Elmore County, Idaho Email Formats

About Elmore County, Idaho

Elmore County is located in Southwestern Idaho. It is bounded on the north by Boise County, on the east by Blaine, Camas, Gooding, and Twin Falls counties, on the south by Owyhee County, and on the west by Ada County. Elmore is a large county covering more than 3,000 square miles. Approximately 60% of the county is mountainous. The remaining 40% slopes gently down into the Snake River Plain. Elmore County has altitudes ranging from 2500 feet to over 9700 feet. 70% of the county is owned by varying departments of the federal government including the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Bureau of Land Management. Approximately 22% of Elmore County’s lands are designated farm lands. Elmore County was established February 7, 1889, with its county seat at Rocky Bar. It is named after the Ida Elmore mines, the area's greatest silver and gold producer of the 1860s, located near Silver City in Owyhee County.[3][4] While the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake River in Elmore County, at Three Island Crossing near Glenns Ferry, the significant early settlements of Elmore County were mining settlements located primarily in northern Elmore County surrounding the ghost town of Rocky Bar. Settlement at Rocky Bar commenced in 1863 with the settlement having 560 residents at the Territorial Census of that year. Nearby, Atlanta was settled in 1864. Elmore County north of the Snake River was originally part of Alturas County when it was created in 1864 and Rocky Bar became its county seat. The portion of Elmore County south of the Snake River was within Owyhee County until 1930. A small portion of Ada County was also annexed in 1948, bringing Elmore to its present boundary. The settlement at Rocky Bar was impacted by poor management by mining companies, mining lawsuits, and its geographic remoteness between 1869 and 1880.

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