Bannock County

	More About Bannock County
County Statistics
Interesting Facts
What To See And Do
Famous Bannock County Natives and Residents

Bannock County was established on March 6, 1893, from part of Bingham County, with its county seat at Pocatello. It was the 19th out of 44 counties. It was named for the Bannack Indians, who were the first inhabitants of the area. Bannock was spelled with an "o" by early settlers.

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County Statistics:

County Seat: Pocatello
Population: 82,539 (2009 estimate)
Bannock County website

Borders: Bingham, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida and Power counties

Interesting Facts:

The county seat of Bannock County is said to have been named after Pocataro, the chief of a northwestern Shoshone band.  He signed the Treaty of Box Elder, and eventually settled on the Fort Hall Reservation.

Pocatello has strong ties to the railroad industry, with the Pocatello Junction built by the railroad industry. Although the railroad originally put its administrative and maintenance headquarters in Eagle Rock (now Idaho Falls) in 1881, the industry moved its major operations to Pocatello a few years later.  During World War II, more than 4,500 railroad cars passed through the city's yards each day.

The city of Pocatello qualified under state law as a city of the first-class in 1920, when its population reached 15,000.

Idaho State University, located in Pocatello, was opened in 1902 as the Academy of Idaho with 70 students.  Enrollment now approaches 13,000.  Its mascot, the Bengal, was officially adopted in 1931.

Pocatello has two international sister cities: Iwamizawa, Japan, and Kwaremenguel, Burkina Faso.

What to See and Do:

Bannock County Historical Museum: Explore Pocatello's early railroad history and view Shoshone-Bannock Indian artifacts at this museum, which is open year-round and located adjacent to the Fort Hall Replica and the Ross Park Zoo in Pocatello.

Downata Hot Springs:  These hot springs pools are a destination that will delight everyone.  With a swimming pool, slides, hot tub, water playground, cabins and campground, it's a great place for an afternoon or a few days.

Fort Hall Replica: Located at the upper level of Ross Park in Pocatello, visitors enter the 19th century world of explorers, trappers, fur traders, Native Americans and other early pioneers to Bannock County.  The replica fort is a reproduction of the original Hudson's Bay Fort

Idaho Museum of Natural History:  This museum, located on the campaus of Idaho State University in Pocatello, is home to collections in anthropology, vertebrate palenontology, earth science and the life sciences. Children will enjoy the Discovery Room, a hands-on area with fossils, shells and other exhibits that can be touched and handled.

Justice Park Picnic Area:  The seasonal park at Scout Mountain near Pocatello has a picnic area, archery range, nature trails, an amphitheater and campsites.

Pocatello Zoo at Ross Park:  This zoo features animals of the Rocky Mountain region in a natural setting.  It is open seasonally from April through October.

Famous Bannock County Natives and Residents:

Terrel Howard Bell (1921-1996) served as the Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985). He was born and educated in Lava Hot Springs, and earned a M.A. from the University of Idaho. He spent most of his professional career in Utah before being appointed by Reagan. He rose from high school teacher to college professor to administrative position and was noted for driving a U-Haul truck from Utah to Washington when he moved to take over the U.S. Department of Education in 1981.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is an American author, best known as the creator of the Tarzan stories. Burroughs spent some time in Idaho during the early 1900s, and it is rumored that he wrote the first draft of Tarzan of the Apes while working at a stationery store in Pocatello. The first Tarzan book was published in 1912.

Stacy Dragila (1971- ) was a pole vaulter for the Idaho State University women's track and field team and won the first gold medal in women's pole vaulting in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She lives in Pocatello and serves as an assistant coach for Idaho State University's track and field team.

Larry EchoHawk (1948-) was born in Wyoming in 1948. He moved to Idaho when he was 30 years old and served as an attorney for the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Tribe in Eastern Idaho. In 1991, he was elected Idaho's Attorney General, making him the first Native American attorney general of any state. EchoHawk is a Pawnee Indian. In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated EchoHawk to run the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

William Petersen (1953- ) is an actor best know for his role on the TV series "CSI." Petersen graduated from Bishop Kelly High School in Boise and attended Idaho State University in Pocatello on a football scholarship. During his time at ISU, he gained an interest in acting and has pursued a career in acting.

(Sources include The Idaho Blue Book.)