Paris is a city and

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 Bear Lake 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. Located on the western side of the Bear Lake Valley, the city's population was 541 at the 2020 census. Paris was settled on September 26, 1863, by pioneer settlers of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Paris was settled by a group of dedicated

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

led by Charles C Rich. During the early years, pioneers suffered difficulties with the harsh cold climate. Paris is the location of the Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle, a sandstone church designed by

Joseph Don Carlos Young Joseph Don Carlos Young (May 6, 1855 – October 19, 1938) was an American architect and the Church Architect for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1887 until 1893. In 1893, the office of Church Architect was dissol ...

and built between 1884 and 1889. It seats around 1,400 people.

History

Paris was founded by

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who Human migration, migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the ...

, under the direction of Charles C. Rich on September 29, 1863. The settlers believed the town to be located in Utah until a survey in 1872 showed that it was in Idaho.

Geography

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. Paris lies in a high valley of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, at nearly in

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 ...

Climate

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 ...

, Paris has a warm-summer

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 ...

(

: ''Dfb''). Due to the high elevation, cold winters, late springs and mild summers are the norm for Paris and the area. Most of the surrounding country is used for ranching.

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 513 people, 202 households, and 144 families living 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 299 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.9%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.0% 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 2.3% of the population. There were 202 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% 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, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.7% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age in the city was 40.2 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 16.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.5% male and 48.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 576 people, 218 households, and 168 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 292 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.13%

, 0.35%

, 0.17% Native American, 0.35% from other races.

or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population. There were 218 households, out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.1% were

living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,341, and the median income for a family was $45,000. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $20,313 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 $15,725. About 3.8% of families and 6.2% 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 5.0% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over. LDS Seminary Paris Idaho

Arts and culture

The Paris July 4 Celebration is the big event of the year, a tradition that brings people from miles around. Starting off with the KVSI fun run (8.6 miles) from the KVSI radio station in Montpelier, and ending in Paris where the City of Paris chuck wagon breakfast is held at the finish line. The Bear Lake Pageant is held at the Paris Tabernacle, followed by a parade that runs through the city. The event concludes with a youth rodeo at the Paris rodeo grounds.

Paleontology

The rocks west of Paris produce

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

of different

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

s. A well-known paleontological site is recognized from Paris Canyon, from where a diverse

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

was described and named in 2017, the Paris biota.

Infrastructure

* -

U.S. Route 89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern sectio ...

, to Montpelier (northeast) and

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

(southwest)

Notable people

* Arthur Shepherd (1880–1958), composer

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities in Bear Lake County, Idaho Cities in Idaho County seats in Idaho Populated places established in 1863