Bear Lake County, Idaho
Encyclopedia
Bear Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state
of Idaho
. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 6,411 (2008 estimate: 5,798). The county seat
is Paris
, and Montpelier
is the largest city.
The county is named after Bear Lake
, a 20-mile-long (32 km) alpine lake
at an elevation
of 5924 feet (1806 m) above sea level. The northern half of the lake is in Idaho, the southern half in Utah
.
The first settlement in the Bear Lake Valley was Paris, which was settled by Mormon
pioneers led by Charles Rich
on September 26, 1863. Thirty families comprised the original settlement. In the spring of 1864, Montpelier
was settled on the other side of the valley on the Oregon Trail
. Bear Lake County was established in 1875, and the railroad was extended through Montpelier in 1892.
of 2000, there were 6,411 people, 2,259 households, and 1,710 families residing in the county. The population density
was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 3,268 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.66% White
, 0.09% Black
or African American
, 0.53% Native American
, 0.08% Asian
, 0.05% Pacific Islander
, 1.08% from other races
, and 0.51% from two or more races. 2.40% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race. 28.6% were of English
, 16.1% American
, 9.4% German
, 7.1% Danish, 6.2% Swiss and 5.5% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 2,259 households out of which 38.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.90% were married couples
living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.30% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the county the population was spread out with 33.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 22.40% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,162, and the median income for a family was $38,351. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $17,829 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $13,592. About 7.10% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 6,411 (2008 estimate: 5,798). The county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is Paris
Paris, Idaho
Paris is a rural city located on the western side of the Bear Lake Valley in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 576 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Bear Lake County, it was settled on September 26, 1863 by pioneer settlers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...
, and Montpelier
Montpelier, Idaho
Montpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,785 at the 2000 census. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border...
is the largest city.
The county is named after Bear Lake
Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border in the Western United States. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water...
, a 20-mile-long (32 km) alpine lake
Alpine lake
Alpine lakes are classified as lakes or reservoirs at high altitudes, usually starting around 5,000 feet in elevation above sea level or above the tree line....
at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 5924 feet (1806 m) above sea level. The northern half of the lake is in Idaho, the southern half in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1049.44 square miles (2,718 km²), of which 971.38 square miles (2,515.9 km²) (or 92.56%) is land and 78.05 square miles (202.1 km²) (or 7.44%) is water. The county is centered around Bear Lake Valley and includes the surrounding mountain ranges. The valley is high in the mountains, with its lowest elevation at circa 5900 feet (1,798.3 m) above sea level. The highest point in the county is Meade Peak at 9957 feet (3,034.9 m) above sea level.Adjacent counties
- Caribou CountyCaribou County, IdahoCaribou County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 6,963. The county seat and largest city is Soda Springs, followed by Grace and Bancroft.- History :...
- north - Lincoln County, WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
- east - Rich CountyRich County, UtahRich County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. The southern half of Bear Lake and the Bear Lake Valley lie on the northern edge of the county. The Bear River Valley lies in most of the eastern portion of the county. The elevation of these valleys is close to , and the rest of the county...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
- south - Franklin CountyFranklin County, IdahoFranklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 11,329 . The county seat and largest city is Preston. Franklin County is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.Established in 1913, Franklin County was named...
- west
National protected areas
- Bear Lake National Wildlife RefugeBear Lake National Wildlife RefugeBear Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in southeast Idaho, seven miles south of Montpelier. Surrounded by mountains, it lies in Bear Lake Valley at an elevation ranging from on the marsh to on the rocky slopes of Merkley Mountain...
- Cache National ForestCache National ForestCache National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho and Utah on July 1, 1908 with , the majority in Utah, from part of Bear River National Forest. On July 1, 1915 all of Pocatello National Forest was added...
(part) - Caribou National Forest (part)
Highways
- US 30
- US 89
- SH-36
- SH-61Idaho State Highway 61Idaho State Highway 61 is a short north-south State Highway located in extreme eastern Bear Lake County.-Route description:Idaho State Highway 61 begins at the Wyoming State Line as a continuation of Wyoming Highway 89. Highway 61 only travels north just under eight-tenths of a mile to end at U.S....
History
Peg-Leg Smith established and operated a trading post on the Oregon Trail from 1848-1850 near Dingle.The first settlement in the Bear Lake Valley was Paris, which was settled by Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
pioneers led by Charles Rich
Charles C. Rich
Charles Coulson Rich was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
on September 26, 1863. Thirty families comprised the original settlement. In the spring of 1864, Montpelier
Montpelier, Idaho
Montpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,785 at the 2000 census. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border...
was settled on the other side of the valley on the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. Bear Lake County was established in 1875, and the railroad was extended through Montpelier in 1892.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,411 people, 2,259 households, and 1,710 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 3,268 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.66% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.09% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.53% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.08% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.05% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.08% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.51% from two or more races. 2.40% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race. 28.6% were of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 16.1% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 9.4% German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 7.1% Danish, 6.2% Swiss and 5.5% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 2,259 households out of which 38.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.90% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.30% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the county the population was spread out with 33.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 22.40% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,162, and the median income for a family was $38,351. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $17,829 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $13,592. About 7.10% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.
Cities
- BloomingtonBloomington, IdahoBloomington is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 251 at the 2000 census. It was first settled in 1864.-Geography:Bloomington is located at ....
- GeorgetownGeorgetown, IdahoGeorgetown is a city in the Bear River Valley in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States, at the center of a farming area between the river and the mountains to the east. It was settled by Mormon pioneers on the route of the Oregon Trail. The population was 538 at the 2000 census. U.S...
- MontpelierMontpelier, IdahoMontpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,785 at the 2000 census. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border...
- ParisParis, IdahoParis is a rural city located on the western side of the Bear Lake Valley in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 576 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Bear Lake County, it was settled on September 26, 1863 by pioneer settlers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...
- St. CharlesSt. Charles, IdahoSt. Charles is a city located near the northern end of Bear Lake, in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 156 at the 2000 census. Ranching and recreation are the major influences on the community. Its small population live in houses scattered through a number of blocks of...
Unincorporated communities
- BernBern, IdahoBern is an unincorporated town in Bear Lake County, in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located in the southeast corner of the state, about four miles from Montpelier....
- DingleDingle, IdahoDingle is an unincorporated community in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States, in the southeastern part of the state. Located at an altitude of 5,955 feet , it is located at . Although Dingle is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 83233....
- Fish HavenFish Haven, IdahoFish Haven is an unincorporated community along the shores of Bear Lake in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The town was founded by Mormon pioneers in 1864. Among the earliest settlers were Hugh Findlay and Henry Howell. It is right on the border of Idaho and Utah....
- GenevaGeneva, IdahoGeneva is an unincorporated community in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. Its elevation is 6,178 feet . Although Geneva is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 83238; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 83238 had a population of 141 at the 2000 census. An elementary school...
- NounanNounan, IdahoNounan is an unincorporated community in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. It is located in the southeast corner of the state, a few miles west of Georgetown....
- PegramPegram, IdahoPegram is an unincorporated community in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States.Its elevation is 6033 ft ....
- Raymond