Southwestern Idaho was originally inhabited by three main Native American tribes: the
Shoshone-Bannock, the
Nez Perce, and the
Northern Paiute. These people were among the first inhabitants in Idaho, first living in the area as early as 12,000 years ago. The Native Americans tribes were nomadic, adopting a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and had an annual
rendezvous in the
Boise Valley, which also included catching salmon. , 1910. Spanish explorers in the late 1500s explored parts of the American West, including southwestern Idaho, and introduced the Native Americans of the area to pigs, horses, domestic fowl, corn, tomatoes, and garlic. After the
Lewis & Clark Expedition through Idaho, French-Canadian fur trappers further explored the area.
Mountain men, including Spaniards and Mexicans, lived off the land in Southwestern Idaho, trading with the Native Americans in the area. However, it wasn't until further development in
Oregon, the mass exodus of settlers to the West on the
Oregon,
Californian, and
Mormon trails, the establishment of
Fort Boise, and the Idaho Gold Rush in the 1850s and 60s that settling of Southwestern Idaho began to increase. In order to support mining towns, such as
Idaho City,
Booneville,
Ruby City, and
Silver City, numerous ranching and agriculture businesses were set up in the area. One of the biggest ranching operations in 1869 was in Owyhee County, where an original 1,400
head of cattle was driven around the county, forging the area's cattle industry that persists today. At an unknown time, there were an estimated 100,000 head of cattle in the area of Owyhee. During this time period, the Native American tribes that had inhabited Southwestern Idaho were forced onto reservations in the 1870s, with the
Nez Perce War being a key conflict during this time period. By 1877, all tribes native to Southwestern Idaho were located on reservations. Rapid and exponential growth was relatively contained by the limits of agriculture and irrigation over the next half century, as Southwestern Idaho has an arid climate that makes long-term, practical farming difficult. Numerous small-scale, private companies aimed to establish irrigation in the lands outside of the easily watered lands near the Boise Valley, but were often disorganized, and had difficulty upscaling to larger areas. As such, the
Casey Act, passed in 1894, allowed for the
reclamation states with public lands to sell 160-acre plots of lands to farmers, which would then have irrigation districts approved by the state's office of reclamation engineering to bring irrigation to those pieces of acreage; a notable example is the Pioneer Irrigation District, established by 1900 near Caldwell and the surrounding areas (such as
Notus and
Middleton). . This photo was taken in July 1941. Idaho benefitted the most from the Casey Act, with around 60% of all land utilized by the Casey Act was located in Idaho, including Southwestern Idaho. In the early 1900s, reclamation projects, such as
Arrowrock Dam, the
New York Canal, the
Cascade Dam, and the
Anderson Ranch Dam all helped irrigate and make the area more sustainable and liveable. These projects, coupled alongside the underground pumping of water (started in 1950) continue to supply Southwestern Idaho with its necessary water supply. In recent history, three cities in Southwestern Idaho were among the fastest growing in the country: Meridian, Nampa, and Caldwell all experienced population growths greater than or equal to 5% from July 2020 to July 2021. For context, Idaho is one of the fastest growing states in the United States; in 2022, census officials estimated that Idaho's population had grown by 1.8% from July 2021 to July 2022, making it the second-fastest growing state in the country. Today, Southwestern Idaho is Idaho's primary and most well-known metropolitan area, with numerous
industries, with the largest (by average employees) being education and health services; trade, transportation, and utilities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and construction. == Education ==