Nampa, Idaho

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Nampa, Idaho
Coordinates: 43°34′29″N, 116°33′49″W
County Canyon County
Founded 1886
Incorporated 1891
Mayor Tom Dale
Area  
 - City km²  (19.9 sq mi)
Population  
 - City (2005) 78,000
 - Metro 101,677
Time zone Mountain (UTC-7)
 - Summer (DST) Mountain (UTC-6)
Website: www.ci.nampa.id.us

Nampa (IPA: [næm pə]) is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho, and the second largest in the state. Only the capital city Boise is larger. As of the 2005 census, the population was around 78,000, having grown very quickly in recent years. Nampa is one of the fastest-growing cities in Idaho.

Nampa is located 26 miles west of Boise along Interstate 84. The city is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area.

Nobody knows for sure where Nampa got its name. The belief is that it came from a Native American word for moccasin. Native Americans stuffed their moccasins with sagebrush to keep warm, making a larger footprint. There is also a Nampa in Alberta, Canada.

Visitors to Nampa may notice a certain odor about the city, especially on foggy days. This is a by-product of the Amalgamated Sugar Company's sugar beet processing plant. When the beets are cooked, they emit an odor. Amalgamated Sugar is marketed under the name "White Satin Sugar."

Contents

[edit] History

Nampa began its life as a small railroad town in the early 1880s. More railroad lines sprung up running through Nampa, making it a very important railroad town.

Nampa was founded in 1886, and a year later had grown from 15 homes to 50. As new amenities were added to the town, Nampa continued to grow. It was incorporated in 1891.

Unlike most towns with streets running true north and south, Nampa's roads run perpendicular to the railroad tracks that travel northwest to southeast through the town. Thus, the northside is really the northeast side of the tracks, and the southside is really the southwest side of the railroad tracks. Founder Alexander Duffes laid out Nampa's streets this way to prevent an accident like one that occurred earlier in a town he had platted near Toronto, Canada. In that town, a woman and her two children were killed by a train when they started across the railroad tracks in a buggy and the wheel got stuck. Nampa has the fanciest of many Oregon Short Line Railroad depots built in the area. train depots

The first elementary school was built in the 1890's. Lakeview school was located on a hill on 6th Street and 12th Avenue North, with a view of the Lake. Just after the school's centennial celebration, it was condemned as a school and sold to the First Mennonite Church. The building still stands to this day.

Lake Ethel in north Nampa was drained because it caused some flooding in neighboring homes. The area was converted to a public park. Lakeview Park is Nampa's largest park and many community celebrations are held there.

Colonel William H. Dewey, a man who made a fortune mining in Silver City, seeing the advantage of 4 railroad lines, built the elegant Dewey Palace Hotel in 1902 for a quarter of a million dollars. Colonel Dewey died in his hotel in 1903, leaving his son a million dollars. The hotel survived the great fire of 1909, which burned several blocks of downtown Nampa, but was razed in 1963 because no one wanted to invest in renovating the grand structure. Relics from the hotel, such as the chandelier and the hotel safe can be found at the Canyon County Historical Museum, which is housed in the old train depot on Front Street and Nampa City Hall.

A Carnegie library was built downtown in 1908. It burned down after the library moved in 1966.

Deer Flat Reservoir, an offstream irrigation storage reservoir, was constructed by the United States Reclamation Service between 1906 and 1911. Known locally as Lake Lowell, it is surrounded by the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1909 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Idaho State School and Hospital was built in Nampa in 1910, for the state's developmentally challenged population. It opened in 1918. The institution was largely self sufficient. It had a large farm which was worked by the residents. The higher functioning residents also cared for residents who couldn't do anything for themselves.

Nampa held an annual harvest festival and farmers' market from about 1908. It was a time of celebration and community fun. From this festival emerged the Snake River Stampede Rodeo in 1937, which continues to this day. It is one of the top twelve rodeos in the pro rodeo circuits.

A local congregation of the Church of the Nazarene built a small elementary school in 1913, later growing to Northwest Nazarene College in 1915 and finally to Northwest Nazarene University. The university currently educates about 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

In 1965, the Karcher Mall was built, becoming the first indoor shopping mall in the Treasure Valley. Many area residents have memories of having an Orange Julius, sitting on Santa's lap (Arthur Yensen), or playing games at the Red Baron arcade in the mall. Karcher Mall was "the place to gather" for several decades until the Boise Towne Square was built in Boise in 1988, drawing the business and the people away. Karcher Mall is now struggling to remain in operation. But relief may come from a new Karcher Interchange to Interstate 84 that will be completed by the end of 2006 and provide easy access to the area for commercial, industrial and residential development.

Nampa is booming in 2006 with new homes, new shopping centers and new roads. The Treasure Valley Marketplace north of the Karcher Interchange will open with Costco, Target and Kohl's. Three interstate exits to the east in Nampa, the Nampa Gateway Center and other large retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, are opening near the Idaho Center.

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Community Events

March

  • Mercy Community Sale- A large yard sale to benefit youth.

April

May

  • Cinco de Mayo
  • Parade America
  • Spring Fling Community Festival
  • Downtown Nampa Nights- outdoor concerts begin and run through September

June

  • God & Country Rally- timed around the 4th of July at the Idaho Center. An evening of motivational speakers, with a grand fireworks finale'.

July

August

  • Farm City Night

September

  • Fiesta Idaho

November

  • Canyon County Festival of Trees

December

  • Living Christmas Tree

[edit] External links

[edit] Geography

Nampa is located at 43°34′29″N, 116°33′49″W (43.574807, -116.563559)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.9 square miles. 19.9 mi² of it is land and .04 mi² of it (.10%) is water.

ZIP codes: 83651, 83686, 83687.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 51,867 people, 18,090 households, and 13,024 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,612.3/mi². There were 19,379 housing units at an average density of 976/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 83.45% White, .40% African American, .94% Native American, .93% Asian, .18% Pacific Islander, 11.25% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.9% of the population.

There were 18,090 households out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the city the population was spread out with 31% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 96 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,758, and the median income for a family was $39,434. Males had a median income of $28,580 versus $22,022 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,491. About 8.7% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] External links

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