Payette 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 Payette 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 7,433 at the 2010 census.quickfacts.census.gov
- Payette, Idaho, 2010, accessed 2011-12-10 It is part of the

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, OR−ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The settlement was originally named "Boomerang," a construction camp for the Oregon Short Line from 1882 to 1884 at the mouth of the

Payette River The Payette River () is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 3, 2011 river in southwestern Idaho and a major tributary of the Snake River. Its headwaters originate in ...

. Logs were floated down the river to the sawmills at the camp to produce

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties trans ...

s. After completion of the railroad, the settlement moved upstream to its present site and incorporated in 1891 as "Payette," to honor François Payette, a

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

fur trapper A fur is a Softness, soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching t ...

and one of the first white men to explore the area. He arrived had in present-day Idaho from Astoria and was later the head of the

Fort Boise Fort Boise is either of two different locations in the Western United States, both in southwestern Idaho. The first was a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading post near the Snake River on what is now the Oregon border (in present-day Canyon Count ...

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

from 1835 to 1844. A large merry man, Payette was highly regarded for his helpful assistance to the many travelers who came through the fort. Following his retirement in 1844, he returned to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, after which the rest of his life is a mystery. Payette County was created in 1917, partitioned from Canyon County, and the city of Payette became the county seat.

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.

Highways

* - US 95 * - SH-52

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,127 people, 3,081 households, and 3,081 families residing in the city.

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 7,433 people, 2,816 households, and 1,910 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 3,095 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.6%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 1.5% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 7.3% from other races, and 3.5% 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 19.3% of the population. There were 2,816 households, of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% 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, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.12. The median age in the city was 35 years. 28% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 7,054 people, 2,619 households, and 1,841 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,834 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.43%

, 0.09%

, 1.15% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 7.67% from other races, and 2.78% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 15.78% of the population. There were 2,619 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.20. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,375, and the median income for a family was $36,944. Males had a median income of $28,762 versus $19,781 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 $13,826. About 11.4% 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 18.0% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Payette experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

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 ...

''BSk'') with cold, moist winters and hot, dry summers. A weather station in nearby

Ontario, Oregon Ontario is the largest city in Malheur County, Oregon, Malheur County, Oregon, United States. It lies along the Snake River at the Idaho border. The population was 11,645 at the 2020 censusThe city is the largest community in the region of far ea ...

has been in operation since 1903.

Education

The school district is Payette Joint School District 371. Payette High School is the district's comprehensive high school.

Notable people

* Diane Anderson-Minshall, journalist * A. L. Freehafer, politician * William Norman Grigg, author * Michael Hoffman, film director * Donna M. Jones, former Idaho state controller *

Harmon Killebrew Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "the Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He spent most of his 22-year career in Major League ...

, member of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

* James A. McClure,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Idaho, 1973–1991. *

Rick Rydell Rick Rydell (born Richard Green, September 29, 1963) is an American talk radio host, outdoorsman, writer and author. Rydell enjoyed a long career in radio, most prominently with various stations in the Northwest. His last job in radio was as the ...

, radio host and author * Herman Welker, U.S. Senator from Idaho, 1951–1957

References

External links

* - City of Payette
Payette County USGenWeb
{{authority control Cities in Payette County, Idaho Cities in Idaho County seats in Idaho Ontario, Oregon micropolitan area