Boundary County IDGenWeb Project

This Boundary County genealogy page is part of the IDGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects.

This project is non-commercial and completely run by volunteers, part of a group working to provide family history research web sites for every county in the United States.

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Boundary County is located in the Panhandle of Idaho

Main Cities include: Bonners Ferry, Eastport, Moyie Springs, Naples and Porthill

Kootenay River Valley by James Alden c1859

We hope our website will assist you in your genealogy research and you will find information to help your family history come alive.

Community Histories

County Community Maps

Boundary County was established January 23, 1915 with the County Seat at Bonners Ferry. The name Boundary was chosen as the county has boundaries with Canada and two states -- Washington and Montana. It borders only one other Idaho County -- Bonner Co. to the South.

Historical Background

"Boundary County was first part of Kootenai County, and then was split from Bonner County. It's early history is part of that of the original Kootenai County. David Thompson who was the first known white man in what is now Boundary County, opened up the fur trade in Idaho in 1808. In 1864, E. L. Bonner established a ferry on the Kootenai River at what is now Bonners Ferry. Richard Fry bought out Bonner in about 1874, and for 10 years the Fry brothers and their families were the only white people in the county. The first post office was named Fry, but later the name was changed to Bonners Ferry. The Great Northern Railroad was built through the area in the 1880's." -- "Idaho Almanac," published by the State of Idaho in 1977.

The tribal headquarters of the Kutenai Indians is a short distance from Bonners Ferry.

Geography

History and spectacular scenery abound here in Boundary County. The county is mountainous and forest covered terrain; the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains being prominent ranges. The L-shaped Kootenai River Valley (approximately 30% of the county) is privately owned, the rest being either State or Federal property. Elevation ranges from 1740' in the valley to 7357' on Gunsight Peak in the Selkirks. The Ponderay National Forest became the Kaniksu National Forest in 1933, and is now known as the Panhandle National Forest. The Kootenai River rises in British Columbia, loops into NW Montana, circles through Boundary Co., then North into Kootenai Lake, in B.C., becoming the head waters of the Columbia River. The Moyie River starts in British Columbia, and joins the Kootenai River at Moyie Springs.

Idaho State University Boundary Co. Information

Search all of Boundary County - IDGenweb

Maintained by Randy Cummings, Boundary County Coordinator

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