The History of Idaho, The Gem of the Mountain, by James H. Hawley, Volume I, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1920:
LEMHI COUNTY
"Situated in the eastern part of the state, taking in the Lemhi Valley and extending northwest into the Valley of the Salmon River, is Lemhi County, which was created by an act of the Fifth Territorial Legislature, approved by Governor Ballard on January 9, 1869. The county takes its name from the Mormon settlement that was made in the Lemhi Valley in 1854, an account of which is given in an earlier chapter of this history. It has an area of 4,867 square miles; is bounded by the State of Montana on the north and east; by Fremont County on the southeast; by Custer County on the south and by Idaho County on the west. Along the eastern boundary are the Bitter Root Mountains, the Lemhi Range lies along the line separating Lemhi from Custer County, and in the western part are the Salmon River and Yellow Jacket Mountains. The valleys between these ranges are fertile and produce abundant crops. Two national forests—the Lemhi and Salmon—afford excellent grazing facilities and in 1917 the county stood first in the number of cattle and fifth in the number of sheep.
"In the summer of 1866 a party of prospectors from Montana discovered rich placer mines in the Big Creek Basin, between the Salmon River and Yellow Jacket Mountains, about eighteen miles from where Salmon, the county seat, is now situated. At that time the territory comprising Lemhi County was a part of Idaho County, but the rush to the new mining fields soon brought a large population, with the result that a provisional county government was established in July, 1867, and the county was regularly organized in January, 1869. The act creating Lemhi County named George L. Shoup, E. H. Tuttle and Benjamin F. Heath as commissioners to organize the county and appoint the other county officers. They appointed R. H. Johns, auditor and recorder; John S. Ramey, sheriff; J. G. Finnell, probate judge; Charles G. Chamberlain, county clerk; Francis J. Lemman, assessor. These officers served until the first election, which was held on June 7, 1869, when George L. Shoup, E. H. Tuttle and Fred Phillips were elected commissioners; Charles G. Chamberlain, clerk; Jesse McCaleb, auditor and recorder; John S. Ramey, sheriff; E. C. Whitsett, treasurer; A. C. Harris, probate judge; J. P. Jewell, coroner. George L. Shoup was the last territorial and the first state governor of Idaho, and was one of the first United States senators after the state was admitted into the Union. The present courthouse at Salmon was completed in 1910, at a cost of $40,000. In the spring of that year the Gilmore & Pittsburgh Railroad was finished through the Lemhi Valley, with stations at Baker, Cruik, Gilmore, Leadore, Lemhi, Maier, Salmon and Tendoy. Away from the railroad the villages are Carmen, Forney, Leesburg, May, Nicholia, Shoup and a few smaller places.
"Among the early settlers were the above named county officers, Thomas Pope, James McNab, J. L. Kirtley, B. F. Price, N. I. Andrews, F. B. Sharkey, Thomas Ryeatt, William Peterson, John W. Ostrander, Elijah Mulkey, David A. Wood, Albert Green, Joseph Crain, Thomas Elder, James Glendenning, and A. M. Stephenson. Most of these men were attracted to the country by the reports of the rich mineral discoveries. Mining is still one of the leading occupations, about fifty thousand tons of ore being shipped from the Gilmore mines every year. Some coal is mined near Salmon. In 1910 the population of Lemhi County was 4,786, and in 1918 assessed valuation of property was $5,481,170.
Source: The History of Idaho, The Gem of the Mountain, by James H. Hawley, Volume I, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1920:
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