Boundary County

More About Boundary County

County Statistics

Interesting Facts

What To See And Do

Boundary County, Idaho's 35th county, was established on January 23, 1915, with its county seat at Bonners Ferry. It was so named because it borders Canada on the north, Washington on the west, and Montana on the east as well as Bonner County on the south. It was created out of Kootenai and then Bonner counties in 1907. The county is entirely mountainous except along the Kootenai River and in the southern area.

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County statistics:

County Seat: Bonners Ferry
Population: 10,396

Borders:  Bonner County, Washington state, Montana and Canada
Boundary County website

Interesting Facts:

Boundary County ranks 27th among Idaho's counties in population and 24th in area.  Nearly 61 percent of the land is federally owned, and forest products and agriculture form the economic base.  Annual average total civilian employment increased 32.2 percent from 1990 through 1997.

In the early 1870s, Edwin L. Bonner built a ferry at a point on the river that Indians had used as a crossing, and it became an important site in emigrant travel over the route from Walla Walla to the placer and quartz mines in British Columbia.  He operated the ferry for several years and then sold it to Richard Fry in 1866.  The first post office was established under the name of Fry, but later the name of the settlement was changed to Bonners Ferry.

Bonners Ferry was incorporated in 1894; and in 1915, when Boundary County was created; it was made the county seat.  The city began to grow in importance when the Great Northern Railroad was built through the area.

Moyie Falls is a spectacular sight in this pristine area.  The Kootenai Tribal Mission and the Kootenai Experimental Sturgeon Hatchery west of Bonners Ferry are of note.

Bonners Ferry was selected as Idaho's Most Friendly Town by travelers and tourists in 2003.

What To See And Do:

The Snyder Guard Station is a complex of seven buildings on the Moyie River in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. It includes a residence, two log cabins, an office/warehouse, a corral, a machine shed and a garage. All of these buildings were built before 1936. The site was established in 1908 and continued to be used as a ranger station until 1937 when several small districts were consolidated into the Bonners Ferry Ranger District. Snyder was used as a fire guard station and work center until 1980. The Guard Station is now part of the Lookout Rental Program.

The Snyder Guard Station is in the Selkirk Mountains with forests of western red cedar, hemlock and subalpine fur. You can also find serviceberry, huckleberry and fairybells. Visitors can expect to see wildlife such as deer, black bear, moose, mountain goat and cougars. The area is also home to two endangered species, the grizzly bear and the woodland caribou. In fact, the Selkirk Mountains are the last home in the continental United States of the woodland caribou.

(Sources include The Idaho Blue Book, 2005-2006; Idaho Place Names: A Geographical Directory; County Profiles of Idaho.)