Ketchum, Idaho

Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 2,689 at the 2010 census, down from 3,003 in 2000. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities share many resources; both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its world-famous skiing. The city also draws tourists from around the world to enjoy its fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, art galleries, and more. The airport for Ketchum, Friedman Memorial Airport, is approximately 15 miles (24 km) south in Hailey.

Ketchum, Idaho
City
Ketchum in September 2007
Motto(s): 
"Small town, big life."
Location of Ketchum in Blaine County, Idaho.
Coordinates: 43°40′52″N 114°22′18″W[1]
CountryUnited States
StateIdaho
CountyBlaine
Founded1880
Government
 • MayorNeil Bradshaw
Area
 • Total3.25 sq mi (8.43 km2)
 • Land3.21 sq mi (8.31 km2)
 • Water0.05 sq mi (0.12 km2)
Elevation
5,853 ft (1,784 m)
Population
 • Total2,689
 • Estimate 
(2019)[4]
2,855
 • Density890.24/sq mi (343.73/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
83340
Area code(s)208, 986
FIPS code16-43030
GNIS feature ID0397833
Websiteketchumidaho.org

History

Originally the smelting center of the Warm Springs mining district, the town was first named Leadville in 1880. The postal department decided that was too common and renamed it for David Ketchum,[5] a local trapper and guide who had staked a claim in the basin a year earlier. Smelters were built in the 1880s, with the Philadelphia Smelter, located on Warm Springs Road, processing large amounts of lead and silver for about a decade.[6]

After the mining boom subsided in the 1890s, sheepmen from the south drove their flocks north through Ketchum in the summer, to graze in the upper elevation areas of the Pioneer, Boulder, and Sawtooth mountains. By 1920, Ketchum had become the largest sheep-shipping center in the West. In the fall, massive flocks of sheep flowed south into the town's livestock corrals at the Union Pacific Railroad's railhead, which connected to the main line at Shoshone.[7]

After the development of Sun Valley by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936, Ketchum became popular with celebrities, including Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway loved the surrounding area; he fished, hunted, and in the late 1950s bought a home overlooking the Wood River in nearby Warm Springs. It was there he committed suicide; he and his granddaughter, model and actress Margaux Hemingway, are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery. The local elementary school is named in his honor.

Every Labor Day weekend, Ketchum hosts the Wagon Days festival, a themed carnival featuring Old West wagon trains, narrow ore wagons, a parade, and simulated street gunfights.

The Clint Eastwood film Pale Rider (1985) was partially filmed in Sawtooth Mountains nearby Ketchum.[8]

Ketchum is eulogized in the song "Ketchum, ID" by indie rock band boygenius.[9]

Geography

Ketchum is located at an elevation of 5,853 feet (1,784 m) above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.08 square miles (7.98 km2), of which, 3.05 square miles (7.90 km2) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km2) is water.[10] However, two mountain streams, Trail Creek and Warm Springs Creek, join the Big Wood River in Ketchum.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1890450—
1950757—
1960746−1.5%
19701,45494.9%
19802,20051.3%
19902,52314.7%
20003,00319.0%
20102,689−10.5%
Est. 20192,855[4]6.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 2,689 people, 1,431 households, and 583 families living in the city. The population density was 881.6 inhabitants per square mile (340.4/km2). There were 3,564 housing units at an average density of 1,168.5 per square mile (451.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.9% White, 0.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 6.5% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.1%.[3]

Of the 1,431 households 15.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 59.3% were non-families. 44.1% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.88 and the average family size was 2.63.

The median age was 44 years. 14.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.4% were from 25 to 44; 32.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 3,003 people, 1,582 households, and 607 families living in the city. The population density was 991.4 people per square mile (382.7/km2). There were 2,920 housing units at an average density of 964.0 per square mile (372.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.74% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.33% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.90%.[12]

Of the 1,582 households 14.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.6% were non-families. 42.2% of households were one person and 6.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.90 and the average family size was 2.60.

The age distribution was 12.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 37.6% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.1 males.

The median household income was $45,457 and the median family income was $73,750. Males had a median income of $31,712 versus $27,857 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,798. About 3.5% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Special events
  • Trailing of the Sheep
  • Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival
  • Sun Valley Jazz Festival
  • Sun Valley Summer Symphony
  • Wagon Days
  • Sun Valley Film Festival
  • TEDxSunValley

Notable former and current residents

Sister cities

Ketchum has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

gollark: It seems to just be nginx?
gollark: Or vickreyness.
gollark: We don't have sealed bids, though.
gollark: Interesting! Initiating viewing.
gollark: I *also* have 16lc, it's not much.

References
  1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  2. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 174.
  6. "History" Archived 2013-02-12 at WebCite. Ketchum / Sun Valley Historical Society. Retrieved 6 March 2012
  7. "Idaho for the Curious", by Cort Conley, 1982, ISBN 0-9603566-3-0, p.348-349
  8. Maddrey, Joseph (2016). The Quick, the Dead and the Revived: The Many Lives of the Western Film. McFarland. Page 184. ISBN 9781476625492.
  9. "boygenius: boygenius EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  10. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

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