Owyhee County, Idaho Genealogy

Owyhee County, Idaho was an original county of Idaho Territory. It was formed 31 December 1863, with Ruby City as its county seat. The county seat was moved to Silver City in 1867 and then in 1934 to its current seat of government -- Murphy, located near the middle of the northern edge of the county.

It is a very rural county, noted mostly for mining, ranching, and farming. It is the second largest county in land area in Idaho, but has only slightly more than 10,000 residents.

Owyhee County Courthouse in Murphy

Some of the towns and other populated areas in Owyhee County include Bruneau, Grand View, Homedale, Marsing, Murphy, Reynolds, and Silver City. Several other communities have existed and are no longer inhabited.

Many of the older land, naturalization, probate, pension, and vital records for Owyhee County have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Original records are in the county courthouse in Murphy.

Important Web Sites:

Official County Web Site -- in progress -- http://www.owyheecounty.net

USGenWeb --

Owyhee County Historical Society and Museum -- http://owyheemuseum.org