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[Pages S2230-S2231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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RECOGNIZING JEROME COUNTY
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, my colleagues Senator Mike Crapo and
Representative Mike Simpson join me today in recognizing the 100th
anniversary of Jerome County, ID.
Established February 8, 1919, by the Idaho Legislature, the county
was named for either Jerome Kuhn, son of William S. Kuhn, or Jerome
Hill, who was commissioned by Kuhn to find a suitable town site north
of the Snake River Canyon. With the city of Jerome as the county seat,
the small farming communities of Eden and Hazelton also make up the
eastern portion of Jerome County.
One of the early pioneers of Jerome County, I.B. Perrine, was looking
for a place to winter his cattle, and Charles Walgamott showed him a
spot with beautiful clear blue lakes bubbling up from an underground
aquifer. Mr.
[[Page S2231]]
Perrine settled this area and called it the Blue Lakes Ranch. These
blue lakes continue to provide water for irrigation, raising rainbow
trout, and pristine drinking water to the residents of this area. It
also features the beautiful Blues Lakes Country Club with one of the
most scenic 18-hole golf courses in the State.
Although not officially recognized, local historians have documented
the Hudson Bay Trail as an alternate route of the Oregon Trail, which
goes through Jerome County. The traders of the Hudson Bay Company
seemed to have preferred the trail going north of the Snake River
Canyon to make their way to Fort Boise in the West and Fort Hall in the
East.
With water, Mr. Perrine saw the magic this area produced and, with
the help of Eastern United States Financiers, created the Milner Dam
along the Snake River. The Milner Dam and subsequent irrigation system
opened the Southern Snake River Plain to farmers, ranchers, and new
communities. As a result, the communities of Jerome, Eden, Hazelton,
and Greenwood were established between 1905 and 1911.
In 1919, the Idaho Legislature took the south portion of Lincoln
County and the western portion of Minidoka County to carve out Jerome
County. As one of the youngest counties in Idaho, it is the 43rd
county, out of 44, in the 43rd State.
A notorious part of Jerome County is the Minidoka Relocation Center
north of Eden; it is one of the 10 Japanese internment camps created by
the U.S. Government during World War II. Currently, it stands as the
Minidoka National Historic Site as a memorial of the sacrifice and
suffering of the Japanese-Americans during this period of our history.
Today, Jerome County boasts a thriving economy lead by the dairy
industry, producing more than 100 million pounds of cheese, whey
protein, and other dairy products. They also produce the agricultural
commodities of alfalfa hay, silage corn, barley, winter wheat, sugar
beets, potatoes, beans, and spring wheat.
Senator Crapo, Representative Simpson, and I are proud to recognize
this landmark anniversary. We congratulate Jerome County residents on
this centennial, and we wish its communities many more years of
success.
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