Editing Idaho Falls, Idaho (section)

==History==
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2022}}

===Montana Trail origins===
The area around Idaho Falls was first sparsely settled by [[cattle]] and [[sheep]] [[ranch]]ers. No significant development took place until 1864, when a man named Harry Rickets built and operated a [[ferry]] on the [[Snake River]] at {{Coord|43|36.112|N|112|3.528|W}}. The ferry served a new tide of westward migration and [[travel]] on the [[Montana Trail]] following the [[Bear River Massacre]] of [[Shoshone]] Indians in 1863.<ref name="MD Beal 1942, p. 218">MD Beal, A History of Southeastern Idaho, 1942, p. 218.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idahohistory.net/Reference+Series/0071.pdf|title=idahohistory.net|website=Idahohistory.net|access-date=25 August 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928132319/http://www.idahohistory.net/Reference+Series/0071.pdf|archive-date=28 September 2017}}</ref>

[[File:TaylorsBridge-1.jpg|thumb|left|Taylor's Bridge, c. 1870]]
The present-day site of Idaho Falls became a permanent settlement when freighter [[James Madison Taylor|Matt Taylor]] built a timber-frame [[toll bridge]] across a narrow black [[basalt]]ic gorge of the river {{convert|7|mi|km}} downstream from the ferry. The bridge improved travel for settlers moving north and west, and for [[miner]]s, freighters, and others seeking riches in the [[gold]] fields of [[Idaho]] and [[Montana]] {{ndash}}especially the [[Boomtown|boom towns]] of [[Bannack, Montana|Bannack]] and [[Virginia City, Montana|Virginia City]].

===Eagle Rock===
[[File:Idaho - Idaho Falls - NARA - 23939427 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Idaho Falls, 1925]]
By the end of 1865, a private [[bank]], small [[hotel]], [[livery stable]], eating house, [[post office]], and [[stage station]] had sprung up near the bridge. The settlement was initially known as '''Taylor's Crossing''', but [[postmark]]s indicate that by 1866, the emerging town had become known as '''Eagle Rock'''. The name was derived from an isolated [[basalt]] island in the river near the ferry, where approximately twenty [[eagle]]s nested.

In 1874, [[water rights]] were established on nearby [[Willow Creek (Snake River)|Willow Creek]] and the first [[grain]] was harvested. Settlement was sparse, and consisted of only a couple of families and small [[irrigation]] ditches. The first child of [[White people|European descent]] was born at Eagle Rock in 1874.

[[File:UandN Bridge Eagle Rock.jpg|thumb|left|Utah & Northern Bridge, c. 1880, looking north, or upriver, with railroad shops in background]]
Soon, the [[Utah and Northern Railway]] (U&NR) was built, stretching north from [[Utah]] through Eagle Rock and crossing the Snake River at the same narrow gorge as Taylor's bridge. The railway would eventually connect to the large new [[copper]] mines at [[Butte, Montana]]. The U&NR had the backing of [[Robber baron (industrialist)|robber baron]] [[Jay Gould]], as [[Union Pacific Railroad]] had purchased it a few years prior.<ref>Colorado Rail Annual No. 15, 1981, pp 31-39.</ref> Grading crews reached Eagle Rock in late 1878, and by early 1879, a wild camp-town with dozens of [[tent]]s and shanties had moved to Eagle Rock with a collection of saloons, [[dance hall]]s, and [[Casino|gambling halls]]. The railroad company had 16 [[locomotive]]s and 300 [[Railroad car|train cars]] working between [[Logan, Utah]] and the once-quiet stage stop. A new iron railroad bridge was fabricated in [[Athens, Pennsylvania]] at a cost of $30,000 and shipped by rail to the site, where it was erected in April and May 1879.<ref>Deseret News, 1879-07-17 p. article "Utah and Northern" describes the scene at Eagle Rock and describes the new railroad bridge</ref> The bridge was {{convert|800|ft|m}} long and had two spans, with an island in the center. The camp-town moved on, but Eagle Rock now had regular train service and several U&NR [[building]]s, shops, and facilities which expanded and transformed the town.

As soon as the railroad came through, [[settler]]s began [[Homestead Act|homesteading]] the upper [[Snake River Plain|Snake River Valley]] in earnest. The first new settlers carved out homesteads to the north at Egin (near present-day [[Parker, Idaho|Parker]]) and at Pooles Island (near present-day [[Menan, Idaho|Menan]]).<ref>The Snake River Fork County, Louis J. Clements and Harold S. Forbush, 1972 pp 25-27.</ref> The Utah & Northern Railway provided easy access, especially to homesteaders from Utah, who soon populated much of the area surrounding Eagle Rock. Some of these men had initially worked building the railroad, then later returned with their families to stake out new farms. These Utah families brought irrigation know-how developed in Utah's [[Great Basin]] settlements. Through their and others' canal systems, water from the Snake River made the Upper Snake River Valley into one of the most successful irrigation projects in the [[Western United States|Mountain West]].<ref>Pioneer Pathways, vol. VIII, International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 2005 pp 312-318.</ref> Large-scale settlement ensued and within a decade, there appeared [[road]]s, [[bridge]]s, and [[dam]]s, which brought most of the Upper Snake River Valley under [[Tillage|cultivation]].

Then, in 1887, following the construction of the [[Oregon Short Line]] and a railroad workers' [[Strike action|strike]] in Eagle Rock, most of the railroad facilities were moved to [[Pocatello, Idaho|Pocatello]], where the new line branched off the U&NR. This caused a sharp and immediate drop in population, which nearly killed the town. In 1891, [[Marketing|marketers]] convinced town leaders to change the name to '''Idaho Falls''' in reference to the [[rapids]] below the bridge. Some years later, the construction of a retaining wall for a [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power plant]] transformed the rapids into [[waterfall]]s. On June 22, 1895, the world's then-largest [[Acequia|irrigation canal]], the Great Feeder (located 5 miles northeast of Ririe), began diverting water from the Snake River, helping to convert tens of thousands of more acres of desert into green farmland. The area grew [[sugar beet]]s, [[potato]]es, [[pea]]s, [[grain]]s, and [[alfalfa]], and became one of the most productive agricultural regions of the United States. The city once again began to flourish, growing continuously into the 20th century.

[[File:Falls on the Snake River in Idaho Falls.jpg|thumb|"Falls" on the Snake River]]

===Nuclear reactors===
[[File:Sl-1-ineel81-3966.jpg|thumb|left|upright|SL-1 reactor core in Idaho Falls following a 1961 accident that killed three people]]
[[File:Idaho National Lab CAES.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Idaho National Lab CAES|The Idaho National Laboratory, the University of Idaho, Idaho State University, Boise State University, and the University of Wyoming have labs, classrooms, offices, and other facilities just north of downtown. Among these partnerships is the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), shown here, which overlooks the Snake River.]]

In 1949, the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] opened the [[National Reactor Testing Station]] (NRTS) in the desert west of Idaho Falls. On December 20, 1951, a [[nuclear reactor]] there produced useful [[electricity]] for the first time in history. There have been more than 50 unique reactors built at the facility for testing—only three remain active.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}

On January 3, 1961, NRTS became the scene of the only fatal nuclear reactor incident in U.S. history. The event occurred at an experimental [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] plant known as the Argonne Low-Power Reactor, which the Army called the [[Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One]] (SL-1). Due to poor design and maintenance procedures, a single control rod was manually pulled out too far from the reactor, causing the reactor to become [[prompt critical]], leading to a destructive power excursion. Three trained military men had been working inside the reactor room when a mistake was made while reattaching a control rod to its motor assembly.<ref name="Tucker">{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Todd |url=https://archive.org/details/atomicamericahow00todd |title=Atomic America: How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History |publisher=Free Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4165-4433-3 |location=New York |url-access=registration}} See summary: [http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0904/2008013842-s.html]</ref> With the central control rod nearly fully extended, the nuclear reactor rated at 3 MW rapidly increased power to 20 GW. This rapidly boiled the water inside the core.<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/la-3611.pdf LA-3611 ''A Review of Criticality Accidents''], William R. Stratton, [[Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory]], 1967</ref><ref>[http://www.orau.org/ptp/library/accidents/la-13638.pdf LA-13638 ''A Review of Criticality Accidents'' (2000 Revision)], Thomas P. McLaughlin, et al., [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], 2000.</ref> As the steam expanded, a pressure wave of water forcefully struck the top of the reactor vessel, upon which two of the men stood. The explosion was so severe that the reactor vessel was propelled nine feet into the air, striking the ceiling before settling back into its original position.<ref name=ProvePrinciple15 /> One man was impaled by a shield plug and lodged into the ceiling, where he died instantly.<ref name="Tucker" /> The other men died from their injuries within hours. The three men were buried in lead coffins, and that entire section of the site was buried.<ref name=ProvePrinciple15>{{cite book|last=Stacy |first=Susan M. |title=Proving the Principle - A History of The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, 1949-1999 |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office |year=2000 |url=http://www.inl.gov/proving-the-principle/chapter_15.pdf |isbn=0-16-059185-6 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807212441/http://www.inl.gov/proving-the-principle/chapter_15.pdf |archive-date=2011-08-07 }} Chapter 15.</ref><ref name=ProvePrinciple16>{{cite book |last =Stacy |first =Susan M. |title =Proving the Principle - A History of The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, 1949-1999 |publisher =U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office |year =2000 |url =http://www.inl.gov/proving-the-principle/chapter_16.pdf |isbn =0-16-059185-6 |url-status =dead |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121101024857/http://www.inl.gov/proving-the-principle/chapter_16.pdf |archive-date =2012-11-01 }} Chapter 16.</ref><ref name=radiationworks>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiationworks.com/sl1reactor.htm|title=SL-1 Accident - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory - The World's First Deadly Atomic Accident|last=Radiationworks|website=Radiationworks.com|access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> The core meltdown caused no damage to the area, although some radioactive [[nuclear fission product]]s were released into the atmosphere.

The site has since developed into the [[Idaho National Laboratory]] (INL), a [[United States Department of Energy national laboratories|national laboratory]] operated by the [[United States Department of Energy]]. INL and its contractors are a major economic engine for the Idaho Falls area, employing more than 8,000 people between the desert site and its research and education campus in Idaho Falls. Among other projects, INL operates and manages the world-famous [[Advanced Test Reactor]] (ATR).