Ketchum is a city in Blaine County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, located in the

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

part of the state. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the

Wood River Valley The Wood River Valley is a region in the western United States in south-central Idaho. Located in Blaine County, it is named after the Big Wood and Little Wood Rivers, which flow through the area. The valley has four incorporated cities: B ...

, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities share many resources: both sit in the same valley beneath

Bald Mountain Bald Mountain may refer to: Geographic locations in the United States * Bald Mountain (Heceta Island), Alaska * Bald Mountain (California), a name given to over fifty summits in California ** Bald Mountain (Humboldt County) * , a peak near Littl ...

, with its world-famous

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

. The city also draws tourists from around the world to enjoy its

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail riding Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...

, art galleries, and more. The airport for Ketchum,

Friedman Memorial Airport Friedman Memorial Airport is a city-owned public-use airport in the northwest United States, located one nautical mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Hailey, the county seat of Blaine County, Idaho. The airport is ope ...

, is approximately south in Hailey.

History

Originally the

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

center of the Warm Springs mining district, the town was first named Leadville in 1880. The postal department decided that was too common and renamed it for David Ketchum, a local trapper and guide who had staked a claim in the basin a year earlier. Smelters were built in the 1880s, with the Philadelphia Smelter, located on Warm Springs Road, processing large amounts of lead and silver for about a decade. After the mining boom subsided in the 1890s, sheepmen from the south drove their flocks north through Ketchum in the summer, to graze in the upper elevation areas of the

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

, and Sawtooth mountains. By 1920, Ketchum had become the largest sheep-shipping center in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. In the fall, massive flocks of sheep flowed south into the town's livestock corrals at the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

's railhead, which connected to the main line at

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

. After the development of Sun Valley by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936, Ketchum became popular with celebrities, including

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

. Hemingway loved the surrounding area; he fished, hunted, and in the late 1950s bought a home overlooking the Wood River in nearby Warm Springs. It was there he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

; he and his granddaughter, model and actress

Margaux Hemingway Margaux Louise Hemingway (born Margot Louise Hemingway; February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996) was an American fashion model and actress. She gained success as a supermodel in the mid-1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including ''Cosmopo ...

, are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery. The local elementary school is named in his honor. Every

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend, Ketchum hosts the Wagon Days festival, a themed carnival featuring Old West wagon trains, narrow ore wagons, and a parade. The

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

film ''

Pale Rider ''Pale Rider'' is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents Deat ...

'' (1985) was partially filmed in the Boulder Mountains near Ketchum. Ketchum is eulogized in the song "Ketchum, ID" by indie rock band

boygenius Boygenius (stylized in all lowercase) is an American indie rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in 2018 by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. Their self-titled debut EP ''boygenius (EP), boygenius'' was written and recorded at ...

Geography

Ketchum is located at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. However, two mountain streams, Trail Creek and Warm Springs Creek, join the

Big Wood River The Big Wood River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. , accessed May 4, 2011 river in central Idaho, United States, that is a tributary of the Malad River (which in turn is tributary to the ...

in Ketchum.

Demographics

Ketchum is home to several faith communities, including the Presbyterian Church of the Bigwood, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, and the Wood River Jewish Community.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 2,689 people, 1,431 households, and 583 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 3,564 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 90.9% White, 0.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 6.5% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.1%. Of the 1,431 households 15.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 59.3% were non-families. 44.1% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.88 and the average family size was 2.63. The median age was 44 years. 14.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.4% were from 25 to 44; 32.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 3,003 people, 1,582 households, and 607 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,920 housing units at an average density of . The

of the city was 94.74% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.33% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.90%. Of the 1,582 households 14.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.6% were non-families. 42.2% of households were one person and 6.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.90 and the average family size was 2.60. The age distribution was 12.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 37.6% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.1 males. The median household income was $45,457 and the median family income was $73,750. Males had a median income of $31,712 versus $27,857 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,798. About 3.5% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Alan Blinken Alan John Blinken (born December 24, 1937) is an American businessman, political candidate, and former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Belgium from 1993 to 1997. Blinken was also the Democratic nominee in the 2002 United S ...

, businessman, political candidate, and former

United States Ambassador to Belgium In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men ...

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...

, musician and original member of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Dick Dorworth Dick Dorworth is a noted ski racer, coach and world record holder. Dorworth is the author of four books, ''Night Driving'', ''The Perfect Turn'', ''The Straight Course'', and ''Climbing to Freedom''. He was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowb ...

, ski racer and coach * Carl B. Feldbaum, author, businessman, and lawyer * Richard Feldman, cyclist *

Dick Fosbury Richard Douglas Fosbury (born March 6, 1947) is an American retired high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. Besides winning a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, he revolutionized the h ...

, retired

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er * Karl Fostvedt, freeskier * Eb Gaines, businessman and diplomat *

Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in ''Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in '' Silverado'' ...

, actor * Frank R. Gooding, politician; 7th governor of Idaho * * * Wendy Jaquet, former member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate se ...

* Rod Kagan, artist *

Cody Lampl Cody Lampl (born June 19, 1986) is an American and German professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for the Straubing Tigers. He holds a German passport, his grandparents emigrated from Germany to ...

, professional hockey player *

Maia Makhateli Maia Makhateli (born ca. 1986) is a Georgian ballet dancer. After terms with the Colorado Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, she joined the Dutch National Ballet in 2006, where she now is a principal dancer. Early life Makhateli was born i ...

, ballet dancer * William N. Panzer, television and film producer * Denne Bart Petitclerc, journalist and television producer *

Melvin Schwartz Melvin Schwartz (; November 2, 1932 – August 28, 2006) was an American physicist. He shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics with Leon M. Lederman and Jack Steinberger for their development of the neutrino beam method and their demonstration of ...

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning physicist *

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

, actress *

Clint Stennett W. Clinton "Clint" Stennett (October 1, 1956 – October 14, 2010) was a Democratic politician and a minority leader of the Idaho Senate. Stennett represented District 25, which includes Blaine, Gooding, Camas and Lincoln Counties. Stennett ...

, former member of the

Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. Idaho is divided into 35 legislative districts, which each elect one senator and two representatives. There are no term limits for either cha ...

Michelle Stennett Michelle Stennett (born November 2, 1960) is a Democratic Idaho State Senator for District 26 ( Ketchum) since 2010. She was elected to the Idaho Senate in 2010, succeeding her late husband Clint Stennett. Stennett currently serves as senate mi ...

, member and Minority Leader of the

Idaho Senate The Idaho Senate is the upper chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 35 Senators elected to two-year terms, each representing a district of the state. The Senate meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho. Composition of t ...

Stephanie Freid-Perenchio Stephanie Freid-Perenchio is an independent documentary photographer known for her work highlighting humanitarian causes and wartime. She is best known for her documentary work on the Navy SEALs, both in her publication ''SEAL: The Unspoken Sacrifi ...

, documentary photographer *

Tisha Sterling Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling (born December 10, 1944) is a retired American actress. She is the only daughter of actor Robert Sterling and actress Ann Sothern. Life and career Sterling was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced ...

, retired actress

Points of interest

* Sawtooth Botanical Garden * Ketchum Sun Valley Historical Society Heritage & Ski Museum *

Sawtooth National Recreation Area The Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) is a national recreation area in central Idaho, United States that is managed as part of Sawtooth National Forest. The recreation area, established on August 22, 1972, is managed by the U.S. Forest Se ...

* Sun Valley's

or "Baldy" has 13

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

s and 65 runs. It covers and has of vertical from top to bottom.

Special events

Trailing of the Sheep Trailing of the Sheep is an annual October festival and parade in Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey, Idaho. It is held each fall to move the flocks off the mountain to their winter grazing homes. It is similar to the ''Almabtrieb'' in Austria, and ...

* Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival * Sun Valley Jazz Festival * Sun Valley Summer Symphony * Wagon Days * Sun Valley Film Festival * TEDxSunValley

Notable former and current residents

Melissa Arnot Melissa Arnot Reid (born December 18, 1983) is an American mountaineer. She has climbed to the summit of Mount Everest six times. Life and career Arnot was raised just outside Glacier National Park in Whitefish, Montana. After college, she began ...

- mountain guide *

Bowe Bergdahl Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986) is a United States Army soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bergdahl was captured after deserting his post on Ju ...

, United States Army soldier captured by the Taliban *

- singer-songwriter,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Christin Cooper Christin Elizabeth Cooper (born October 10, 1959) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist from the United States. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, she was raised in Ketchum, Idaho, and learned to ski and race at ...

- alpine ski racer *

- 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the high jump; "Fosbury Flop" (progenitor of all modern high jump techniques) * Karl Fostvedt - professional skier *

Gretchen Fraser Gretchen Kunigk Fraser (February 11, 1919 – February 17, 1994) was an American alpine ski racer. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing. She was also the skiing stand-in for ice skater Sonja Henie in the movies ' ...

- alpine ski racer, first US winter Olympic Gold medalist *

- actor *

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

- partial year; Academy Award (5 nominations, 2 wins) actor *

- Nobel Prize-winning author and outdoorsman *

Mariel Hemingway Mariel Hadley Hemingway (born November 22, 1961) is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe-nominated breakout role in ''Lipstick'' (1976), and she received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in ...

- Academy Award-nominated actress, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway *

(born 1986) - professional ice hockey defenseman * Steve Miller - rock musician ("Steve Miller Band") *

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

- Heisman Trophy Winner & Former NFL football player with Cincinnati, Oakland, and Arizona * Tim Ryan - sportscaster * Jim Sinegal - partial year; founder and former CEO of

Costco Wholesale Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

- Academy Award–nominated film and television actress *

- actress *

Picabo Street Picabo Street (; born 3 April 1971) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. She won the super G at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the downhill at the 1996 World Championships, along with three other Olympic a ...

- Olympic and world champion ski racer *

Ed Viesturs Edmund Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community. He is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and ...

- only American to climb all 14 eight thousand meter peaks * Adam West - actor, TV's ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' *

Van Williams Van Zandt Jarvis Williams (February 27, 1934 – November 28, 2016) was an American actor best known for his leading role as Kenny Madison in both Warner Bros. television detective series '' Bourbon Street Beat'' (1959–1960) and its sequel ...

- actor *

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

- partial year; founder and former CEO of

Wynn Resorts Wynn or wyn (; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound . History The letter "W" While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph , ...

Sister cities

Lignano Sabbiadoro Lignano Sabbiadoro (; fur, Lignan) is a town and comune within the province of Udine, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy. It is one of the main summer resorts in northern Italy and on the Adriatic Sea coast. History ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Tegernsee Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) above sea level. A spa town, it is surrounded by an alpine landscape of Upper Bavaria, and has an e ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

References

External links

City website

Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau

Ketchum Sun Valley Historical Society Heritage & Ski Museum
{{authority control Cities in Blaine County, Idaho Cities in Idaho