Craigmont is a city in the northwest United States in Lewis 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), ...

. Located on the

Camas Prairie Camas prairies are found in several different geographical areas in the western United States, and are named for the native perennial camas ('' Camassia''). The culturally and scientifically significant of these areas lie within Idaho and Montana. ...

north central Idaho North Central Idaho is an area which spans the central part of the state of Idaho and borders Oregon, Montana, and Washington. It is the southern half of the state's Panhandle region and is rich in agriculture and natural resources. Lewis and ...

, it is within the

Nez Perce Indian Reservation The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region ha ...

. The population was 501 at the 2010 census, down from 556 in 2000.

History

The city is named for Colonel William Craig (1809–69), a

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

who had a

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

wife. He settled at Lapwai near his father-in-law Hin-mah-tute-ke-kaikt or James in 1840 when he gave up being a fur trapper due to the collapse of the market for beaver. The Nez Perce Reservation was opened to white settlement in 1895, and a town named "Chicago," a mile west of the current Craigmont, was founded in 1898. In response to not getting their mail from the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, it was renamed "Ilo" four years later, after Ilo Leggett, daughter of town founder and merchant W.O. Leggett. A fire burnt the town in 1904 and shortly thereafter the

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. Parts of the former railroad are now operated by the Great Northwest Railroad and the BG&CM Rai ...

bypassed the town and started a settlement, platted by Lewiston financier John P. Vollmer, on the northeast side of the railroad tracks, and he named it "Vollmer." Ilo responded and moved its community to the southwest side of the tracks, adjacent to Vollmer. After a decade-long feud and the consolidation of the school districts, the communities merged in 1920 to become Craigmont.

Geography

Craigmont is located on the

, and entirely within the

. 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 , all of it land.

Climate

The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Craigmont has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Transportation

Railroad

Four miles (7 km) south of the city is Lawyers Creek Canyon, with large railroad trestles of the

, whose second subdivision arrived on the Camas Prairie in 1908 and extended to Grangeville the following year. The largest is the massive century-old

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

trestle, in length and its track above the creek. After several ownership changes since 1998, the line from Spalding is now operated by BG&CM Railroad and terminates in Cottonwood. Passenger service on the Camas Prairie ended in 1955. Lawyers Canyon is named after Chief Lawyer (1801–76) of the

, nicknamed for his skill in dealing with the encroaching whites; he is buried in Kamiah.

Highways

- US 95 - to Lewiston,

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 ...

(north) and Grangeville,

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

(via

) (south) * ID-62

- SH-62 - to Nezperce (east) Northbound

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 ...

was formerly routed westward through Craigmont as Main Street, then resumed westward toward

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. The highway was re-routed in 1991 and now bypasses Craigmont on its south side. Southbound, the new route between Craigmont and

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

stays out of the canyon, crossing it on a bridge
photo
which opened in October 1991 and passes over the site of the previous bridge, built in 1948. After the bridge, the southbound highway passes to the east of Ferdinand, a new routing completed in 1993. Eastbound from Craigmont, State Highway 62 connects to Nezperce, 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 ...

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 501 people, 230 households, and 149 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 261 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.2%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.2%

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 ...

, 1.6% from other races, and 1.4% 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 2.0% of the population. There were 230 households, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.2% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.68. The median age in the city was 49.4 years. 18.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.2% were from 25 to 44; 37.8% were from 45 to 64; and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 556 people, 225 households, and 157 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 248 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.12%

, 1.44% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.90% from other races, and 0.18% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population. There were 225 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% were

living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,806, and the median income for a family was $36,719. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $21,250 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 $16,548. About 12.9% of families and 13.0% 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 11.9% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Craigmont is the home of Highland High School, with an average of 20 to 25 students per graduating class. The Huskies compete in athletics at the IHSAA Class 1A level. The Highland Joint School District #305 was established in 1962 and includes Craigmont,

, Melrose, and Reubens. The current campus of the school was constructed in 1952.

References

External links

Greater Craigmont Area Chamber of Commerce

Highland Joint School District #305
{{authority control Cities in Idaho Cities in Lewis County, Idaho 1920 establishments in Idaho