Paris, Idaho

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This article is about the Idaho city. For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 42°13′40″N 111°23′58″W / 42.22778, -111.39944
Paris, Idaho
Location in Bear Lake County and the state of Idaho
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Bear Lake
Area
- Total	3.5 sq mi (9.1 km²)
- Land	3.5 sq mi (9.0 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km²)
Elevation	5,965 ft (1,818 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	576
- Density	165.2/sq mi (63.8/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP codes	83261, 83287
Area code(s)	208
FIPS code	16-60580
GNIS feature ID	0388197

Mormon Tabernacle in Paris

Paris is a rural city located on the western side of the Bear Lake Valley in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 576 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Bear Lake County, it was settled on September 26, 1863 by pioneer settlers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Paris Idaho was settled by a group of dedicated Mormons led by Charles C Rich. These pioneers during the early years of settling the harsh climate suffered greatly however their faith kept them from leaving the area.

Paris sports an impressive landmark for a town of its size. The LDS Paris Tabernacle is a sandstone church built by the pioneers in 1889. It seats around 2000 people, nearly four times the population of the town.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Events
4 Demographics
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Paris is located at 42°13′40″N, 111°23′58″W (42.227699, -111.399373)^[1]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), of which, 3.5 square miles (9.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.85%) is water.

Paris lies in a high valley of the Rocky Mountains, at nearly 6000 feet in elevation. Due to the high elevation, cold winters and mild summers are the norm for Paris and the area. Most of the surrounding country is used for ranching.

[edit] History

Paris was founded by Mormon pioneers, including Henry Howell on September 29, 1863. ^[2]

[edit] Events

The Paris 4th of July Celebration is the big event of the year, a tradition that brings folks from miles around. Starting off with the KVSI fun run (approx. 9 miles) from the KVSI radio station in Montpelier ending in Paris. The Bear Lake Ranger's chuckwagon breakfast is held at the finish line of the fun run. The Bear Lake Pageant is held at the Paris Tabernacle followed by the parade that runs through the town. The event concludes with a youth rodeo at the Paris rodeo grounds.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 576 people, 218 households, and 168 families residing in the city. The population density was 165.2 people per square mile (63.7/km²). There were 292 housing units at an average density of 83.7/sq mi (32.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.13% White, 0.35% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.35% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.

There were 218 households out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.1% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,341, and the median income for a family was $45,000. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,725. About 3.8% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.