Wards and Branches of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Blackfoot Stake, Idaho

This page includes the boundaries of wards and branches around 1930's, a timeline history, and how to obtain the records.

Source for this page: p. 68-69.

Blackfoot Stake
Stake boundaries as of about 1930 — see Encyclopedic History..., p.68-69.


 * Area of the County:Located in the western part of Bingham County, Idaho.
 * Headquarters in (town):
 * Boundaries of stake:The following wards formerly included in the Bingham Stake of Zion: Basalt, Blackfoot, Goshen, Shelley, Taylor and Tilden on the east side of the Snake River, Groveland, Moreland, Riverside, Thomas and Woodville and the Rich and Howard (later Kimball) branches on the west side of the river. The stake also included a few saints residing on Lost River.

History Timeline up to about 1930


 * 1904 - Blackfoot Stake was organized Jan. 31, with the following wards formerly included in the Bingham Stake of Zion: Basalt, Blackfoot, Goshen, Shelley, Taylor and Tilden, Groveland, Moreland, Riverside, Thomas and Woodville and the Rich and Howard (later Kimball) branches. The stake also included a few saints residing on Lost River.
 * 1906 - Moore was added to the Stake.
 * 1907 - Jamestown was added to the Stake.
 * 1909 - Blackfoot 1st and Blackfoot 2nd were added to the Stake.
 * 1910 - Wapello was added to the Stake.
 * 1912 - Sterling, Tilden and Arco were added to the Stake.
 * 1914 - Blackfoot Stake was divided and the eastern part detached to form the Shelley Stake of Zion with the following wards: Basalt, Goshen, Kimball, Shelley 1st, Shelley 2nd, Taylor and Woodville,
 * 1915 - Rose was added to the Stake.
 * 1916 - Springfield was added to the Stake.
 * 1918 - Aberdeen was added to the Stake.
 * 1919 - The Lost River Stake was organized taking Moore and Arco into that stake.
 * 1920 - In 1920 a fine, modern stake tabernacle was erected in Blackfoot; it was dedicated May 22.
 * 1925 - Pingree was added to the Stake.

Obtain the Records

 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Wards and Branches
Aberdeen, Blackfoot 1st, Blackfoot 2nd, Groveland, Moreland, Pingree, Riverside, Rose, Sterling, Thomas, Wapello and branches Fort Hall, Rich, Riverside and Springfield.

Aberdeen Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.192-193.

Boundaries: History timeline:
 * Located in a growing settlement of that name in the Snake River Valley.
 * 1915 - For the benefit of the children of these settlers a Sunday school was organized July 11. These families were members of the Sterling Ward, but on Oct. 3, they were organized as the Aberdeen Branch of said ward.
 * 1916 - On Dec. 3, the branch was organized as a so-called “independent” branch (reporting directly to the presidency of the Blackfoot Stake). On Dec. 3, 1916, the branch was organized as a so-called “independent” branch (reporting directly to the presidency of the Blackfoot Stake).
 * 1918 - Feb. 3, the Aberdeen Ward was organize.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Blackfoot 1st and 2nd Wards
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 68.

Blackfoot 1st Ward

Boundaries:
 * Located in the city of Blackfoot lying west of the main line of the Oregon Short Line Railroad tracks.

Blackfoot 2nd Ward

Boundaries:
 * Located in the city of Blackfoot lying east of the Oregon Short Line Railroad tracks.

History timeline:


 * 1909 - Blackfoot Ward was divided into two wards May 9, the Blackfoot 1st Ward and the Blackfoot 2nd Ward.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Groveland Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.306.

Boundaries:
 * Located in the Groveland school district on the right bank of Snake River, extending westward from the river about five miles and from north to south about three miles. The meeting house is about three miles north northwest of the center of the city of Blackfoot.

History timeline:
 * 1902 - Groveland Ward is an outgrowth of Moreland Ward, and a branch organization was effected there April 27.
 * 1903 - On Feb. 1, 1903, the Groveland Ward was organized.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Moreland Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.531-532.

Boundaries:


 * Located in Snake River Valley, in and surrounding Moreland.

History timeline


 * 1894 - For some time the settlers in Moreland belonged to the Riverside Ward, but in 1895 they erected a school house in which the people, nearly all members of the Church, held meetings occasionally.
 * 1900 - North of this building a substantial brick school house was erected in 1900, after which the meeting house was used exclusively for ward purposes.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Pingree Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 656.

Boundaries:


 * Located on the townsite of Pingree, a station on the Aberdeen branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, located on the north side of Snake River.

History timeline:


 * 1918 - Saints bought building lots and took advantage of the situation and located in Pingree. They belonged for a time to the Rich Branch, but on Sept. 1, 1918,were organized as a separate branch.
 * 1925 - On July 26, 1925, the branch was organized as the Pingree Ward.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Riverside Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 712-713.

Boundaries: History timeline:
 * Located on a tract of country lying on the west side of Snake River.
 * 1885 - The first settlers in what is now Riverside Ward arrived in the fall of 1885.
 * 1889 - Other settlers followed and on Jan. 25, 1889, they were organized as a branch of the Church.
 * 1893 - The Riverside Ward was organized Oct. 15.
 * 1896 - March 23, the northern part of the ward was organized as the Moreland Ward and the Riverside Ward began.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Rose Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.719.

Boundaries:
 * The ward extends from the Snake River on the southeast to the lava beds on the north. The center of the ward is about 14 miles north northeast of Blackfoot.

History timeline:
 * 1915 - Rose Ward, an outgrowth of Groveland Ward, was organized May 16.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Sterling Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.835.

Boundaries:


 * Located at Sterling (a station on the Aberdeen branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad) and vicinity. Sterling is 27 miles by rail southwest of Blackfoot and eight miles northeast of Aberdeen.

History timeline:


 * 1910 - Members of the Church located there, and Sterling became part of the Tilden Ward.
 * 1912 - Tilden was deserted because of seepage from the Snake River, and most of the inhabitants moved to the higher location at Sterling. The Latter-day Saints moved their meeting house, a lumber building with a rock foundation, and the bishopric of Tilden Ward commenced to function at Sterling.
 * 1913 -In Feb. 9, the name of the ward was changed from Tilden to Sterling.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Thomas Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.874.

Boundaries: History timeline:
 * Located on the northwest side of Snake River. The meeting house built of lava rock in 1905, is located 10 miles southwest of Blackfoot and 25 miles northeast of Aberdeen.
 * 1900 - The first Latter-day Saint settlers in that part of Snake River Valley now included in the Thomas Ward belonged to the Basalt Ward (Shelley Stake) and later to the Riverside Ward, but as the distance from either of these places to Thomas was considerable, a branch Sunday school, a Relief Society and a Y. M. M. I. A. were organized there in the nineties.
 * 1902 -The Thomas Ward was organized Nov. 30.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Wapello Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 921.

Boundaries: History timeline
 * Located six miles northeast of Blackfoot and 20 miles southwest of Idaho Falls.
 * 1894 - Latter-day Saints members took up homesteads in the locality and a Sunday school was organized.
 * 1909 - The people arranged for the purchase of some school lands, upon which a townsite was surveyed and named Wapello after an Indian by that name. The district was within the limits of the Kimball Ward.
 * 1910 - Aug. 7, 1910, the Kimball Ward was divided, and Wapello organized as a separate ward.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Fort Hall Branch
See Encyclopedic History..., p.255-256.

Boundaries: History timeline:
 * Located in the central part of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, 12 miles southwest of Blackfoot.
 * 1919 - Sunday school was organized in.
 * 1920 - A branch organization was effected May 2.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Rich Branch
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 700-701.

Boundaries: History timeline:
 * Located on the northwest side of Snake River, 16 miles southwest of Blackfoot.
 * 1898 - The first Latter-day Saint settlers in that part of Snake River Valley now included in the Rich Branch along with other settlers followed and the district was included in the Riverside Ward. Because of the distance, the people asked for a separate branch organization that was put into  effect in 1898.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Riverside Branch
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 712-713.

Boundaries:


 * Located in a tract of country lying on the west side of Snake River.

History timeline


 * 1885 - The first settlers in what is now Riverside Ward arrived in the fall.
 * 1887 - A school house was erected in Riverside in 1887, which was also used as a meeting house by the Latter-day Saints and the Baptists.
 * 1889 - Other settlers followed and on Jan. 25, they were organized as a branch of the Church.
 * 1893 - The Riverside Ward was organized Oct. 15.
 * 1895 - Riverside Branch, when first organized, belonged to the Bannock Stake of Zion. In 1895, as the Riverside Ward, it became a part of the Bingham Stake, and in 1904 was transferred to the Blackfoot Stake.
 * 1896 - On March 23, the northern part of the ward was organized as the Moreland Ward.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Springfield Branch
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 830.

Boundaries: History timeline:
 * Located on the northwest side of Snake River. Springfield, a station on the Aberdeen branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, was named after Springfield, Illinois.
 * 1910 - A townsite was surveyed at Springfield in 1910, when it became a railroad station, and building lots and farming land were taken up. It became a district of the Tilden (later Sterling) Ward and a Sunday school was organized for the benefit of the saints residing there
 * 1917 - On June 24, 1917, the saints at Springfield were organized as an independent branch.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the Family History Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.