Blaine County

	More About Blaine County
County Statistics
Interesting Facts
What To See And Do
Famous Blaine County Natives and Residents

Blaine County was established on March 5, 1895, with Hailey as the county seat. It was the 20th county in Idaho and was named for James G. Blaine, U.S. Secretary of State from 1889 to 1892 under President Benjamin Harrison. The area was first explored in 1818 by Donald MacKenzie, an early fur trapper and explorer in the Pacific Northwest.

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County statistics:

County Seat: Hailey
Population: 21,103
Blaine County website

Borders:  Bingham, Boise, Butte, Camas, Cassia, Custer, Elmore, Lincoln, Minidoka and Power counties

Interesting Facts:

Sun Valley was America's first ski resort, opened in 1936 by Union Pacific Railroad chairman Averell Harriman. He had hired Count Felix Schaffgtosch the year previous to find a "perfect spot for a grand American resort." Upon Schaffgtosch's recommendation, Harriman purchased 4,300 acres which became Sun Valley. Sun Valley quickly became the destination for European nobility and Hollywood celebrities. It remains a popular year-round resort today.

The first alpine skiing chairlift is located at Sun Valley. It was built by Union Pacific Railroad engineers and designed after a banana-boat loading device. When it opened in 1936, it cost 25 cents per ride.

The Scott Ski Pole, which help revolutionize skiing, was invented in 1958 by Edward Scott, a Ketchum resident.

Sun Valley has two international sister cities: Kitzbuehl, Austria, and Yamanouchi, Japan. Ketchum also has two: Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, and Tegernsee, Germany.

What To See And Do:

Blaine County Historical Museum:  The museum, housed in an adobe building built in 1883 in Hailey, hosts exhibits on the early inhabitants and pioneers of the Wood River Valley.

Sun Valley Lodge:  Construction of the Sun Valley Lodge began in 1936, forever transforming the tranquil Wood River Valley. It was Union Pacific Railroad chairman Averell Harriman's idea to create a destination ski resort in hopes of increasing passenger traffic on the company's Western rail line. The $1.5 million dollar lodge offered visitors a taste of luxury in the midst of rugged countryside, a concept that was central to the promotion of the fledgling resort. The completed lodge boasted 220 rooms, picture windows with sweeping views, and a distinctive round swimming pool. The lavish lodge paralleled the resort's many other innovations, such as the first-ever chairlift.

Celebrities, enticed by the prospect of "winter sports under a summer sun," flocked to the Sun Valley Lodge for its opening gala and in the months that followed. Ernest Hemingway finished the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls during his extended stay in suite 206 of the lodge. Today, photographs of the many celebrity guests - including movie stars, Olympic athletes, and high-profile politicians - line the halls of the building.

Famous Blaine County Natives and Residents:

Christin Cooper (1959- ) was a silver medalist in alpine ski racing in the 1984 Olympics, held in Sarajevo. In honor of her silver medal, a run at the Sun Valley Resort carries her name. She is from Ketchum.

Dick Fosbury (1947- ) won the high jump gold medal in the 1968 Olympics, held in Mexico City; he set a world record (7 feet 4.25 inches) using a back-first technique known as the Fosbury Flop. He also won the NCAA outdoor champsionship in 1969. He is a civil engineer in Ketchum.

Gretchen Fraser (1919-1994) was an Olympic medalist in alpine skiing. She took the gold in slalom and silver in combined at the 1948 Olympics in St. Moritz. She was the first American woman to win a gold medal at the winter Olympics. She moved to Sun Valley in 1938 and served as a mentor to many female ski racers including Christin Cooper and Picabo Street. She was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1960. Gretchen's Gold, a ski run at Sun Valley, is named for her.

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), author of classics such as The Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises. He was born in Illinois, but later maintained a home in Sun Valley. Hemingway worked on For Whom the Bell Tolls in Idaho. In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize for literature. He spent his last years in Ketchum and is buried there.

Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was born in Hailey, but spent most of his life in Europe. He achieved fame as a writer, and has been called modern poetry's most important writer. Among his works are The Cantos, an 800-page novel series that took him 50 years to complete.

Picabo Street (1971- ) is an Olympic medalists in alpine skiing. She was born in Triumph, southeast of Sun Valley. She took the silver medal in downhill at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer and the gold medal in Super-G at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. A run at Sun Valley is named after her.

 

(Sources include The Idaho Blue Book, 2005-2006; Holland, Wendolyn Spence. Sun Valley: An Extraordinary History. The Idaho Press, 1998.)