Winchester is a city in western Lewis 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 Wyomi ...

, United States, located on the

Camas Prairie The name camas prairie refers to several different geographical areas in the western United States which were named for the native perennial camassia or camas. The culturally and scientitifcally significant of these areas lie within Idaho and Monta ...

in the north central part of the state. The population was 356 at the 2020 census, up from 340 in 2010.

History

Winchester is within the

Nez Perce Indian Reservation The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

, and similar to the opening of lands in Oklahoma, the U.S. government opened the reservation for white settlement in November 1895. The proclamation had been signed less than two weeks earlier by President

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. The city was named in 1900 during a meeting to establish a school district. While considering the possibilities, an individual looked at the stack of

Winchester rifle Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The Mo ...

s at the door and suggested the name, which was approved. The sawmill closed in May 1965 after the mature timber in the area had been cut. The mill was operated by

Boise Cascade Boise Cascade Company (), which uses the trade name Boise Cascade, is a North American manufacturer of wood products and wholesale distributor of building materials, headquartered in Boise, Idaho. with sales over $7.9 billion in 2021, it is trad ...

for its final five years; its closure followed a fire which destroyed much of downtown Winchester in November 1964. A half mile (1 km) outside of town is Winchester Lake State Park, planned in 1966 and established in 1969. Originally it was a mill pond, created in 1910 by damming Lapwai Creek. Water quality issues at the lake were addressed with the installation of aeration units in 2002.

Geography

Winchester is located at , 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 § Ver ...

of above sea level. 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 t ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Winchester is located on the northern shore of Lapwai Lake at the location where Lapwai Creek emerges from the lake.

U.S. Route 95 US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, 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 ...

passes about a mile to the northeast of Winchester, but the town is connected to the highway by a business route of U.S. 95. It is located in the broader

region.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 340 people, 134 households, and 84 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was . There were 167 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.1%

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 o ...

, 1.2%

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 ...

, 3.2% Native American, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.9% 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 2.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 were 2.1% of the population. There were 134 households, of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.3% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age in the city was 50.4 years. 17.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.6% were from 25 to 44; 39.4% were from 45 to 64; and 21.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.1% male and 47.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 308 people, 135 households, and 88 families residing in the city. The

was 1,699.7 people per square mile (660.7/km). There were 158 housing units at an average density of 871.9 per square mile (338.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 94.81%

, 1.30% Native American, 1.30% from

, and 2.60% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.32% of the population. There were 135 households, out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.74. In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.5% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 37.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $40,179. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $23,125 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 city was $16,588. About 8.1% of families and 7.4% 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 4.8% of those under the age of eighteen and 3.8% of those 65 or over.

Transportation

Highway

- US 95 - to Lewiston (north) and Grangeville (south) The city is two miles (3 km) west of

, which connects it to Craigmont to the east and Lewiston to the northwest, via the Lapwai Canyon. Until 1960, US 95 was routed through Winchester on this spur and descended Culdesac Hill (), considered the worst of the three major grades (White Bird, Lewiston), all of which were extremely twisty. The new route through Lapwai Canyon was built in three years and reduced the distance by over and saved 25 minutes of driving time. The earlier road was completed in 1923. The first organized road race on the old road took place in 1964; among the participants in the

hill climb Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

was Bob Knievel of Butte, Montana, later known as

Evel Knievel Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...

. The timber

trestles ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Labora ...

of the former

Camas Prairie Railroad Camas Prairie Railroad Company was a short line railroad in northern Idaho jointly owned and operated by Northern Pacific Railway and Union Pacific. The Camas Prairie Railroad was known as the "railroad on stilts" due to the many wooden trestle ...

are visible throughout the area.

Education

The public schools are in Craigmont, operated by the Highland Joint School District #305, led by Highland High School. The consolidated district was formed in 1962; prior to that Winchester had its own schools and the high school's mascot was a logger.

In popular culture

In the television series ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', the episode “The Thirty-Caliber Town” dramatized how Winchester rifles gave the town its name. An epilogue featuring host Robert Taylor and Lester Shadduck, the mayor of Winchester, was shot on location in 1967. In the television series ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heu ...

'', FBI agent

Colby Granger Colby Granger is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama ''Numb3rs'', played by Dylan Bruno. First introduced during the second season, he has become a part of the team led by FBI Special Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and is usually partnered ...

was from Winchester.