~Cassia County~

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Cassia County was created by the Idaho Territorial Legislature on February 20, 1879, by a partition of Owyhee County, with the county seat at Albion. A western portion became Twin Falls County in 1907. The county assumed its present boundaries when an eastern portion became Power County on January 30, 1913. The county seat was changed to Burley on November 5, 1918.

Named for Cassia Creek, which was named for one of two words: cajeaux, peasent French for raft; or James John Cazier, member of the LDS Church and of the Mormon Battalion, later a colorful captain of an emigrant train, whose name was corrupted to cassia.

History note: The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular US army officers. During its service, the battalion made a grueling march nearly 2,000 miles long from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego.

The battalion's march and service was instrumental in helping the US secure much of the American Southwest, including new lands in several Western states, especially the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 of much of southern Arizona. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California. Veterans of the battalion played significant roles in America's westward expansion in California, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and other parts of the West.

Mormon Battalion Historic Site & Museum in Old Town San Diego, viewed from across Juan St on October 1st, 2011. The museum is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1879, Albion was the first county seat of Cassia County. The Courthouse building began construction as a hotel in the same year. The unfinished building was sold to the county commissioners for $1000 and remained the county courthouse until 1919. The most famous trial to be held in this first Cassia Courthouse was the trial of Diamond Field Jack in which William E. Borah was one of the prosecuting attorneys.

The first known white settler to arrive in Cassia County was Charles Gamble, a 22-year old man from Maryland. Gamble settled in the Raft River area in December of 1866 with a herd of cattle and his cowboy associates. Although Mr. Gamble may have been the first settler in these parts, he was definitely not the first man to enter the boundaries of Cassia County. In the 1860's, thousands of pioneers passed through the area which is now known as the City of Rocks. It was a common place for the wagon trains headed to Oregon or California to stop and rest. Local history enthusiasts have discovered that there are approximately 230 miles of authentic emigrant routes crossing Cassia County.

By 1868, pioneers were settling in Marsh Valley (now Albion). The next ten years saw people moving to Malta, Elba, Almo, and Oakley. While cattlemen and sheepmen grazed their herds, Mormon pioneers began farming operations near the Oakley Basin. Oakley became known as the educational and religious center for the Mormon pioneers who settled in the area.

In the first year or two of the century, a man named David E. Burley, a passenger agent for the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company, traveled through this area. While working for the Oregon Short Line, he became familiar with the area and its ability to grow sugar beets. In 1905, a man named I.B. Perrine and five others platted a town on the south bank of the Snake River. This town, of course, became known as Burley, Idaho. The town wasn't incorporated until July 19, 1909. It wasn't long after Burley was established that the townsfolk announced that they would do everything they could to move the county seat from Albion to Burley. They weren't successful until 1918 when Burley officially became the county seat of Cassia County.

The smaller present-day towns of Almo, Elba, Malta Albion, and Oakley were settled in the 1870's, and Burley was founded in 1905. On November 5, 1918, the county seat was moved to Burley. The present day courthouse was built in 1939 and is still being used for county government. It is on the list of the U.S. Historical Buildings. The oldest building still in use in the county is the Tracy Store in Almo which opened in 1894. In 1995, Cassia County had a population of 20,811 people and comprised an area of 2,577 square miles.

At the turn of the century, many cattle and sheep were being raised in the area. Eventually, cattlemen and sheepmen began to argue over grazing rights. One feud led to the arrest of the famous hired gunman, Diamondfield Jack Davis in 1897. Diamondfield Jack, who was hired by a cattle rancher to keep sheepherders off his land, was accused of murdering two sheepherders in February of 1896. It wasn't until November of 1900 that two cattlemen confessed to the murders. Mr. Davis was eventually pardoned in 1902. Documents from the trial proceedings involving Diamondfield Jack are kept in the archives of Cassia County.

In 1904, construction began on the Minidoka Dam as the first government Reclamation Project in Idaho. Until that time, a few farmers had built water wheels to move water from the river to their cattle and crops. With the arrival of irrigation, more farmland was established. Grains, sugar beets, potatoes and alfalfa were in demand across the country and the south-central Idaho soil and growing season were perfect for growing these crops.

Albion is one of the few cities in the Magic Valley region of Idaho founded before 1900. Beginning in 1893 it was home of the Albion State Normal School, an institution of higher learning which trained many Idaho teachers.

Albion State Normal School was established by the Idaho Legislature in 1893, as one of two Normal schools in the state. (The other, in Lewiston, is now Lewis-Clark State College.) Citizens of Albion had actively lobbied for the school's establishment, and donated land and labor for the new campus.

The school remained a small institution throughout its history, focusing on the training of teachers and drawing its student body primarily from south-central Idaho. Albion Normal offered a two-year teacher training program until 1947, when it was renamed "Southern Idaho College of Education" (SICE) and authorized to confer baccalaureate degrees. The school remained troubled by low enrollment and a lack of funding, however, and was finally closed by the state in 1951. Its academic programs were transferred to Idaho State College (now Idaho State University) in Pocatello.

During its existence, Albion Normal awarded some 6,460 degrees. Perhaps the most notable alumnus of the college was Terrel Bell (1921-1996), who served as United States Secretary of Education from 1981 to 1984.

The college's athletic teams were known as the "Teachers" until 1935, when they became the "Panthers." School colors were Cardinal and Black, and the annual student yearbook was called The Sage.

After SICE closed in 1951, the campus remained vacant until 1957, when Magic Valley Christian College opened at the site. Magic Valley Christian, in turn, closed in 1969. The campus was deeded to the city of Albion the following year, which continued to maintain the grounds while alternative uses for the property were explored. Finally, the empty and deteriorating property was sold at public auction on June 2, 2007; a group of Idaho investors were successful with a bid of $810,000. The new owners have begun rehabilitating a portion of the campus to serve as a conference and retreat center, called "Campus Grove at Albion."

The campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

D. L. Evans Bank was founded in Albion in 1904. Although the bank's headquarters is now located in Burley, it continues to operate a branch in Albion.

The Cassia County Courthouse is a historic building located at Fifteenth Street and Overland Avenue in Burley, the county seat. It was constructed in 1939. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 27, 1987.

Burley - In the first year or two of the century, a man named David E. Burley, a passenger agent for the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company, traveled through this area. While working for the Oregon Short Line, he became familiar with the area and its ability to grow sugar beets. In 1905, a man named I.B. Perrine and five others platted a town on the south bank of the Snake River. This town, of course, became known as Burley, Idaho. The town wasn't incorporated until July 19, 1909. It wasn't long after Burley was established that the townsfolk announced that they would do everything they could to move the county seat from Albion to Burley. They weren't successful until 1918 when Burley officially became the county seat of Cassia County.

Declo was originally named Marshfield. In 1916, the name was changed to Declo. The name is an amalgam of the names of two resident families, Dethles and Cloughly.

The world's largest potato processing company was founded in 1923 near Declo by a 14-year-old entrepreneur named J.R. Simplot, who had moved to the area with his family as a toddler. The corporate headquarters for the J. R. Simplot Company are now located in Boise.

Malta: The settlers in the Malta area in the early 1880s had no central location for mail delivery. The mail was delivered in open boxes. The Condit family secured a permit from the U.S. Post Office Department to open a post office and name the community. Apparently it seemed like an island in a wide expanse of sea, so they named it Malta after the island of Malta in the Mediterranean.

Oakley was named for William Oakley, the proprietor of a 19th century stagecoach station located at a spring currently located about 2 miles west of the present townsite known as Oakley Meadows. David B. Haight, former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was born in Oakley. The small hamlet has served as home to a surprising number of famous Americans. The former governors of Utah and Massachusetts can trace their stock to Oakley. Jon Huntsman of Utah is the grandson of David B. Haight, and Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts is the son of another famous Oakley-ite, George Romney. Yet another Oakley Romney, Marion G. Romney, was a Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Oakley is also rich in old west lore, such as the tale of Diamondfield Jack, and another story of intrigue, the story of Gobo Fango.

This town of less than 800 people has turned out leaders in politics, business, and entertainment. The town is also home to current Idaho's Assistant House Majority Leader Scott Bedke.

Oakley has become recognized world-wide for its Middle Mountain quarries of Rocky Mountain quartzite building stone known as Oakley Stone or Idaho quartzite, a metamorphic rock. Quarry operators ship out thousand of tons a month to locations around the globe.

The stone is quarried south of the city of Oakley in Cassia County, northeast of the three-state border with Nevada & Utah. The quarries are located on the west slope of Middle Mountain in the Albion Mountains, northwest of the City of Rocks National Reserve.

Oakley stone is micaceous, meaning it is a mica-bearing stone. This mineral gives the product a fish-scale-like sheen. The stone is noted for its great variety of colors, ranging from white and silver to browns, yellows, and golds. Another stone in the area, Elba Quartzite, is a green micaceous quartzite. The green color of the rock is a result of chromium in the mica which is also known as fuchsite. The original sedimentary rock from which the quartzite formed was a quartz-rich sandstone. During the metamorphic process, the pressure caused the layers of clay within the sandstone to thin and flatten into the mica-rich layers. The spaces between planes of parting or foliation are consistent which makes it uniform in thickness.

Today, many people remark that Oakley is the very last "Mayberry" left in America, and frequently visited for its Victorian homes.

Almo was established around a post office in 1881. It had previously been part of a ranch and had often been considered to be in Utah.

Almo is a short distance away from the City of Rocks National Reserve, a 14,300-acre area with granite columns as much as 600 feet high.

The City of Rocks National Reserve, also known as the Silent City of Rocks, is a United States National Reserve and state park lying 2 miles north of the south central Idaho border with Utah. It is widely known for its excellent rock climbing and rock formations.

The rock spires in the City of Rocks and adjacent Castle Rocks State Park are largely composed of granitic rock of the Oligocene Almo pluton and Archean Green Creek Complex.

California Trail wagon trains of the 1840s and 1850s left the Raft River valley and traveled through the area and over Granite Pass into Nevada. Names or initials of emigrants written in axle grease are still visible on Register Rock. Ruts from wagon wheels also can be seen in some of the rocks.

Source: Cassia County, Cassia County Museum, Wikipedia,