Latah County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the north central region of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,517. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and largest city is

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, the home of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

, the state's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

until 2012 and

land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...

. The county was created in 1888 and named for

Latah Creek Latah Creek ( ), also known as Hangman Creek, is a large stream in eastern Washington and north central Idaho in the United States. The creek flows northwest from the Rocky Mountains to Spokane, where it empties into the Spokane River. It drains ...

in its northwest corner. The name was derived from two words in the

Nez Perce language Nez Perce, also spelled Nez Percé or called Nimipuutímt (alternatively spelled ''Nimiipuutímt'', ''Niimiipuutímt'', or ''Niimi'ipuutímt''), is a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin (note the spellings ''-ian'' vs. ...

to evoke the sense of "the place of pine trees and sestle." The tribe found shade under the

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

trees for doing their work and stones suitable for use in pulverizing camas roots to process as one of their food staples. Latah County comprises the Moscow, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Pullman-Moscow, WA-ID

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

. The county comprises the majority of the eastern portion of the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primaril ...

, famous for its rolling hills and rich

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Latah County is the only county in the U.S. established by an act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

; it was originally part of Nez Perce County, which was reluctant to lose its most populated area.

History

Settlement

Settlement of the Palouse commenced in 1871. Development of population centers at Genesee and Moscow are the earliest followed by Juliaetta and Kendrick in the 1880s. The railroad's arrival in Moscow in 1885 led to its development as the primary population center of the county. The establishment of the University of Idaho at Moscow in 1889 also was significant in the city's continued growth. Settlement of Troy commenced in 1895 with Bovill being first settled by Lord Hugh Bovill in 1899. Construction of a railroad from Moscow to Bovill was completed in 1907 with the town of Deary developing in that year on the railroad. Potlatch was settled as a company town in 1905.

Development of cities

Moscow first shows in the 1880 census with a population of 76. It was incorporated as a village in 1887. Genesee was established as a town in 1889. Julieatta, Kendrick, and Troy were established as towns by the 1900 Census, with each incorporating as a village prior to 1910. Bovill and Deary were incorporated as villages prior to 1920. Potlatch and Onaway remained unincorporated as late as 1960. They were returned at the 1950 Census as a single unincorporated area.

County boundary history

The Idaho Territorial Legislature established the counties of Lah-Toh and Kootenai on December 22, 1864. Lah-Toh contained all of northern Idaho west of Shoshone County between the Clearwater River and 48° north latitude. Coeur d'Alene was named the county seat of Lah-Toh County. The legislature was well aware that settlement was lacking in the area to support a county government and established that the Governor could organize the county commission upon receipt of a petition from fifty residents. On January 9, 1867, the Fourth Idaho Legislature repealed the act creating the two counties, established the northern line of Nez Perce County to coincide with the present northern line of Latah County, and placed the remaining portion of Lah-Toh within the boundary of Kootenai County. Unaware of Lah-Toh's abolishment, residents of Moscow attempted to organize the county of Lah-Toh in 1878. Initially, the Governor granted the request, but later informed the residents that they were actually located within the boundary of Nez Perce County. The Idaho Territorial Legislature failed to address creation of a county for the residents of Moscow. As a result, Fred T. Dubois successfully petitioned on their behalf for the United States Congress to create the county. On May 14, 1888, Latah County with its seat at Moscow came into existence as the first and only U.S. county created by the United States Congress.

2022 mass murder

In the

2022 University of Idaho killings In the early hours of November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed in their off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. On December 30, 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania ...

, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, a

mass murder Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

took place in Moscow, in which four

students were stabbed to death in an off-campus rented home by one or more attackers using one or more long knives. The authorities have not identified any suspects. The Latah County

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

conducted autopsies on the four and said the victims all appeared to have been stabbed multiple times with a large knife, likely by the same weapon, that at least one (with apparently defensive stab wounds on her hands) and possibly more appear to have tried to fight off their attacker, and that they may have been attacked while sleeping in their beds."New Details Emerge in University of Idaho Killings: What We Know; The phone log of one victim showed a series of unanswered calls to her longtime boyfriend the night of the attack in Moscow, Idaho, her sister revealed. The police have not identified a suspect."
''The New York Times''. None showed signs of sexual assault, and toxicology reports were pending. All four deaths were deemed homicide by stabbing by the coroner.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water. It is part of the

, a wide and rolling portion of the middle Columbia basin.

Adjacent counties

* Benewah County – north * Shoshone County – northeast * Clearwater County – east * Nez Perce County – south * Whitman County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

– west

Major highways

US 95 US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast. US 95 begins in San Luis, ...

SH-3 The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engi ...

* SH-6 * SH-8 * SH-9 * SH-99

National protected area

* St. Joe National Forest (part)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 34,935 people, 13,059 households, and 7,770 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 32 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 13,838 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.94%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.59%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.75% Native American, 2.10%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.77% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.76% from two or more races. 2.12% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 20.4% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 13.5%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 8.7%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 7.8%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and 5.9%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

ancestry. There were 13,059 households, out of which 27.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.50% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.30% under the age of 18, 24.50% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 18.90% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 107.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,524, and the median income for a family was $46,303. Males had a median income of $34,734 versus $24,886 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $16,690. About 7.90% of families and 16.70% 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 10.20% of those under age 18 and 5.40% of those age 65 or over. Forty percent of all workers in Latah County work for the

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

in nearby Pullman.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 37,244 people, 14,708 households, and 8,241 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,988 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% white, 2.1% Asian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.6% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.0% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.0% were

, 16.8% were

, 15.3% were

, 6.9% were

, 5.5% were

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and 3.0% were

. Of the 14,708 households, 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.0% were non-families, and 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 28.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,974 and the median income for a family was $54,172. Males had a median income of $40,510 versus $31,223 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,218. About 10.4% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the

, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Latah County has long been one of the most politically competitive counties in Idaho, while the state as a whole is strongly

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. On January 3, 2017, the county had 21,723 registered voters; 10,629 (47%) are not registered by party, 6,965 (32%) are Republicans, 4,116 (19%) are Democrats, 290 are

Libertarians Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...

, and 83 belong to the Constitution Party. Latah is one of seven Idaho counties where non-affiliated voters do outnumber Republicans. Like every Idaho county, Democrats rank third in terms of registered voter strength. In the state, Latah ranks fourth in percentage of non-affiliated voters, second in lowest percentage of Republicans, and third in percentage of Democrats. From January 2014 to January 2016, Republicans increased their share of Latah voters by 9.88% while Democrats increased their share of voters by 7.23%. This trend is consistent with the three-year statewide trend where Republicans increased their overall share of voters by 15.6%, compared to 3.23% for Democrats. The county ranks ninth for total number of registered voters and fifth within the 1st Congressional District. Latah was one of two Idaho counties to vote for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

with 8,093 votes (44.5%), compared to 7,265 (40.0%) for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and 2,798 (15.5%) for various Similar to statewide results, Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

carried Latah County in the Republican primary of 2016, and Donald Trump trailed by 1,208 votes. of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

won the Democratic county caucus with 84% of the vote. County residents voted Republican in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

presidential elections, but at a lower rate than the rest of the state.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

carried Latah County in 2000 with 53.3% of the vote, but fell to 49.5% in 2004 as the Democratic share increased from 37.0% to 48.0%.

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

received 6.5% of the vote in 2000, but was not on the ballot in 2004.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

carried the county 51.9% to 45.1% in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

over

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, and won 49.6% to 45.3% in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

over

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

. In 2006, Latah County voted 55.05% against HJR 2, which amended the

Idaho Constitution Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, 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 Monta ...

to outlaw

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

; the measure passed with 63.35% of the statewide vote. Blaine County, with the resort area of Sun Valley and the state's sole Democratic stronghold (since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

), was the only other county to reject HJR 2. On the precinct level, Democrats generally carry the university city of Moscow by moderate margins, and the rural remainder of the county is strongly Republican. The county is part of the first congressional district and is joined with Benewah County (to the north) in the fifth legislative district at the state level.

Flora and fauna

There are numerous species of plants and animals within Latah County. There are a variety of tree species within the county including

Western White Pine Western white pine (''Pinus monticola''), also called silver pine and California mountain pine, is a species of pine in the family Pinaceae. It occurs in mountain ranges of northwestern North America. It is the state tree of Idaho. Description ...

. Faunal species include the

Clay-colored sparrow The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (''Spizella pallida'') is a small New World sparrow of North America. Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a ...

and

Rough-Skinned Newt The rough-skinned newt or roughskin newt (''Taricha granulosa'') is a North American newt known for the strong toxin exuded from its skin. Appearance A stocky newt with rounded snout, it ranges from light brown to olive or brownish-black on t ...

.C. Michael Hogan (2008) ''Rough-skinned Newt ("Taricha granulosa")'', GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

Viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Source:

Footnotes

External links

*
State of Idaho
– Latah County
Latah County Historical SocietyLatah Trail Foundation
{{Authority control Idaho counties Idaho placenames of Native American origin 1888 establishments in Idaho Territory Populated places established in 1888