Emida is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Benewah 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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, located on the east side of State Highway 6.

History

The Coeur d’Alene people inhabited this area for thousands of years prior to the coming of white settlers. The native name of the area is Epschssups'n or “It has a little tail.” The name Emida is a composite of three settlers: East, Miller, and Dawson. Emida's population was 125 in 1960.

Demographics

The 2000 census recorded a population of 684 with an average household income of $27,578. The median age in the tabulation area is 41.2 and the average household size is 2.51.

Schools

Within the St. Maries School District #41, the town's children go to the K-6 Upriver school in Fernwood, then St. Maries Middle School and St. Maries High School in St. Maries. Emida formerly operated its own school, built in 1939.

Ski area

Southwest of Emida and just east of Highway 6 is the site of

North–South Ski Bowl North–South Ski Bowl was a modest ski area in the western United States, located in northern Idaho in the Hoodoo Mountains of southern Benewah County. Its bowl-shaped slope in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest faced northeast and the verti ...

, a former

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

in the

Hoodoo Mountains The Hoodoo Mountains are a mountain range in the northwest United States, in north central Idaho. They are part of the Clearwater Mountains and are the source of the Potlatch and Palouse rivers. Located in northeastern Latah County and southe ...

. Once owned by

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in Pullman, and later by its students, it was also known as the St. Joe Ski Bowl, and the Emida Ski Bowl. With an aging

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

and inconsistent

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

at a low

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''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 equipotenti ...

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

was discontinued in the 1990s. The access from the highway is now a "Park 'n Ski" area for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

and the ski area is home to the Palouse Divide Lodge, a private retreat.

References

External links

History of Emida, IdahoSt. Maries School District #41
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Benewah County, Idaho Unincorporated communities in Idaho