This village in the northeastern part of Adams County, on the Salmon River slope is the northern terminus of the P. I. and N. Railroad. Most of the surrounding country is heavily timbered and the lumber industry will be an important one in the future. The town is situated on the old trail between Warrens and the Boise Basin and was a noted camping and meeting ground in the '6os. Here in its then only house was held, in 1863, the first Republican Territorial Convention in Idaho. The town occupies a beautiful site, has a first class hotel and is a favorite summer resort for many of the people of Western Idaho.

Extracted 2023 Sep 02 from History of Idaho: The Gem of the Mountains by James H. Hawley, Volume 1, published in 1920, pages 605-606, 774, and 786.