Editing Owyhee County, Idaho (section)

==History==
This area was the territory of [[Western Shoshone]], [[Northern Paiute people|Northern Paiute]], and [[Bannock people|Bannock]] peoples and their ancestors for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. Settler interests in securing land and resources spurred conflict and led to the indigenous peoples being forced onto reservations.

On December 31, 1863, Owyhee County became the first county organized by the [[Idaho Territory]] Legislature. While [[Boise County, Idaho|Boise]], Idaho, [[Nez Perce County, Idaho|Nez Perce]], and [[Shoshone County, Idaho|Shoshone]] counties were organized under the laws of [[Washington Territory]], they were not recognized by the [[Idaho Territory]] until February 1864.<ref>General Laws of Washington Territory, 1861 p.3-4</ref><ref>General Laws of Washington Territory: 1863 p.4</ref><ref>"An Act Defining the Boundary Lines of Counties west of the Rocky Mountains", Session Laws of Idaho Territory: 1863–1864, p. 628-630</ref> The original county seat at [[Ruby City, Idaho|Ruby City]] was moved to nearby [[Silver City, Idaho|Silver City]] in 1867.<ref>[http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/id/rubycity.html Ruby City – Idaho Ghost Town] (accessed January 3, 2012)</ref>

Owyhee County's original boundary was the portion of Idaho Territory south of the [[Snake River]] and west of the [[Rocky Mountains]].<ref>"An Act to Organize the County of Owyhee", Session Laws of Idaho Territory: 1863–1864, p. 624</ref> Less than a month after the creation of Owyhee County, [[Oneida County, Idaho|Oneida County]] was formed in January 1864 from the eastern portion of the county. The formation of [[Cassia County, Idaho|Cassia County]] in 1879 took further territory in the east.

Owyhee County's history is closely linked to the mining boom that dominated Idaho Territory in the second half of the 19th century.<ref name=lmtevshc/> [[Silver City, Idaho|Silver City]] and [[Ruby City, Idaho|Ruby City]] developed as boom towns. At its height in the 1880s, Owyhee County was among the most populous places in Idaho. Today it is among the least populous, at {{convert|1.4|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|persons&nbsp;|persons}}.

Because of pressure from miners and settlers, the federal government made a treaty in 1877 with the Western Shoshone to cede land, and established what is now known as the [[Duck Valley Indian Reservation]] in this county and across the border in [[Elko County, Nevada]]. The reservation was expanded in 1886 to accommodate people of the Northern Paiute. In the 20th century, the tribes combined and are federally recognized as a single government; the majority of the people live on the Nevada side of the reservation.

There were two railroad lines extending into Owyhee County, the first was the Boise Nampa & Owyhee Railroad which built starting in 1896 from Nampa, Idaho south towards Melba, Idaho and eventually across the Snake River into Owyhee County in 1897, whereupon it crossed Rabbit Creek before arriving in Murphy, Idaho. The first train into Murphy occurred in 1899. The Boise, Nampa & Owyhee Railroad was acquired by the Idaho Northern Railroad in 1907; the line was taken over by the Oregon Short Line Railroad in 1913 following their purchase of the Idaho Northern Railroad, after which it became known as the Murphy Branch line. Daily passenger service to Murphy was discontinued in 1942. By 1947, shipping animals out of Murphy was no longer profitable for the railroad. The Murphy portion of the line was abandoned in 1947. In the 1950s, trucks and highways became the dominant mode of transportation. The last train left Melba in 1994, and all rails were torn out in that same year.

The second railroad line was the Oregon Shortline Railroad which built south from Nyssa Oregon beginning in 1911, passing through Adrian Oregon the line ended after 25 miles in Homedale Idaho, in 1922 it was extended Marsing Idaho to accommodate additional agricultural traffic. In 1970, the Marsing and Homedale depots were closed by Union Pacific. In 1987, with declining carload, Union Pacific offered the line for sale but no buyers were found. Following the closure of the lumber mill in Homedale in the early 1990s, the Homedale branch (now reduced to the status of an "industrial lead") generated a total of 49 carloads in 1995 and 42 in 1996. In 1997, Union Pacific filed for permission to abandon the Idaho portion of the line and received no formal protest, the tracks were ripped up the following year.<ref>The Idaho Northern Railway, 2010 by Don dopf,</ref><ref>union pacific rails to the mines: The Boise, Nampa & Owyhee railway, by Thornton Waite.</ref>

Owyhee County gained its present boundaries in 1930 after an election approved moving a portion of it near [[Glenns Ferry, Idaho|Glenns Ferry]] and [[King Hill, Idaho|King Hill]] to neighboring [[Elmore County, Idaho|Elmore County]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=82pQAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Owyhee+County%22+%22Glenns+Ferry%22+%221930%22&pg=PA282 Sixteenth census of the United ... – United States. Bureau of the Census – Google Books] (accessed January 3, 2010)</ref> In 1934, the county seat was moved from the nearly abandoned Silver City to its present location in Murphy. In the 21st century, both Silver City and Ruby City are ghost towns, remnant of the mining boom.