Teton County, Idaho Genealogy

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County Courthouse
The current 85 year old courthouse is located at: 89 N Main #1, Driggs ID 83422. On June 13th in 2008, ground was broken for a new courthouse on the west side of Driggs. You can see a picture of the planned structure at: tetoncountyidaho.gov/courthouse.php. The county government website is at: tetoncountyidaho.gov/index.php.

History
It was named for the adjacent Teton mountains and the valley which covers most of the county. It is believed to have been first visited in 1808 by John Colter who had been a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. No particular Indian tribe made their permanent homes in the valley, but councils were held here and it was a hunting ground for many tribes. In 1882, the first permanent settlers came into the valley but substantial growth did not begin until 1888 when Mormon settlers from Salt Lake City began to establish the town of Driggs followed closely in 1889 by more Mormon settlers from the Cache Valley who formed Victor. The early settlers first called the area Teton Basin. The county population is roughly 8,000, up from 7,467 in 2005 and 5,999 in the 2000 census, which itself was up 74% from the 1990 census. The county's beauty and wide open spaces are attracting significant growth.

Parent County
1915--Teton County was established January 26, 1915 from Madison County. County seat: Driggs

Boundary Changes
In 1882, when the first settlers came to Teton Valley it was part of Bingham County. In 1893 when much of Fremont County was created from Bingham, the southern part of Teton Valley (Victor area) remained in Bingham County while most of the valley became part of the new Fremont County. (See 1900 census note). Before 1910 the county line was adjusted and the Victor area also became part of Fremont County. In 1913 when Madison County was created from Fremont County, Teton Valley became part of Madison County. It was divided from Madison in January 1915.

Places/Localities
The following list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

This list of places in Teton County, Idaho was compiled from the Lists of Places in Idaho in Wikipedia and from the map of Teton County in Virtual Earth.

Cities
Driggs | Tetonia | Victor

Other inhabited places
Bates | Cache | Cedron | Chapin | Clawson | Clementsville | Darby | Dwight | Felt | Fox Creek | Judkins | Sam | Twin Forks | Two Forks

Neighboring Counties
Bonneville | Fremont | Madison | Teton County, Wyoming

Resources
Many of the older court, land, naturalization, probate, pension, and vital records for Teton County have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and through their family history centers. They are also available at the Idaho State Historical Society's Library in Boise. Details of the county records in these respective institutions can be obtained from their online catalogs or listings. Original records which have been microfilmed and more recent records are in the county courthouse in Driggs.

Cemeteries
The county is organized into 6 cemetery districts (see www.tetonid.us/images/cemetery_districts.jpg) which govern 8 cemeteries. Two of the districts have two cemeteries each. In addition, there is another cemetery located just across the border in Teton County Wyoming in which county residents have been buried. These 9 cemeteries are: Bates, Cache-Clawson, Cedron, Darby, Driggs, Felt, Haden, Victor (all in the county) and Pratt (in adjacent Teton county Wyoming).

For more information about these cemeteries, including their location, GPS coordinates, maps with directions, photos, and further detail, see the following page at USGenWeb: www.tetonid.us/main_teton_cemeteries.php

Census
Teton Valley is surrounded by mountains. In spite of a straight line on a map for the Idaho/Wyoming border, putting a small eastern section (at the Mouth of Teton Canyon) in Wyoming, historically and culturally the Valley was one unit, feeling cut off from the rest of the world, because of the distance and difficulty getting out of the valley to anywhere else.

Although census records can be searched by name, it is helpful to know where residents of Teton Valley, most of which became Teton County, were enumerated before the County was organized.

1900 - residents in the south part of Teton Valley (Victor area) were enumerated in Teton Precinct (District 17), Bingham County. Other residents were enumerated in (District 50) - Chapin Precinct, Haden Precinct, in Fremont County. Those living in the area now called Alta, Wyoming, (then called "Pratt Ward" at the mouth of Teton Canyon were enumerated in Teton District (District 65) Unita County, Wyoming.

1910 - residents of Teton Valley were enumerated in Bates, Cache, Chapin, Driggs, Haden, Leigh, Victor townships in Fremont County. Those living on the Wyoming side at the mouth of Teton Canyon were enumerated in Alta District (District 138), Unita County, Wyoming.

1920 - Teton, now a county, residents enumerated in Bates, Cache, Chapin, Clementsville, Driggs, Felt, Leigh, Richvale, Tetonia and Victor townships. Those on the Wyoming side were enumerated in Alta township, Lincoln County, Wyoming. By 1930 those in Wyoming were in Alta township, Teton County, Wyoming

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)
The following are local congregations (wards) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints which existed in Teton County, Idaho prior to 1950. Many of the original records of these church units are in the Historical Library in Salt Lake City. Many of the membership records covering these units from the date of their creation to about 1948 have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Local Histories
Benjamin Woodbury Driggs, History Of Teton Valley, Idaho, (Caldwell, ID: Caxton Priinters, 1926)

Benjamin Woodbury Driggs, edited by Louis J Clements &amp; Harold S Forbush, History of Teton Valley, Idaho, (Rexburg, ID, Eastern Idaho Pub. Co., c 1970)

Web Sites

 * The Teton County ID GenWeb Project, a member of The IDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project
 * Family History Library Catalog