Ola, Idaho facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ola, Idaho
Unincorporated community
Ola Post Office
Ola, Idaho Location in Idaho Show map of Idaho Ola, Idaho Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Gem
Elevation	3,008 ft (917 m)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes	83657
Area code(s)	208, 986
GNIS feature ID	393849

Ola is a small community in Gem County, Idaho, United States. It's not a city, but a place where people live together without a formal town government. You can find it about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Emmett.

Ola got its start as a post office on July 22, 1882. A person named Carroll Baird opened it. This post office helped people living in the Upper Squaw Creek Valley get their mail.

History of Ola: A Look Back

The very first post office here was called "Upper Squaw Creek." It opened in September 1875. Carroll Baird started it. He lived on a homestead near Squaw Creek, close to where Ola is today.

A writer named Nellie Ireton Mills said the Bairds built their home where an old Native American trail crossed the creek. This trail was also used by miners and others. They used it as a shortcut to or from Oregon and the Boise Basin. Before the 1875 post office, mail was delivered by pack horse and even snowshoes! It came along the Brownlee Trail from Horseshoe Bend to Warren.

Six weeks after the post office opened, Fred Hoffman became the postmaster. He was Baird's neighbor to the north. Fred kept this job until the post office closed in January 1877. After that, mail was sent to Cascade. Mills also wrote that the first wedding in the community happened here. Fred Hoffman married a school teacher named Ella Drake on March 6, 1879.

When the post office reopened in July 1882, Baird chose the name Ola. He named it "for an old Swede that happened along." For many years, until the late 1980s, the post office was inside the Ola General Store. The store closed for a while, but it has now reopened! A small building was built across the street for the post office. It was on the "Matthew House" property. This home was named after Archie Matthews, who was a blacksmith in Ola. The "Post Mistress" Elaine Waldner lived there, which made it easy for her to work. The Matthew house was also the childhood home of a famous boxer, Harry "Kid" Matthews. Harry Matthews fought in the 1940s and 1950s. He had some big fights, including a loss to Rocky Marciano and a win against Ezzard Charles.

Geography and Climate in Ola

Understanding Ola's Climate

Ola has a climate with big changes in temperature throughout the year. Summers are warm to hot, and sometimes humid. Winters are cold, and can be very cold. This type of weather is called a humid continental climate. On climate maps, it's known as "Dfb."