New Plymouth, Idaho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 43°58′14″N 116°49′14″W / 43.97056, -116.82056
New Plymouth, Idaho
Aerial view of New Plymouth
Nickname: World's Largest Horseshoe Home of the Pilgrims
Location of New Plymouth, Idaho
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Payette
Government
- Mayor	Joe Cook
Area
- Total	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km²)
- Land	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	2,260 ft (689 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,400
- Density	2,030.2/sq mi (783.9/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	83655
Area code(s)	208
FIPS code	16-56980
GNIS feature ID	0396952
Website: http://myweb.cableone.net/cnp/

New Plymouth is a city in Payette County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,400 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on February 15, 1896. New Plymouth is the first planned community west of the Mississippi River. It is the host of the annual Payette County Fair.

New Plymouth is part of the Ontario, OR–ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Government
5 Points of Interest
6 Boulevard
7 External links
8 References

[edit] History

New Plymouth was a colony town, bought and planned before it was settled. It was the combined project of a group of people purportedly dissatisfied with city life in Chicago, who in 1895 formed what they called "The Plymouth Society of Chicago" and William E. Smythe, who was the chairman of the executive committee of the National Irrigation Congress and a famous irrigation promoter. Mr. Smythe was determined to found a colony to serve as a striking argument in favor of his project - irrigation. He spoke throughout the east, urging young and old men to go west in colonies and develop the country with the help of irrigation. He wanted the first colony to be called New Plymouth — after Plymouth, Massachusetts — and wanted it located in southwestern Idaho in the Payette Valley, which he had found apt for his purpose because of the extraordinary water supply via the nearby Payette River.

The Plymouth Society of Chicago selected a committee to investigate the irrigated Payette River Valley in the five-year-old state of Idaho, and another site in Colorado, to be purchased for the colony. The present city of New Plymouth was on the drawing boards in Chicago, designed as a town able to be self reliant through the use of irrigation, solidly built on an agricultural and railroad economy.

In February of 1896, each colonist purchased 20 shares of stock at $30 per share, which entitled him to 20 acres of land and a town lot. He was to clear the land of sagebrush and plant fruit trees, preferably apples. The town was platted with a horseshoe shape with its open end facing to the north, toward the railroad and the river. This area was planned as an industrial zone, and the acre tracts around the horseshoe were the residential lots.

The homes were to built on the street side and the balance of the acre for garden and pasture for the family cow and the driving team. Two streets, separated by an 80-foot park, curve around the town in a horseshoe shape. This one-mile long park and the streets that enclose it were called "The Boulevard." The park was planted with grass and shade trees. Plymouth Avenue, the main street and principal business thoroughfare, was surveyed (16 feet off the section line) down the center of the horseshoe from the railroad on the north through the Boulevard on the south.

The community was at first called the New Plymouth Farm Village and was governed by a colony board of directors until it incorporated as a village in 1908, dropping the last two words in the name. It was designated a city in 1948.

Sign that welcomes you into New Plymouth coming from the south.

[edit] Geography

New Plymouth is located at 43°58′14″N, 116°49′14″W (43.970689, -116.820449)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 1,400 people, 524 households, and 372 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,030.2 people per square mile (783.4/km²). There were 566 housing units at an average density of 820.8/sq mi (316.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.36% White, 0.29% African American, 0.79% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 2.86% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.86% of the population.

There were 524 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,524, and the median income for a family was $33,224. Males had a median income of $28,529 versus $21,161 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,624. About 12.3% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

New Plymouth has 3 full-time police officers^[3]. City Council members include Erik Cline, Ben Esplin, Jeannette Mayer, and Rick York.^[4]

Example of a New Plymouth waterwheel.

[edit] Points of Interest

Tuttle Blacksmith Shop, the oldest building in town
The Waterwheels located on Southwest First Avenue
Payette County Fairgrounds
Roady's Truck Stops Headquarters
New Plymouth High School
Armoral Tuttle Public Library

[edit] Boulevard

The Boulevard is the main residential area and the original setting of the town. There are many unique things about the boulevard. First, it is in the shape of a horseshoe with a large park down the middle. Also, a system of ditches parallel the roads and drain into the canal, giving each landowner who pays for a share access to irrigation water. This comes from the days when farming was intended to be done inside the city. It is now used for gardening or watering the lawn. It also now includes a frisbee golf course along the west side^[5].