USA Idaho - The People : USA  

USA Idaho - The People - Travel guide

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USA Idaho - The People

The People

In 1805, York, an African-American servant for the the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled though what is now Idaho. Respected by the Indians, York today is credited as being of great value to the success of the trip. Some of the fur trappers, traders and miners who followed were African-American, including one who helped build the first mission in the Northwest.

Even the impact of Hawaiian Islanders employed as laborers in the Northwest fur trade received recognition through the naming of Owyhee County. Almost the entire staff of Fort Boise from 1834-1844 were from the Hawaiian Islands.

Mountain men, including some Spaniards and Mexicans, lived off the land as trappers and hunters. In the 1860’s, there were a number of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) living in the Treasure Valley. By 1863, Mexicans were mining at Spanishtown, a camp near Rocky Bar. Jesus Urquirdes, one of several successful Mexican business people, came to Boise in 1863, became a prominent Pacific Northwest packer and built the Spanish Village in 1870s to house his Mexican packers. The 1870 census included 60 Mexican-born individuals.

Until after the Civil War, only free Black or escaped slaves came West unless brought by their owners. The entry of the railroad though southern Idaho starting in the 1880s resulted in a number of African-Americans settling in Pocatello. Four companies of troops from the 24th Regiment (an African American unit) were sent to Idaho in 1899 to maintain order during the Coeur d’Alene mining strikes. The 1900 Idaho census listed 940 African Americans.

Between 1900 and 1920, a large number of Basque immigrants came to Idaho from the Pyrenees to work as sheepherders. Today, Boise, Idaho’s capital, has the largest Basque community in the United States.

Idaho's population in the 1990 census was 1,007,000. The State Capital is Boise, other major cities or towns include Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twins Falls.