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Twin Falls - Idaho - History |
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Although
it is celebrating this year (2004) only its 100th birthday, Twin Falls has a
strong sense of history. Shoshonian people settled in the region thousands
of years ago, and during the mid-19th century, the area was
heavily travelled by pioneers moving west on the Oregon Trail. Traces of
the emigrant's route may still be seen near Twin Falls. Twin
Falls itself was founded in 1904 to serve settlers arriving to take part
in a new irrigation project spurred by the Carey Act, which encouraged
pioneers to stake claims on 160-acre tracts at $25 an acre. Money made
through the land sales was used to build canals to carry water from Milner
Dam, constructed in 1905. Twin Falls was named the seat of newly created
Twin Falls County in 1907.
Twin
Falls' airport opened in 1948, followed by the town's first shopping
center, the Lynwood, in 1957. The College of Southern Idaho began holding
classes at Twin Falls High School in 1965, moving to its own campus three
years later. Twin Falls is still an important agricultural center, with six of the city's 10 largest employers involved in processing food. Yet in recent years, Twin Falls has also evolved into the major retail and services hub for southcentral Idaho and northeastern Nevada. Twin Falls is enjoying a period of growth and prosperity spurred by new and relocating businesses and people seeking a better way of life, but it has succeeded in retaining a small-town friendliness long prized by residents and visitors alike. |
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The
irrigation project turned once-barren land into one of the nation's most
productive farming regions, and when crops started springing up where once
only sagebrush grew, the area became known as "the Magic
Valley." The Perrine Bridge, completed in 1927 across the Snake River
Canyon, was the highest cantilever bridge for its length in the world at
the time. (It was replaced by the present span, the highest in Idaho, in
1976.) The Snake River Canyon is also noted as the site of Shoshone Falls,
which -- at 
212
feet tall -- is 25 feet higher than Niagara Falls. (The smaller but still
pretty "Twin Falls" for which the city was named are located a
mile or so upriver).
