Wilford is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Fremont County, in 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 ...
of
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 ...
.
History
The first settlement at Wilford was made in 1883.
Wilford was officially founded my Thomas Smith. A post office called Wilford was established in 1887, and remained in operation until 1905. The community was named after
Leonard Wilford Hardy, a Mormon leader.
In June 1976, most of the buildings in Wilford were swept away by a flood that resulted from the catastrophic failure of the recently built
Teton Dam
The Teton Dam was an earthen dam in the western United States, on the Teton River in eastern Idaho. It was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, one of eight federal agencies authorized to construct dams.Perrow, Charles. ''Normal Accidents ...
. Soon after the dam's failure it was reported that "154
ilfordhouses were intact or in pieces, riding the fifteen-mile-an-hour crest" of the flood.
Five residents of Wilford died in the flood.
References
Unincorporated communities in Fremont County, Idaho
{{FremontCountyID-geo-stub