Logan County, Idaho facts for kids

Logan County was a county in Idaho Territory and later the state of Idaho. It existed for six years, from 1889 to 1895.

What Was Logan County?

Logan County was a part of Idaho that had a short but interesting history. It was created from a larger area called Alturas County. During its time, Logan County faced many disagreements and legal challenges.

A Big Political Fight Begins

In 1889, Alturas County was very powerful in Idaho Territory. Many important lawmakers, called legislators, came from there. One of them, Mr. H.Z. Burkhart, was a leader in the House of Representatives. He did not want new counties like Logan and Elmore to be created from Alturas County.

However, other lawmakers in the legislature voted to create Logan and Elmore counties on February 7, 1889. Mr. Burkhart and another leader, J.P. Clough, argued that the new law was not legal. They said that some lawmakers had met secretly after the official meeting ended to pass the law. But their opponents said those leaders had left their jobs before the meeting ended.

The highest court in Idaho Territory, the Supreme Court, decided against Mr. Burkhart and Mr. Clough. The U.S. Supreme Court later agreed with this decision. This meant Logan County was officially created.

Power Shifts in Idaho

Creating Logan County was a big change for political power in Idaho, especially as Idaho was becoming a state. In 1890, Logan County had about 4,169 people. Elmore County had 1,870 people, and Alturas County had 2,620 people.

If Logan and Elmore counties had not been created, Alturas County would have been much larger. It would have had over 8,600 people. This would have made it the third largest county in Idaho at that time.

Choosing a County Seat

When Logan County was first created, Shoshone was chosen as its temporary county seat. A county seat is the main town where the county government offices are located.

Later, in October 1890, the people voted to choose a permanent county seat. Bellevue won the vote. However, some people in Shoshone disagreed with the result. They said that the Idaho Constitution required more than just a simple majority of votes. They took their case to the Idaho Supreme Court, but they did not win.

More Changes and Court Battles

The disagreements continued. On March 7, 1891, the legislature tried to change things again. They passed a law to get rid of Alturas and Logan counties. They wanted to create two new counties called Lincoln and Alta. This law also said that Hailey and Shoshone would be the county seats.

But the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that this new law was unconstitutional on June 3, 1891. This means the court found the law went against the rules of the Idaho Constitution. So, Alturas and Logan counties were brought back, with Bellevue and Hailey as their county seats.

The End of Logan County

Finally, on March 5, 1895, the legislature succeeded in changing the counties. They combined Logan and Alturas counties into a new county called Blaine County. Hailey became the county seat for Blaine County.

Two weeks later, on March 18, Lincoln County was created. It was made from the southern part of Blaine County. The Idaho Supreme Court looked at these changes again in 1896. This time, they decided that creating Blaine County was constitutional. This decision officially ended Logan County's existence.