Council is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Adams County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, United States. The population was 839 at the 2010 census.

Major events

Porcupine Races

Council holds a "World Champion

Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

Race" on

July 4th Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclai ...

(

Independence Day (United States) Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing ...

). The racers are (mostly) local youth who capture wild porcupines, race them and then return them back to where they were captured.

Council Mountain Music Festival

Started in 2001, the Council Mountain Music Festival is held the third weekend in August at the Veterans Memorial Peace Park on HWY 95, just north of Council. The festival features

Irish Music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music (or Irish folk music). It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st ...

Rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

Bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, and

Folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. The weekend includes an open jam session, scramble bands (all willing musicians put their names into a hat, and names are drawn to form “on the spot” bands who rehearse and perform three songs), food vendors, Lion’s Club breakfast, a community church service in the park on Sunday, and a community pig roast Sunday afternoon.

Geography and climate

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Council experiences the typical

continental Mediterranean climate Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dsa'') of northern Idaho, with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. It differs from cities like

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Bonners Ferry Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city in and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The Porthill-Ryk ...

in having substantially hotter summers, with average maxima as much as 7 °F or 4 °C higher and absolute maxima among the highest in the northwestern United States. The average annual precipitation for Council is 24 inches, and the average annual snowfall is around 47 inches.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 839 people, 360 households, and 224 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 476 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.2% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.0% of the population. There were 360 households, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the city was 44.4 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.1% were from 25 to 44; 28.9% were from 45 to 64; and 20.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 816 people, 339 households, and 223 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 425 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.57%

, 1.72% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.12%

, 0.12% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population. There were 339 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,375, and the median income for a family was $30,000. Males had a median income of $26,667 versus $11,691 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,170. About 11.7% of families and 15.2% 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 ...

, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, Craig represented Idaho in the United States Senate from 1991 to 2009 and represented Idaho's 1st District in the U.S. House of ...

, former Idaho Senator, was born here. * Harriet Miller, politician, former mayor of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. Born in Council, Idaho. * Matt Paradis, professional football player for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

James Rainwater Leo James Rainwater (December 9, 1917 – May 31, 1986) was an American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei. During World War II, he worked on the ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Transportation

The city is served by

U.S. Route 95 U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland ...

, connecting it to New Meadows to the north and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and

Weiser Weiser may refer to: Places * Weiser Airpark, a defunct aerodrome in Texas * Weiser, Idaho * Weiser State Forest * Weiser Township, North Dakota * Weiser River People * Conrad Weiser (1696–1760), German pioneer * Grethe Weiser (1903–1970), Ger ...

to the south. The city is also served by a local small-craft airport owned by the city, and the Weiser River Trail, an 84 mile long

Rail Trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

, that runs from

Weiser, Idaho Weiser ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Idaho. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence of the Weiser River with the great Snake Ri ...

, through town, to its end, near the town of

New Meadows, Idaho New Meadows is a rural city in Adams County, Idaho, 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 paral ...

References

External links

City of Council official website

Council Chamber of Commerce website

Friends of the Weiser River Trail

History of Council, Idaho
{{authority control Cities in Adams County, Idaho Cities in Idaho County seats in Idaho