Nampa, Idaho

Alexander Duffes filed a claim under the Homestead Act in November 1885, speculating that a town would develop at what is now Nampa. The interest of the Oregon Short Line in building additional rail lines helped spur the growth of the community. With rail connections, the town 's founders hoped to market their produce to the nearby Owyhee mines but also to the entire nation.

While initial reports on the land near Nampa showed great promise, actually earning a living on the land proved difficult. The area required irrigation projects before agriculture could drive development. Women and children often remained on the homestead while the men sought employment elsewhere, such as on the Oregon Short Line. Financiers completed the first irrigation project in 1892 with the Phyllis Canal. With the application of water, local residents could finally begin farming.

While Nampans hoped for additional irrigation projects, the Reclamation Service delayed its plans when it awarded $2.6 million for the construction of the Minidoka project. This represented the entire amount set aside for the entire state. Idahoans from the southwestern part of the state continued to struggle and signed up more than 1,500 landowners to support a project for their region. In March 1905, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey and the secretary of the interior approved the Boise-Payette project. The Reclamation Service transferred half of the funds from the Minidoka project to pay for the Boise-Payette project. In 1900, Canyon County had just 50,000 irrigated acres, but by 1920, 200,000 acres had access to water. In addition, Canyon County had 800 farms in 1900 and 2,900 by 1910.

The town won a victory when it brought in two major companies: the Western Idaho Sugar Company and the Crescent Brewing Company. The Western Idaho Sugar Company, which eventually combined with the Utah Sugar Company and the Idaho Sugar Company, processed sugar beets. Nampa residents brought the company into the town by promising to guarantee it 5,000 acres of beets grown with the new irrigation ditches. Farmers reached this target in June of 1905 and the plant's construction started late that year. While the company removed the factory in 1915, the Amalgamated Sugar Company opened another plant in Nampa in 1942. The Crescent Brewing Company failed after a statewide approval of prohibition.

Nampa also possessed a Japanese community that sprang up around the railroad. The Oregon Short Line Railroad Company wanted more Japanese workers and sent to San Francisco and Hawaii to acquire additional Japanese. Around 1907, about 500 Japanese worked for the railroad company around Nampa while 300 others worked in other fields. After working on the railroad, some of the Japanese became farmers or owned restaurants.

[Page 474]A few Czechs also made their way to Nampa in the early 20th century. The Czechs started arriving in 1904 and a community existed by the 1920s. Most of these Czechs came to Idaho from either Nebraska or Texas. Nampa also had a small Swedish community; most of these immigrants had first settled in Illinois. They tended to arrive as individual families rather than as groups.

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