Links to Free History and Genealogy Sites

Sketches of Inter-Mountain States, including Idaho

Census

Historic Census1
1870 14,999
1880 32,619
1890 88,548
1900 161,772
1910 325,594
1920 431,866
1930 445,032
1940 524,873

1870 & 1880 non-population census - searchable indexes at history.idaho.gov
1880 & 1900 census transcripts by ISU (archive.org)
1890 Census, totals by county
Census Records at Genealogy Trails
1940 census Census records on-line and other resources, at National Archives
FamilySearch.org (free with membership)
Census Finder
USGenWeb Census Project
USGenWeb Archives/Idaho files

Homestead Records and Maps

GLO Records — Government Land Office records: Patents (homesteads, cash sale and livestock) & maps
Historic USGS topo maps at Perry Castandeda Library, University of Texas

Marriage Records

BYUI Western States Marriage Index

Death Records

Death Records Index 1911 - 1951 at US GenWeb Archives
BYUI Eastern Idaho Death Records
Idaho Gravestones.org
Find A Grave
Legacy Obituary Finder
SS Death Index search at ancestry.com
VA Gravesite Locator

Geography, geology and map links

1846 -"A New Map of Texas Oregon and California. . .by S. Augustus Mitchell" - also at Library of Congress & David Rumsey
1864 - "Map of the mining sections of Idaho & Oregon embracing the gold and silver mines of Boise & Owyhee" at Library of Congress
1889, The resources and attractions of Idaho, Map of the Union Pacific, the Overland Route ~ complete 100 page booklet
1896 Cram's township and railroad map (Library of Congress)
County Formation by year
Idaho State University Digital Atlas
Idaho maps at Digital Commonwealth/Massachusetts Collections Online, includes 1891, 1895, 1897 & 1903 mail routes
store.usgs.gov, USGS maps available for download
Historic USGS topo maps at Perry Castandeda Library, University of Texas
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection, University of Texas
Idaho at jhuapl.edu, Ray Sterner, John Hopkins University; includes 1895 Rand McNally map
David Ramsey Map Collection
Idaho at netstate.com/
Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps
USGS index of Geographic Names
Idaho Geological Survey
Historic Map Works, includes Metsker Maps
Mining Districts of the State of Idaho 1987, available for download at Idaho Geological Survey
"Gold Camps & Silver Cities (Nineteenth Century Mining in Central and Southern Idaho)," by Merle W. Wells
Mindat
Western Mining History
ID BHS - Natural Disasters (at archive.org)
Idaho in 1946 Firestone Road Atlas: North Half  South Half
1954 KGEM ad from Scenic Idaho showing the state

History Links

Central and Western Idaho, a Resume of the Resources of Four Counties, Ada, Alturas, Boise and Washington Counties, 1886
   archive.org for other great free resources
FARRIT: Finding All Resources Relating to Idaho Topics, Idaho Commission for Libraries.
History Articles at the Idaho Statesman
Historical Currency Converter
Historical Markers in Idaho
History of Mines at idahogeology
Idaho Postal History by Mark Metkin (at archive.org)
Idaho State Historical Society
Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series Index for Idaho history articles
Idaho State Historical Society Digital Collection
ISU Trail Archives (includes Oregon Trail journals)
Library of Congress Index page
Mountain Men and the Fur Trade
   Mountain Man Alexander Ross' Journal, 1824
   Mountain Man John Work's Journal, 1830-31
Oregon Trail at National Park Service
Oregon-California Trail Assoc.
History of Idaho Logging
Ghost Towns -Idaho
Boise State: Culture of the Irrigated West


Digital Collections

Library of Congress,over 2700 Photos, Prints & Drawings for Idaho
Boise State Digital Collection
Idaho State Historical Society Digital Collections
Idaho Cities Old Main Street Postcards
Archival Idaho Photos, University of Idaho
Denver Public Library
Northwest Historical Postcard Collection, University of Idaho
Mountain West Digital Library
Stonebraker Collection at University of Idaho, includes Chamberlain Basin, Roosevelt, Thunder Mountain
University of Washington, Digital Collections
Beinecke Digital Collections, William Henry Jackson
"Earliest to record the scenery of eastern Idaho was undoubtedly William Henry Jackson, photographer with Ferdinand V. Hayden's Geological Survey party of 1871-72. . . Although most of Jackson's pictures for the Hayden Survey recorded topography and geology, those of Fort Hall Agency, Sawtell's Ranch and Taylor's Bridge, on the site of modern Idaho Falls, have great historical interest. His photographs of Yellowstone are often credited with persuading Congress to make it our first national park." - Arthur A. Hart, "Camera Eye on Idaho, Pioneer Photography, 1863-1913;" The Caxton Printers, Ltd., Caldwell, Idaho, 1990.

National Forests

"History of Boise National Forest 1905-1976"
Forest Atlas of the Payette National Forest, 1909
“Like Palaces To Us,” Administrative Facilities of the Salmon-Challis National Forest, 1905-1960"

Idaho History Bloggers

Tim Woodward (newspaper columnist)
Ron Roizen's blog, from Wallace
Ancestors Live Here
Mary Dexter, by Reba Logue McMillan
Mychel Matthews/Magic Valley
Idaho Meanderings, Idaho from late 1800's/early 1900's, with an emphasis on Gov. Steunenberg
South Fork Companion History Blog
Yellow Pine Times, History


Idaho Newspapers on-line

Library of Congress, Chronicling America - collection is constantly growing

Star News on-line, Valley County
Historical Newspapers Summary, by The Ancestor Hunt

Amoral Tuttle Public Library (New Plymouth, Payette County) at advantage-preservation.com

Bear Lake County Library Digital Archives (1880- 2010) Collection of newspapers published in Bear Lake County, located in the southeastern corner of Idaho, bordering Utah and Wyoming.

Blackfoot Newspapers (1880-1902)

East Bonner County Library Digital Archives (1969- 1987)

Burley Public Library (Cassia County) at advantage-preservation.com

Council Valley Museum including newspaper abstracts from 1877 to 1950

Elk River Public Library (Clearwater County) at advantage-preservation.com

Franklin County Library District Digital Archives (1832- 1902, 1905- 1961) Collection of newspapers published in Franklin County, located in southeastern Idaho. Time coverage is scattered for 1832- 1902.

Hayden Community Public Library (Kootenai County) at advantage-preservation.com

Idaho Falls Newspapers (1906-2012)

Jerome Public Library at advantage-preservation.com

Marshall Public Library (Pocatello, Bannock County) at advantage-preservation.com

Minidoka Irrigator (1942- 1945) This links to the search interface for the Densho Digital Archive of the Japanese-American experience. The Minidoka Irrigator was published by the inmates at the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho, from 1942 to 1945. For a non-searchable list of PDF's, go to - http://archive.densho.org/Core/DAObjectsByCollection.aspx?id=108 The Densho Digital Archive holds more than 700 visual histories (more than 1,400 hours of recorded video interviews) and over 12,000 historic photos, documents, and newspapers. These primary sources document the Japanese American experience from immigration in the early 1900s through redress in the 1980s with a strong focus on the World War II mass incarceration.

Rexburg Newspapers (1909-1921)

Rigby Star (1906-1975), Newspaper of this traditionally Mormon town.

Salmon Public Library Digital Archives (1867, 1886- 1967), Collection of newspapers published in Salmon, Boise, Sweet, Burley, Gowen Field, and "Payette Lake Star" at McCall.

Twin Falls Newspapers (1904-1922)

Valley of the Tetons District Library Digital Archives (1909- 2010)


1The Idaho Blue Book, 2007-2008, published by the Secretary of State's office.

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