Horseshoe Bend City Information

Local History

Horseshoe Bend's history is part of the overall history of Boise County and Southwest Idaho. The Lewis and Clark Expedition came through the Boise area in about 1805 following the Snake River, the fur trappers followed shortly after and traveled up the various rivers flowing into the larger valley, including the Payette River. Most of the mountain sections of the Payette River were too swift to accommodate the beaver populations that the fur trappers were seeking to harvest. From about 1845-1862 the Boise Valley received about 250,000 settlers passing through on the Oregon Trail on their way to the Oregon Country to the west. Very few stopped in the lower valley and none in the mountain regions. In 1862 gold was discovered in the mountains above Boise and the whole area sprang to life. The minors used the river valleys, coming out of the mountains, as the natural routes to exact the valuable ore. Early on, Horseshoe Bend, named because its location on a big bend in the Payette River, became a staging area for miners and those that supplied miners, going further up into the mountains. In 1863, Idaho was made a territory, primarily because of its mineral wealth and the Union's need for the valuable ore during the civil war. Railroad tracks were later extended up to Horseshoe Bend after it came into the lower valley in the 1880's. After the mines played out in the early 1900's and with most of the infrastructure in place, the timber industry entered its boom period. At that time Horseshoe bend, because of it location near the timber and being on the river, which was used to transport timber out of the mountains and having railroad connectivity, became a lumber town with a large mill. This phase of the community lasted until 1998 when Boise Cascade, the town's primary employer, closed its plant. This had a dramatic effect on people living there and on the tax base that supported the school.

At the same time, Boise was entering a boom period, with a high demand for labor. The result was a displacement of the original population toward Boise and the realization for the rest, that it was an alternative bedroom support town for the Boise market. The net result was an actual increase in population occurring since the mill closing. Today Horseshoe bend is a gateway community for white water adventure and other recreational activities in the mountains above Boise. It has also become a unique, bedroom community, for those seeking an alternative lifestyle of living in the mountains but using the Boise market for employment. This category has attracted top end homes into the hills above the community.

Horseshoe Bend is part of the greater Boise economic region of Southwest Idaho, referred to as the "Treasure Valley" due to its agriculturally based wealth, made possible by irrigation and mild climate. Boise is the economic and political hub of this region being the capital of the state, the largest city in the state and the primary location for non- agriculturally based jobs in the region. Recent growth has come mainly through the introduction of clean industries, such as Hewlett Packard and Micron Technologies, in the last 20 years. Horseshoe Bend is part of the Boise Metro area that now has the greatest concentration of people between Salt Lake City Utah and Portland Oregon at about 588,000. Boise and the surrounding areas have also become a hub for transportation and storage, higher education, communication call centers, medical services and most other major demographic factors that allow clean and sustained growth.

Whatever your reasons for coming to Horseshoe Bend, it can be considered a good choice and one of the positive puzzle pieces that make up the "Treasure Valley" whose real treasure has always been its people. Trust the experts at Stewart Realty, LLC to help you find your own piece of Horseshoe Bend Idaho real estate.

Still unsure about where you want to move? Keep reading about Horseshoe Bend Idaho or check out other city pages to find the area of the Treasure Valley that best fits your needs. This site also has up to date information from the Boise MLS on available homes in the area so you can find the perfect home.