McCall, Idaho
Encyclopedia
McCall is a resort town on the western edge of Valley County
, Idaho
, United States
. Named after its founder, Tom McCall, it is situated on the southern shore of Payette Lake, near the center of the Payette National Forest
. The population was 2,991 as of the 2010 census.
Originally a logging community whose last sawmill
closed in 1977, McCall is now an all-season tourist destination for outdoor recreation. The resort town is known for its Winter Carnival, extended winters, and the highest average snowfall in the state.
According to the U.S. Census
, the city has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.1 km²), of which, 5.9 square miles (15.3 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (10.99%) is water.
, accessed via State Highway 55
, the Payette River Scenic Byway, a designated national scenic byway
. It heads north from Eagle
in Ada County
to Horseshoe Bend
in Boise County
, and climbs the whitewater
of the Payette River
to Cascade
and McCall. The route turns west at Payette Lake in McCall and ends at New Meadows
in Adams County
, at the junction with US-95
.
- Payette River Scenic Byway
The McCall Municipal Airport
is on the south edge of town, at an elevation
of 5021 feet (1,530.4 m) above sea level. West of Highway 55, it is home to a U.S. Forest Service
smokejumper base.
were the first inhabitants of the land in and around McCall. Three tribes, the Tukuaduka Shoshone
, a sub-band of the Shoshone known as the "Sheepeaters," and the Nez Perce, inhabited the land primarily in the summer and migrated during the harsh winter months.
In the early 19th century, the nomadic French Canadian
fur trapper, François Payette
, roamed the area alongside other mountain men like Jim Bridger
, Peter Skene Ogden
, and Jedediah Smith
.
During the 1860s, miners
temporarily named the settlement "Lake City", but only alluvial
gold was discovered and they moved fifty miles (80 km) north to the town of Warren.
The settlement of McCall was established by Thomas and Louisa McCall circa 1889-91. For a cabin and assumed rights to the 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) of land, they traded a team of horses with Sam Dever, who held the squatter rights. Tom, his wife, four sons and a daughter lived in the cabin located on the shore of the lake, near present-day Hotel McCall. He established a school, hotel, saloon, and post office, and named himself postmaster. McCall purchased a sawmill from the Warren Dredging company and later sold it to the Hoff & Brown Lumber Company, which would become a major employer until its closure in 1977.
During this time Anneas "Jews Harp Jack" Wyatte provided the first recreational sailboat rides around the lake for tourists and advertised in the Idaho Statesman
a "30-foot sailing yacht for the use of parties who might visit the lake". The Statesman referred to McCall as a "pleasure resort".
Tourism continued in the early 20th century. In June 1902, the Boydstun Hotel in nearby Lardo opened as a "place to stay and camp on Payette Lake". In 1906, Charlie Nelson opened a tented camping area known as Sylvan Beach Resort along the west side of Payette Lake. In 1907, Lardo Inn opened for business. The arrival of the Oregon Short Line railroad (later named the Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad
) in 1914 secured McCall as a viable community and tourist destination. Three years later McCall was incorporated as a village. In the 1920s, the state land board started leasing homesites along the lake.
The town's annual winter carnival started in 1923-24. Reports vary between hundreds to thousands of tourists visiting the festivities.
The beauty of McCall and Payette Lake drew attention from Hollywood in 1938 when it was selected as the filming location for the Academy Award-nominated Northwest Passage
, starring Spencer Tracy
, Robert Young
, and Walter Brennan
. The film, released in 1940
, was about the French and Indian War
of 1755-63 in eastern North America.
In 1943, the U.S. Forest Service
opened the McCall smokejumper base, one of only eight smokejumper training bases in the nation. The site includes a smokejumper training unit, paraloft, dispatch office, and the McCall air tanker base at the airport
.
After World War II, a consortium of businessmen and doctors from Lewiston, 150 miles (241.4 km) to the north, decided that McCall and the lake were an ideal recreation site and thus the town was transformed from lumber to tourism. The iconic Shore Lodge opened July 3, 1948, along Shellworth Beach on Payette Lake. The lodge became McCall's centerpiece for the next 51 years. Shore Lodge management and shareholders intentionally created a resort style lodge that was a cozy and intimate place for locals and tourists, contrasting with the glamor and glitz of the other famous Idaho lodge in Sun Valley
. A private club for nearly a decade, it re-opened to the public in 2008. One of Shore Lodge's first summer employees was a University of Idaho student, who worked as a bellhop learning the business from the bottom up and was to go on to found the Nugget hotel, convention center and casino in Sparks, Nevada
, one of the largest and most successful in the Reno
area.
In 1965, a 1000 acres (4 km²) peninsula 2 miles (3.2 km) outside of McCall became the Ponderosa State Park. The park is home to some of the largest old growth trees in the western United States.
, formerly the "Payette Lakes Ski Area," is a few miles west of town on Highway 55
, just over the county line in Adams County
. Opened in 1937 as a diversion for local forest workers; its 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) were donated by Carl Brown. The Little Ski Hill was the second ski area in Idaho, after Sun Valley
, which opened a year earlier. It currently operates a T-bar
surface lift and has a vertical drop of 405 feet (123.4 m), with a summit of 5600 feet (1,706.9 m) above sea level
, and its slopes face north and west. The aging Nordic ski jump on the lower north slope, overlooking the bend in Highway 55, was removed in the 1990s.
Brundage Mountain
, northwest of McCall, opened in November 1961. With the addition of two new lifts in summer 2007, it currently has five chairlift
s. Brundage has a summit elevation of 7640 feet (2,328.7 m) above sea level
, and a vertical drop of 1800 feet (548.6 m). The slopes on Brundage Mountain are primarily west-facing and the mountain's average snowfall exceeds 300 inches (762 cm). The resort operates a back country snowcat skiing
operation, giving guests guided access to 13000 acres (52.6 km²) of untracked powder in the Payette National Forest
north of the ski area. Brundage Mountain is a family-owned resort, operated by the DeBoer family, descendants of early McCall pioneers. Until April 2006, it was co-owned by J. R. Simplot
.
Tamarack Resort
(2004–09) is southwest of McCall, on the west side of Cascade Reservoir
. Originally conceived as "Valbois" in the early 1980s, the project was revived as "WestRock" in the late 1990s and ultimately renamed "Tamarack" in 2002. Tamarack opened for lift-served skiing in December 2004 with a summit elevation of 7660 feet (2,334.8 m) on West Mountain, up Rock Creek. Its vertical drop was over 2700 feet (823 m) and operated five chairlifts and a poma lift. The slopes on Tamarack faced east, overlooking the Cascade Reservoir and Long Valley. The resort went into bank receivership in February 2008 and ceased operations a year later, on the evening of Wednesday, March 4, 2009. The ski area was closed for the 2009-10 season, but re-opened for the 2010-11 season with limited operations.
of 2000, there were 2,084 people, 902 households, and 549 families residing in the town. The population density
was 352.4 people per square mile (136.1/km²). There were 2,247 housing units at an average density of 379.9 per square mile (146.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.83% White, 0.05% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 1.34% from other races
, and 1.15% from two or more races. 2.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.2% were of German
, 17.3% English
, 10.6% Irish
and 8.2% American
ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.3% spoke English
and 1.7% Spanish
as their first language.
There were 902 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples
living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age wes 42 years. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $46,420. Males had a median income of $27,955 versus $26,932 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $18,479. 12.2% of the population and 7.0% of families were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older.
form of government with a city manager
nominated by the mayor
and elected by the city council
. The McCall City Council is made up of 4 council members and a mayor elected in an at-large election. During city council meetings, the mayor presides, and all 5 members can vote on any issue. The mayor has no veto powers.
McCall is located in Idaho's 1st congressional district
. On the state level, McCall is located in district 8 of the Idaho Legislature
. Despite the largest population in Valley County, McCall lost the bid for county seat in 1917 to the more centrally located town of Cascade
.
(Köppen
Dsb) with cold, snowy winters and warm, relatively dry summers.
Valley County, Idaho
Valley County is a rural county located in west central Idaho in the United States. Established in 1917, it was named after the Long Valley of the North Fork of the Payette River, which extends over 30 miles from Payette Lake at McCall south to Cascade to Round Valley.The valley was formerly a...
, 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....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Named after its founder, Tom McCall, it is situated on the southern shore of Payette Lake, near the center of the Payette National Forest
Payette National Forest
The Payette National Forest, is a U.S. National Forest located in central western Idaho, in parts of Valley, Idaho, Adams, and Washington counties. The land area consists of approximately 2.3 million acres of federally managed lands...
. The population was 2,991 as of the 2010 census.
Originally a logging community whose last sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
closed in 1977, McCall is now an all-season tourist destination for outdoor recreation. The resort town is known for its Winter Carnival, extended winters, and the highest average snowfall in the state.
Geography
McCall is located at 44°54′39"N 116°6′11"W (44.910906, -116.103087).According to the U.S. Census
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.1 km²), of which, 5.9 square miles (15.3 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (10.99%) is water.
Transportation
McCall is approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) north of BoiseBoise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
, accessed via State Highway 55
Idaho State Highway 55
State Highway 55 is an Idaho highway from Marsing to New Meadows, connecting with US-95 at both ends.From Marsing it travels east to Nampa, Meridian, and Eagle, then north to Horseshoe Bend. SH-55 then climbs the Payette River to Banks, then its north fork to the Long Valley, through the towns of...
, the Payette River Scenic Byway, a designated national scenic byway
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for its archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. The program was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often...
. It heads north from Eagle
Eagle, Idaho
Eagle is a city in Ada County, Idaho, United States. The population was 19,908 at the 2010 census. Due to growth in the Boise metropolitan area, Eagle has become increasingly suburban in recent years.-Geography:...
in Ada County
Ada County, Idaho
Ada County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census, the county had a population of 392,365. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Other cities in the county with over 10,000 residents include Meridian, Eagle,...
to Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend, Idaho
Horseshoe Bend is the largest city in rural Boise County, in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. Its population of 770 at the 2000 census was the largest in the county. It is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in Boise County
Boise County, Idaho
Boise County is a rural mountain county in the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census; it was estimated at 7,571 in 2007...
, and climbs the whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
of the Payette River
Payette River
The Payette River is an river in southwestern Idaho and is a major tributary of the Snake River.Its headwaters originate in the Sawtooth and Salmon River Mountains at elevations over...
to Cascade
Cascade, Idaho
Cascade is a rural city in and the county seat of Valley County, Idaho, United States, in the west central part of the state. It sits at an elevation of , along the North Fork of the Payette River...
and McCall. The route turns west at Payette Lake in McCall and ends at New Meadows
New Meadows, Idaho
New Meadows is a rural city in Adams County, Idaho, United States, at the southern and upper end of the Meadows Valley, on the Little Salmon River. Located in the west central part of the state, just south of the 45th parallel north, the population was 496 at the 2010 census. New Meadows is...
in Adams County
Adams County, Idaho
Adams County is a rural county located in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the county had a population of 3,976. The county seat and largest city is Council.Adams County was established in 1911 and was named in honor of President John Adams...
, at the junction with US-95
U.S. Route 95 in Idaho
In the U.S. state of Idaho, U.S. Route 95 is a north–south highway near the western border of the state, stretching from Oregon to British Columbia for over .-Route description:...
.
- Payette River Scenic Byway
The McCall Municipal Airport
McCall Municipal Airport
McCall Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located in McCall, a city in Valley County, Idaho, United States. It is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.It is home to a U.S...
is on the south edge of town, 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 5021 feet (1,530.4 m) above sea level. West of Highway 55, it is home to a U.S. Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
smokejumper base.
History
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
were the first inhabitants of the land in and around McCall. Three tribes, the Tukuaduka Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
, a sub-band of the Shoshone known as the "Sheepeaters," and the Nez Perce, inhabited the land primarily in the summer and migrated during the harsh winter months.
In the early 19th century, the nomadic French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
fur trapper, François Payette
Francois Payette
Francois Payette was a fur trader. Born near Montreal, he began his career as a canoeman, was hired by John Jacob Astor and shipped to the Oregon Country aboard the Beaver, entering the mouth of the Columbia River on May 9, 1812...
, roamed the area alongside other mountain men like Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
, Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
, and Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
.
During the 1860s, miners
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
temporarily named the settlement "Lake City", but only alluvial
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
gold was discovered and they moved fifty miles (80 km) north to the town of Warren.
The settlement of McCall was established by Thomas and Louisa McCall circa 1889-91. For a cabin and assumed rights to the 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) of land, they traded a team of horses with Sam Dever, who held the squatter rights. Tom, his wife, four sons and a daughter lived in the cabin located on the shore of the lake, near present-day Hotel McCall. He established a school, hotel, saloon, and post office, and named himself postmaster. McCall purchased a sawmill from the Warren Dredging company and later sold it to the Hoff & Brown Lumber Company, which would become a major employer until its closure in 1977.
During this time Anneas "Jews Harp Jack" Wyatte provided the first recreational sailboat rides around the lake for tourists and advertised in the Idaho Statesman
Idaho Statesman
The Idaho Statesman is a U.S. daily newspaper serving the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area. The paper has a circulation of 61,000 daily, 83,038 Sunday, and employs about 300 people. It is owned by The McClatchy Company....
a "30-foot sailing yacht for the use of parties who might visit the lake". The Statesman referred to McCall as a "pleasure resort".
Tourism continued in the early 20th century. In June 1902, the Boydstun Hotel in nearby Lardo opened as a "place to stay and camp on Payette Lake". In 1906, Charlie Nelson opened a tented camping area known as Sylvan Beach Resort along the west side of Payette Lake. In 1907, Lardo Inn opened for business. The arrival of the Oregon Short Line railroad (later named the Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad
Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad
The Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad is a small railroad that runs in Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon in the United States. It operates about 210 miles of former Union Pacific branch lines and is currently a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Company...
) in 1914 secured McCall as a viable community and tourist destination. Three years later McCall was incorporated as a village. In the 1920s, the state land board started leasing homesites along the lake.
The town's annual winter carnival started in 1923-24. Reports vary between hundreds to thousands of tourists visiting the festivities.
The beauty of McCall and Payette Lake drew attention from Hollywood in 1938 when it was selected as the filming location for the Academy Award-nominated Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage (1940 film)
Northwest Passage is a 1940 film in Technicolor, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Ruth Hussey, and others. It is based on a novel by Kenneth Roberts titled Northwest Passage ....
, starring Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
, and Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
. The film, released in 1940
1940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
, was about the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
of 1755-63 in eastern North America.
In 1943, the U.S. Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
opened the McCall smokejumper base, one of only eight smokejumper training bases in the nation. The site includes a smokejumper training unit, paraloft, dispatch office, and the McCall air tanker base at the airport
McCall Municipal Airport
McCall Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located in McCall, a city in Valley County, Idaho, United States. It is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.It is home to a U.S...
.
After World War II, a consortium of businessmen and doctors from Lewiston, 150 miles (241.4 km) to the north, decided that McCall and the lake were an ideal recreation site and thus the town was transformed from lumber to tourism. The iconic Shore Lodge opened July 3, 1948, along Shellworth Beach on Payette Lake. The lodge became McCall's centerpiece for the next 51 years. Shore Lodge management and shareholders intentionally created a resort style lodge that was a cozy and intimate place for locals and tourists, contrasting with the glamor and glitz of the other famous Idaho lodge in Sun Valley
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
. A private club for nearly a decade, it re-opened to the public in 2008. One of Shore Lodge's first summer employees was a University of Idaho student, who worked as a bellhop learning the business from the bottom up and was to go on to found the Nugget hotel, convention center and casino in Sparks, Nevada
Sparks, Nevada
Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States, located east of Reno, Nevada. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count was 90,264. Sparks is often referred to as half of a twin city .-Geography and Climate:...
, one of the largest and most successful in the Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
area.
In 1965, a 1000 acres (4 km²) peninsula 2 miles (3.2 km) outside of McCall became the Ponderosa State Park. The park is home to some of the largest old growth trees in the western United States.
Alpine skiing
McCall's Little Ski HillLittle Ski Hill
The Little Ski Hill is a modest ski area in west central Idaho, two miles west of McCall. Located on Highway 55, immediately west of the county line in Adams County, it was formerly known as the "Payette Lakes Ski Area."...
, formerly the "Payette Lakes Ski Area," is a few miles west of town on Highway 55
Idaho State Highway 55
State Highway 55 is an Idaho highway from Marsing to New Meadows, connecting with US-95 at both ends.From Marsing it travels east to Nampa, Meridian, and Eagle, then north to Horseshoe Bend. SH-55 then climbs the Payette River to Banks, then its north fork to the Long Valley, through the towns of...
, just over the county line in Adams County
Adams County, Idaho
Adams County is a rural county located in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the county had a population of 3,976. The county seat and largest city is Council.Adams County was established in 1911 and was named in honor of President John Adams...
. Opened in 1937 as a diversion for local forest workers; its 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) were donated by Carl Brown. The Little Ski Hill was the second ski area in Idaho, after Sun Valley
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
, which opened a year earlier. It currently operates a T-bar
T-bar lift
A T-bar lift, also called T-bar, is a mechanised system for transporting skiers and snowboarders uphill, along the surface of the slope...
surface lift and has a vertical drop of 405 feet (123.4 m), with a summit of 5600 feet (1,706.9 m) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
, and its slopes face north and west. The aging Nordic ski jump on the lower north slope, overlooking the bend in Highway 55, was removed in the 1990s.
Brundage Mountain
Brundage Mountain
Brundage Mountain Resort is an alpine ski area in west central Idaho, in the Payette National Forest. Brundage first opened in November 1961 and is 8 miles northwest of McCall, a twenty minute drive in average winter conditions....
, northwest of McCall, opened in November 1961. With the addition of two new lifts in summer 2007, it currently has five chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
s. Brundage has a summit elevation of 7640 feet (2,328.7 m) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
, and a vertical drop of 1800 feet (548.6 m). The slopes on Brundage Mountain are primarily west-facing and the mountain's average snowfall exceeds 300 inches (762 cm). The resort operates a back country snowcat skiing
Snowcat skiing
Snowcat skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing that is accessed by a snowcat, not a ski lift. Snowcat skiing is essentially about skiing in a natural—albeit highly selected -- environment without the effort or gear compromise required for hiking into these areas as in ski touring or ski mountaineering...
operation, giving guests guided access to 13000 acres (52.6 km²) of untracked powder in the Payette National Forest
Payette National Forest
The Payette National Forest, is a U.S. National Forest located in central western Idaho, in parts of Valley, Idaho, Adams, and Washington counties. The land area consists of approximately 2.3 million acres of federally managed lands...
north of the ski area. Brundage Mountain is a family-owned resort, operated by the DeBoer family, descendants of early McCall pioneers. Until April 2006, it was co-owned by J. R. Simplot
J. R. Simplot
John Richard Simplot was the founder of the J. R. Simplot Company, an agricultural supplier specializing in potato products, based in Boise, Idaho. In 2007 he was estimated to be the 89th-richest person in America, at $3.6 billion...
.
Tamarack Resort
Tamarack Resort
Tamarack Resort is a four-season mountain resort in the Long Valley of west central Idaho. It is located on the west shore of Cascade Reservoir, southwest of Donnelly in Valley County, about north of Boise. The resort is currently in foreclosure; the ski area was closed for the 2009-2010 season...
(2004–09) is southwest of McCall, on the west side of Cascade Reservoir
Lake Cascade
Lake Cascade is located on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County, Idaho, USA, in the Boise National Forest. It is the fourth largest lake or reservoir in the state...
. Originally conceived as "Valbois" in the early 1980s, the project was revived as "WestRock" in the late 1990s and ultimately renamed "Tamarack" in 2002. Tamarack opened for lift-served skiing in December 2004 with a summit elevation of 7660 feet (2,334.8 m) on West Mountain, up Rock Creek. Its vertical drop was over 2700 feet (823 m) and operated five chairlifts and a poma lift. The slopes on Tamarack faced east, overlooking the Cascade Reservoir and Long Valley. The resort went into bank receivership in February 2008 and ceased operations a year later, on the evening of Wednesday, March 4, 2009. The ski area was closed for the 2009-10 season, but re-opened for the 2010-11 season with limited operations.
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 2,084 people, 902 households, and 549 families residing in the town. 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 352.4 people per square mile (136.1/km²). There were 2,247 housing units at an average density of 379.9 per square mile (146.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.83% White, 0.05% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 1.34% 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 1.15% from two or more races. 2.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.2% were of 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....
, 17.3% 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...
, 10.6% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and 8.2% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ancestry according to Census 2000. 98.3% spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and 1.7% Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as their first language.
There were 902 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% 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, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age wes 42 years. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $46,420. Males had a median income of $27,955 versus $26,932 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 town was $18,479. 12.2% of the population and 7.0% of families were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older.
Population history
Lardo (now western McCall) had a population of 300 at the 1910 census, its only census entry.Government
The town has a council-managerCouncil-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
form of government with a city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
nominated by the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and elected by the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
. The McCall City Council is made up of 4 council members and a mayor elected in an at-large election. During city council meetings, the mayor presides, and all 5 members can vote on any issue. The mayor has no veto powers.
McCall is located in Idaho's 1st congressional district
Idaho's 1st congressional district
Idaho's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Idaho. The district encompasses the western and northern parts of the state and includes the western third of the state capital, Boise, and most of its suburbs, including Nampa, Caldwell, and Meridian...
. On the state level, McCall is located in district 8 of the Idaho Legislature
Idaho Legislature
The Idaho Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Idaho. It consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. The Idaho Senate contains 35 Senators, who are elected from 35 districts...
. Despite the largest population in Valley County, McCall lost the bid for county seat in 1917 to the more centrally located town of Cascade
Cascade, Idaho
Cascade is a rural city in and the county seat of Valley County, Idaho, United States, in the west central part of the state. It sits at an elevation of , along the North Fork of the Payette River...
.
Media
McCall is served by two four-color glossy magazines; 'McCall Magazine' and 'McCall Home' published twice a year each. McCall is also served by two weekly newspapers; the 'Long Valley Advocate', published every Wednesday, and The Star News, published every Thursday. One radio station, KDZY (98.3 FM Country) is based in the town.Climate
McCall experiences a continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dsb) with cold, snowy winters and warm, relatively dry summers.
Trivia
- Ponderosa State Park and the community of McCall hosted the 2008 Masters World Cup.
- The Harshman skateboard parkSkateparkA skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...
is Idaho's largest. The park was commemorated in August 2006 by Tony HawkTony HawkAnthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
.
Notable natives and residents
- Helen Markley MillerHelen Markley MillerHelen C. Knapp Markley Miller was a prolific American writer of historical and biographical fiction for children taking place in the Western United States.-Biography:...
, writer of historical and biographical fiction for children about the Western United StatesWestern United States.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time... - Mack MillerMack MillerAndrew Markley "Mack" Miller is an American cross-country skier and trainer.Mack Miller was national champion cross country skiing of 1955 and represented the United States in the Winter Olympics of 1956 and 1960. In between, in 1958 he was the highest ranked American cross-country skier in the...
, Olympic cross-country skier and trainer - Barbara MorganBarbara MorganBarbara Radding Morgan is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She participated in the Teacher in Space program as the backup to Christa McAuliffe for the ill-fated STS-51L mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. She then trained as a Mission Specialist, and flew on STS-118 in August 2007...
, first teacher in spaceTeacher in Space ProjectThe Teacher in Space Project was a NASA program announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration.... - Torrie WilsonTorrie WilsonTorrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness...
, former WWEWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
diva
Further reading
- Bowman, Bill C. The Legacy: The Legacy of Military Records in the History of Valley County, Idaho.
- Brown, Warren Harrington Brown (1999). It's Fun to Remember: A King's Pine Autobiography. ISBN 0-9676957-0-8
- Ingraham, Beverly (1992). Looking Back: Sketches of Early Days in Idaho's High Country. Maverick Publications.
- Rutledge, Sally and Elliott, Craig (2005). Sylvan Beach: McCall, Idaho. Its History, Myths, and Memories.
- Valley County History Project (2002). Valley County Idaho: Prehistory to 1920. Action Publishing. ISBN 0-9716671-0-1
- Williamson, Darcy and Wilcomb, Marlee (2007). McCall's Historic Shore Lodge 1948 - 1989. Meadow Cottage Industries. ISBN 0-9785282-0-4