Oneida County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located 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 so ...

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), ...

. As of the 2020 Census the county had a population of 4,564.2020 Population and Housing State Data , Idaho
/ref> 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 ...

and largest city is Malad City. Most of the county's population lives in Malad City and the surrounding Malad Valley.

History

The county is named for

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River (New York), Oswego River, which ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the area from which most of the early settlers had emigrated. Oneida County was organized on January 22, 1864, with its county seat established at Soda Springs in present-day Caribou County. The county seat was moved to Malad City in 1866 because of its population growth and location on the freight road and stagecoach line between Corinne,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and the mines in

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. Early in its lengthy history, Oneida County had the distinction of being Idaho's largest county by both area and population. Its initial size was 32,708 mi² making it the third largest of the 17 counties created by the first legislature of Idaho Territory in 1863 and early 1864. When the US Congress created Montana Territory on May 26, 1864, it also transferred a portion of Oneida County over to Dakota Territory. Even with the loss of territory, the act left Oneida County as Idaho's largest remaining Idaho county at 20,621 mi². Alturas County exchanged territory with Boise County in 1866 to increase its land area above that of Oneida County. Oneida County lost significant territory to Wyoming Territory in 1868, to the creation of Bear Lake County in 1875, and to the creation of Cassia County in 1879. Minor adjustments to boundaries occurred in 1871, 1875, and 1877. Creation of Bingham County in 1885 left Oneida County with only 2,633 mi², while creation of Franklin and Power Counties further reduced the county's area to 1,219 mi² in 1913. Minor changes to boundaries occurred in 1917 and 1927 that gave Oneida County its present land area. Early loss of territory had no impact on population growth of the county as some areas lost had almost no population or were offset by heavy migration of Mormons occurring along Idaho's southern border. Oneida County was officially Idaho Territory's 3rd most populous behind Boise and Ada counties at Idaho Territory's first decennial census in 1870. However, the county's actual population was severely undercounted as a result of its lack of a surveyed southern boundary. The survey of Idaho's southern border by 1872 revealed that the 1870 Census had erroneously assigned eight Idaho settlements in the Bear Lake Valley to Rich County, Utah and five Idaho settlements in the Cache Valley to Cache County, Utah. Had the settlements been accurately assigned to Oneida County in 1870, the county would have been Idaho's largest with 4,647 residents. Oneida County would go on to officially become Idaho's most populous county at the 1880 Census with 6,964 residents even after it had lost populated territory to creation of Bear Lake and Cassia Counties. The loss of large population centers achieved through the creation of Bingham County resulted in the county's first decline in population at the 1890 Census. While diminished in significance, the county was still one of the State's more prominent counties at that time. Oneida County did retain developing population centers at Malad City, American Falls, and Preston. Their growth led to a peak in the county's population at the 1910 Census. The county lost much of its prominence with the creation of Franklin and Power Counties in 1913. The loss in territory again caused a population decline while Malad City and even outlying areas experienced growth through the 1920 Census. After the 1920 Census, Oneida County experienced fifty years of population decline, losing more than half of its 1920 population by the 1970 Census. The county has regained less than 40% of its lost population as of the 2016 Census estimate.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. Oxford Peak is the highest point in the county at above sea level. Alternating valleys and ridges of mountains or hills typify the topography, with grassland and sagebrush covering most areas. The Curlew National Grassland lies within the county.

Adjacent counties

* Power County – north * Bannock County – northeast * Franklin County – east * Cache County,

– southeast * Box Elder County,

– south * Cassia County – west

Major highways

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

* Interstate 84 * SH-36 * SH-38

National protected areas

Caribou National Forest The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represen ...

(part) * Curlew National Grassland (part) *

Sawtooth National Forest Sawtooth National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest that covers 2,110,408 acres (854,052 ha) in the U.S. states of Idaho (~96 percent) and Utah (~4 percent). Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the United States Depart ...

(part)

Demographics

2000 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 2000, there were 4,125 people, 1,430 households, and 1,092 families living in the county. 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 1,755 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.50%

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 ...

, 0.12%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 1.36% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. 2.30% of the population were

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. 27.2% were of English, 20.0% Welsh, 12.0% " American", 7.1%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and 6.8% Danish ancestry. There were 1,430 households, out of which 38.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.50% 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, 4.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.60% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.35. In the county, the population was spread out, with 32.00% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 103.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,309, and the median income for a family was $38,341. Males had a median income of $29,730 versus $19,808 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 county was $13,829. About 6.70% of families and 10.80% 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 13.00% of those under age 18 and 10.80% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 4,286 people, 1,545 households, and 1,161 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 1,906 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.7% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 1.1% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 38.3% were English, 15.1% were Welsh, 12.8% were " American", 10.7% were German, 5.8% were Swedish, and 5.1% were Danish. Of the 1,545 households, 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.9% were non-families, and 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.24. The median age was 39.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,599 and the median income for a family was $51,371. Males had a median income of $43,362 versus $24,821 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,950. About 11.9% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the

, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Museums and other points of interest

Oneida County contains seven buildings listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: *The Co-Op Block and J. N. Ireland Bank, in Malad City *The D.L. Evans, Sr. Bungalow, in Malad City *The Jedd Jones House, in Malad City *The Malad Second Ward Tabernacle, in Malad City *The Oneida County Courthouse, in Malad City *The Samaria Historic District, in

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

*The United Presbyterian Church, in Malad City

Notable people

* John V. Evans (1925–2014), Governor of Idaho (1977–87); born in Malad City * William Marion Jardine (1879–1955), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1925–29) and the U.S. Ambassador to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

; born in Oneida County.

Communities

City

* Malad City Welcome to Holbrook Sign

Unincorporated communities

* Cherry Creek * Holbrook * Pleasantview *

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

* Woodruff *Saint John’s *Daniels

Politics

Like all of conservative, Mormon southeastern Idaho, Oneida County is overwhelmingly Republican. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the county was

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1948, and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976 was the last Democrat to crack thirty percent in the county.

Education

The vast majority of the county is in the Oneida County School District 351, while a small portion is in the Cassia County Joint School District 151.
Text list
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Notes

References

External links

*
County Parcel Map
– Oneida County

Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Oneida County {{coord, 42.21, -112.52, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-ID_source:UScensus1990 Idaho counties Idaho placenames of Native American origin 1864 establishments in Idaho Territory Populated places established in 1864