History · Boise City

Boise City has 137 places on the National Register

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #19 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it

Dated to 1863 (Wikidata), with 6% of its homes built before 1940 and 14 historic districts holding 1,059 contributing buildings. Most of Boise City was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, the census since 1870, and every listing on the Register.

1863founded

137on the National Register

6%homes built before 1940

5old photos & papers

39famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Boise City’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Boise City began

When was Boise City founded?

1863

Boise City dates its founding to 1863 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 995 in 18702020 census: 235,684163 years

How historic is Boise City?

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Boise City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boise City is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #19 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boise City’s overall grade.

Founding era1863, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±0.5) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register137 listings, 1,059 historic buildings, 44.6 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%

NewerOlder

Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 69%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Boise City ranks #216 on History.

Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Boise City’s 44.6 sits above most of its state (85% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 1,059 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1863.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Boise City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark137 places on the National Register, including Assay Office, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Harrison Boulevard Historic District takes in 427 historic buildings.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Boise City, and 12 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18973 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1972. Watch Boise City change.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

137 listings protect 1,059 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed

137

National Historic Landmark

Assay Office

historic buildings protected

1,059

each building in a district counts

first listed

1966

Assay Office

BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne24

Colonial Revival12

Bungalow11

Colonial10

Romanesque7

Georgian Revival7

★ Landmark

Assay OfficeBuilding

Thomas E. Logan HouseBuilt 1868

Alexander HouseVictorian

Congregation Beth Israel SynagogueRomanesque · Built 1896

Cyrus Jacobs HouseBuilt 1864

GAR HallBuilding

Idanha HotelFrench Chateau

Christ ChapelGothic Revival

All 137 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Boise City had its own post office from 1864 to 1896. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Boise City

1864–1896

Boise

1896–today

Hawthorne

1901–1902

South Boise

1907–1915

Ustick

1908–1958

Barber

1909–1936

18601940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

BarberBoiseBoise Hills VillageBoise JunctionCloverdaleCollisterHighlandsHillcrestPerkinsSouth BoiseUstickVernon

7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Boise City

Cloverdale Memorial ParkFort Boise MilitaryIdaho State PenitentiaryJoplinMorris HillMountain ViewPioneer

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Boise City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boise City.

Read it all →

The origin of the name is uncertain. One account credits Capt. B. L. E. Bonneville of the U.S. Army as its source. After trekking for weeks through dry and rough terrain, his exploration party reached an overlook with a view of the Boise River Valley. The place where they stood is called Bonneville Point, located on the Oregon Trail east of the city. According to the story, a French-speaking guide, overwhelmed by the sight of the verdant river, yelled "Les bois! Les bois!" ("The woods! The woods!")—and the name stuck.

ChaptersEtymology Indigenous history and fur trading Oregon Trail Discovery of gold and silver Incorporation and growth 20th and 21st centuries

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Boise City, 1863 to 1975

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1863
FoundingBoise City is established
1864BuiltCyrus Jacobs House is built
1864Post officeThe Boise City post office opens
1868BuiltThomas E. Logan House is built
1868In the archive560 MSS P 24 B6 F5
1881In the archiveEB9 Idaho
1896BuiltCongregation Beth Israel Synagogue is built
1896Post officeThe Boise City post office closes
1896Post officeThe Boise post office opens
1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1901Post officeThe Hawthorne post office opens
1902Post officeThe Hawthorne post office closes
1917Born hereJames Jesus Angleton is born here
1924Born hereFrank Church is born here
1925BuiltUnion Pacific Mainline Depot is built
1955Born hereKristine Sutherland is born here
1961LandmarkAssay Office named a National Historic Landmark
1975Born hereTorrie Wilson is born here

By decade

Boise City, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s5 items

c. 1868560 MSS P 24 B6 F5

1868T.E. Logan & Co. Advertisement

1881EB9 Idaho

1881Patronize Home Industry

1884Ada County Courthouse, Boise City, Idaho Territory

1890s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

On the map

Boise City on the map, 1897 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Boise City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1897Boise sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Boise City.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this view560 MSS P 24 B6 F5, c. 1868

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boise City’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Boise City, census by census

Grew from 995 people in 1870 to 235,684 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Boise City’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

39 famous people were born in Boise City

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Torrie WilsonAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1975

Kristine SutherlandAmerican actress · b. 1955

James Jesus AngletonChief of the CIA's counterintelligence (CI) sta… · b. 1917

Frank ChurchAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1924

Jeret PetersonAerial skier · b. 1981

Will BartaAmerican bicycle racer · b. 1996

Help out

Finish Boise City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old view560 MSS P 24 B6 F5: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Garden City2 historic placesC⁻Meridian9 historic placesC Eagle8 historic placesC⁻

Questions about Boise City’s history

What year was Boise City founded?

In 1863, according to Wikidata. Boise City’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1870 counted 995 people here.

How does Boise City rank for history?

Boise City is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #19 of 59 in Idaho. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Boise City?

137 listings: 120 buildings, among them the Assay Office (a National Historic Landmark since 1961), 14 historic districts with 919 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 1,059 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Boise City?

6% of Boise City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1986.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (137), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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