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Johnny Sack CabinJohnny Sack Cabin · Photo: Pilleyk · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Island Park

Island Park’s post office opened in 1911, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Island Park was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Joseph Sherwood House and Store and the Eleanor Albaugh Cabin. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1930.

1911first post office
2on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Island Park began

When was Island Park founded?

1911

The Island Park post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lake (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 50 in 19302020 census: 193115 years
Founding year: the first Island Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Island Park’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Island Park are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 286 in 2010; 193 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Island Park, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Island Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Island Park’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Island Park, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 286

Peaked at 286 in 2010; 193 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Island Park’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake
1889–1941
Island Park
1911–today
Macks Inn
1930–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Flat RockLakeLast ChanceStaley Springs
Gone or out of use
Island Park Post Officepost officeTrude Junctionlocale
1cemetery inside Island Park
Targhee

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

The story

How Island Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Island Park.

Read it all →

About 50,000 years ago, the area where the city is currently located was actually a very large volcano that exploded with extraordinary force. The volcanic eruption seems to have been so big to reach as far as Kansas.

The native population within the area was mostly focused on the shores of the Snake River and around the shores of Henry’s Lake, and was pretty diverse. The local native population included: the Snake, Bannock, Lemhi, Tukudika, Crow and Flathead.

ChaptersMiddle Pleistocene epochPre-European HistoryThe arrival of the EuropeansFounding of the cityRecent History

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Island Park, 1889 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Lake post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe Island Park post office opens
  5. 1930Post officeThe Macks Inn post office opens
  6. 1941Post officeThe Lake post office closes
  7. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 286
By decade

Island Park, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Island Park, Idaho72017Island Park, Idaho7Island Park, Idaho62017Island Park, Idaho6Island Park, Idaho52017Island Park, Idaho5Island Park, Idaho42017Island Park, Idaho4Island Park, Idaho32017Island Park, Idaho3Island Park, Idaho22017Island Park, Idaho2Island Park, Idaho12017Island Park, Idaho1Island Park, United States (Unsplash)2016Island Park, United States (Unsplash)Meadow in2007Meadow inJohnnySackCabinMill 0744832007JohnnySackCabinMill 074483JohnnySackCabin 0745352007JohnnySackCabin 074535IDMap-doton-IslandPark2004IDMap-doton-IslandPark
On the map

Island Park on the map in 1964

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Island Park.

Island Park on the 1964 USGS map1964Island Park sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Island Park

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Joseph Sherwood House and Store
Joseph Sherwood House and StoreEleanor Albaugh Cabin
Buildings
All 2 listings
Joseph Sherwood House and StoreBuilding · listed 1994Eleanor Albaugh CabinBuilding · listed 2020

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Island Park

Nobody well known was born in Island Park itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
K
Keith Foote NyborgBusinessman; US Ambassador to Finland, 1981-86 · b. 1930
Ryan HamiltonAmerican comedian · b. 1976

Questions about Island Park’s history

What year was Island Park founded?

The Island Park post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Island Park?

Two places: the Joseph Sherwood House and Store (listed 1994) and the Eleanor Albaugh Cabin (2020).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.