Homedale, Owyhee County, Idaho Genealogy

United States Idaho  Owyhee County  Homedale

Geographic Location
Homedale is a small farming community and city in the northwestern corner of Owyhee County, Idaho. It had at least three farming sub-communities which fed into the larger community of Homedale -- Northside, Owyhee Heights, and Southside.

When studying the community of Homedale, it is important to consider the communities of Central Cove, Fargo, Sunny Slope, and Wilder -- all across the Snake River in Canyon County, as part of the Homedale community. Many of the children from these Canyon County locations went to Homedale schools; at the County Fair, which is held in Homedale each summer, these communities often participate; and many from these Canyon County communities attend church in Homedale.

City Hall
Homedale City Hall 31 West Wyoming Ave. P.O. Box 757 Homedale, ID 83628 Ph. (208)337-4641 Fax (208)337-5904

Biography
There is no known collection of biographical sketches for residents of Homedale.

Cemeteries
Homedale has no cemetery within its city boundaries. Early settlers were often buried in the Wilder Cemetery in Canyon County or in the cemeteries in Caldwell or Nampa, also in Canyon County. A new cemetery was established in the 1960s, located about half-way between Homedale and Marsing, called the Marsing-Homedale Cemetery. Many of the former residents of the Homedale area are now buried there.

Assembly of God

 * 15 W Montana Ave
 * Homedale, ID 83628-3223
 * Ph. 208-337-4458

Baptist

 * Homedale Baptist Church
 * Ph. 208-337-3713

Bible Missionary Church

 * Iglesia Misionera Biblica
 * 132 E. Owyhee Ave.
 * Homedale, ID 83628-3227
 * Ph. 208-337-5975

Catholic

 * St. Hubert's Catholic Church
 * 101 E. Owyhee Ave.
 * Homedale, ID 83628-3227
 * Ph. 208-337-3153

St. Hubert's operates under the direction of Our Lady of the Valley in Caldwell, Idaho and is in the West Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise.

Christian Church

 * 110 W Montana Ave.
 * Homedale, ID 83628-3200
 * Ph. 208-337-3626

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 * Homedale 1st Ward


 * Homedale 2nd Ward

Lutheran

 * Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church
 * 621 West Idaho Ave.
 * Homedale, ID 83628
 * Ph. 208-337-4248

Nazarene

 * Ph. 208-337-3151

Presbyterian

 * First Presbyterian Church
 * 320 N 6th St. W.
 * Homedale, ID 83628-0577
 * Ph. 208-337-3060

Seventh Day Adventist Church

 * 16613 Garnet Rd.
 * Wilder, ID 83676


 * located across the Snake River in Canyon County

Society of Friends

 * Friends Community Church
 * 17434 Highway 95
 * Wilder, ID 83676-5704
 * Ph. 208-337-3464


 * Located across the Snake River in Canyon County

Directories
The Idaho State Archives has a collection of city, county, state and regional directories

The Gem State Rural's 1918-19 Farm Directory of Owyhee County Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon is available online. It lists landowners by town, including those owning land in these two counties, but residing elsewhere. The amount of acreage owned, the location of the land, and a list of crops raised on each farm is also included. The resident land owners of the Homedale area are listed on pages 54-60.

History
Jacob Mussell and his family came to the northwest corner of Owyhee County in 1898 and built a ferry across the Snake River, connecting the area to Canyon County. The Mussell home became the post office, with Mrs. Mussell as the postmistress. The mail came from Caldwell, crossed on the ferry, and continued on to Jordan Valley, Oregon.

The town was platted in 1909 and a mayor and city council appointed. The Gem Irrigation District was developed in 1912, with water coming from two pumping stations on the Snake River, one upriver from the future site of Marsing and one downriver from Homedale. This opened land for farming and brought many new settlers to the area.

A small one-room school had been in existence at Homedale, but in 1913, a new two-story brick schoolhouse was built. This school burned in 1931 and a new grade school was constructed in 1932.

In 1913, a spur line of the Union Pacific Railroad, called the Oregon Short Line, was built from Nyssa, Oregon to Homedale. This was extended to Marsing in 1922.

On the 14th of February 1914, a group of "Austrian" settlers arrived in Homedale on the railroad and settled on land three miles south of Homedale. A small cluster of homes, known as the Austrian Settlement, remains and is owned by descendants of the original immigrants.

Homedale was incorporated in 1920. In 1921, a bridge across the Snake River was built, thereby reinforcing the connection between Homedale and Canyon County.

In 1926, the U.S. Department of the Interior authorized the building of the Owyhee Reservoir in eastern Oregon, which was to supply additional irrigation water to the Homedale and Marsing areas and to other farming areas in eastern Oregon. The Owyhee Fam was completed and began delivering water in 1935.

Published histories:
A brief history of Homedale is available online at the city's website.

Two histories of Homedale, profusely illustrated with historic black-and-white photographs, have been gathered and edited by Norma Parvin Walker. Both were privately printed by Mrs. Walker, and are now out-of-print. Copies are in the research libraries of the Idaho State Archives in Boise and the Owyhee County Historical Society Museum in Murphy, Idaho:


 * Homedale Hodgepodge, Homedale, Idaho: summer of 1989.
 * Homedale Scenes Revisited, Homedale, Idaho: Dec. 2000.

Library
Homedale Public Library 125 West Owyhee Ave. P.O. Box 1087 Homedale, ID 83628-1087 Ph. (208)337-4228

Maps
Google Map of Homedale

Current
Owyhee Avalanche P.O. Box 217 Homedale, ID 83628 Ph. (208)337-4681 email - rob@owyhee.com Weekly

Historical
Several newspapers have been published in Homedale. Copies of the following are included in the collections of the Idaho State Archives in Boise.

Homedale Empire Press -- 12 Feb. 1914 through 24 Nov. 1922 Homedale Empire Press -- issues of 2 Sep. 1915, 9 Sep. 1915, 14 Oct. 1915, and 28 Aug. 1919 Owyhee Chronicle -- 30 Apr. 1931 through 26 Dec. 1984 Homedale News -- 13 Aug. 1948 and 20 Aug. 1948 Owyhee County -- issues of Nov. 1956 and Nov. 1958 Owyhee Chronicle -- 28 Jan. 1971 through 6 Dec. 1979 Owyhee Avalanche -- 2 Jan. 1985 to present

Schools
Homedale has an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.

Homedale High School 203 East Idaho Avenue Homedale, ID 83627-3216 Ph. (208)337-4613

School Records
The Idaho State Archives has a copy of the Homedale High School yearbook, called The Pioneer, for 1940-1941.

Websites
Wikipedia page for Homedale.