Valley County is a rural

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 of

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 population was 11,746. 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 ...

is Cascade, and the largest city is McCall. Established in 1917, it was named after the Long Valley of the North Fork of the Payette River, which extends over from Payette Lake at McCall south to Cascade to Round Valley. The valley was formerly a summer pasture for livestock from the Boise Valley. Since the completion of the Cascade Dam in 1948, much of the northern valley has been covered by the Cascade Reservoir. Valley County is home to the Idaho ground squirrel.

History

Packer John Welch, who had contracted to freight supplies to miners of Idaho City, established a camp on Gold Fork Creek and a brush cabin on Clear Creek in the 1860s.History of Valley County
Valley County Idaho official website He also established a station near what later became the town of Cascade. During the 1870s, prospectors and miners started searching for gold. The Clara Foltz mines opened on Paddy Flat, and other diggings commenced on Boulder and Gold Fork Creeks. In the late 1870s, the last of the Sheepeater Tribe was removed from Long Valley and Round Valley to a reservation. As the gold sources dwindled, a few of the miners took up squatter's rights. James Horner built a cabin on Clear Creek in 1881, other miners settled on the Payette River. Also in 1888, the first post offices in Valley County were opened at VanWyck, another one opened at Lardo in 1889. That same year Louis McCall and other settlers took squatter's rights on Payette Lake. Their homesteads were the nucleus of what would later become the town of McCall. A freight stop was established at Lardo to service the increased mining activity at Warren Meadows. The 1890 census stated 538 people resided in the VanWyck precinct, and 110 resided in the Alpha precinct. Land survey maps drawn in the 1890s show four schools. The maps also point out sawmills at Warner's Pond and on Gold Fork Creek. A small reservoir near VanWyck can also be seen on them. The 1890s were a period of strife for the new settlers. Ranchers from south of Long Valley annually brought their large herds of cattle to graze in Long Valley. The homesteaders resented the intrusion and retaliated on several occasions by slaughtering the outsiders' cattle. Gold was first discovered in the Thunder Mountain area in 1893, W.H. Dewey began mining on a large scale in 1902. As many as 3,000 miners swarmed into the region. From the 1910s onwards, logging became, along with farming and ranching, the economic mainstay of Long Valley. Towns distant from the railroad, such as Alpha, Crawford and Roseberry, soon lost their vitality and died. Towns near the railroad, such as Cascade, Donnelly and McCall, thrived and became the population centers of Valley County. The Stibnite Mining District, located near Yellow Pine, was critical to the country's war effort during World War II.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in Idaho by area.

Adjacent counties

* Idaho County - north * Adams County - west * Gem County - southwest * Boise County - south * Custer County - east * Lemhi County - east

National protected areas

Boise National Forest Boise National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest covering of the U.S. state of Idaho. Created on July 1, 1908, from part of Sawtooth National Forest, it is managed by the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Se ...

(part) * Payette National Forest (part) * Salmon-Challis National Forest (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 7,651 people, 3,208 households, and 2,252 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 8,084 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.43%

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 ...

, 0.69% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.04%

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 ...

, 1.10% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. 1.96% 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. 19.1% were of German, 16.4% English, 11.3% American and 10.1% Irish ancestry. There were 3208 households, out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.90% 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, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.81. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 4.40% from 18 to 24, 24.90% from 25 to 44, 32.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 105.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,927, and the median income for a family was $42,283. Males had a median income of $31,113 versus $21,777 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 $19,246. About 6.20% of families and 9.30% 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 10.10% of those under age 18 and 5.60% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,862 people, 4,393 households, and 2,870 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 11,789 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.8% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 1.6% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.9% were German, 19.3% were English, 12.8% were Irish, 7.6% were American, and 5.5% were Scottish. Of the 4,393 households, 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.7% were non-families, and 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.71. The median age was 46.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $50,851 and the median income for a family was $59,737. Males had a median income of $40,917 versus $35,876 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,577. About 11.5% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the

, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The ski resorts of Brundage Mountain, Little Ski Hill, and Tamarack Resort are major employers.

Government and politics

Valley County has long been a Republican stronghold, though it currently gives Democrats larger vote shares than most of Idaho. In 2004, George Bush defeated John Kerry by a 21-point margin (59-38%), whilst in 2008, Valley County was much more competitive than in previous elections, as

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

defeated

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

by only 7 points (52-45%). Democratic strength is entirely centered around the tourist town of McCall and the surrounding area around the Payette Lake, while the rest of the county remains strongly Republican.

Transportation

Highways

* - ''Payette River Scenic Byway'' The county's primary highway is the north–south State Highway 55, the ''Payette River Scenic Byway,'' a designated national scenic byway. It heads north from

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

in Ada County to Horseshoe Bend in Boise County, and climbs the

whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

of the Payette River to Cascade and McCall. The route turns west at Payette Lake in McCall and ends at New Meadows in Adams County, at the junction with US-95.