Cassia’s Historic Byway Hwy 77 to City of Rocks Area

Albion, Cassia county, ID

  • Settled: In 1870 Rice L. Wood, a cattleman, built the first house in what would become known as Albion. Albion has always enjoyed a diverse population, its settlers came from multiple roots and backgrounds.  In 1875, several families moved to the valley. Later, Mormon families from Brigham City and Willard relocated there. Many who were traveling to Oregon and California stayed, permanently settling in the welcoming mountain valley.  Since many of the new residents were Masons, an active Masonic Lodge was established.  The first store in Albion opened by accident, when Andrew Burstrom’s freighting wagon broke down there he began selling tobacco, whiskey, flour and other items to local residents; in 1876 he built the first Marsh Basin store.  

  • Original Name: Marsh Basin, for Marsh Creek, the creek on which it is located, changed in 1879 to Albion by early settler Miles G. Robinson

  • Origin of Name: Albion means “mountain land” or “white land,” the first name Great Britain was known by”; when named as county seat, “Marsh Basin” was not considered to be a proper county seat’s name. Several names were proposed and Albion was reportedly drawn from a hat

  • Speak like a local: Pronounced “Al-Bee-un”(as in “union” or “onion”) not “Al-Bee-ON”
    Known for: Once the county seat of Cassia county, formed from the massive Owyhee County in 1877; formerly the home of Albion Normal School, an important training college for teachers established in 1893; had a Methodist church; the first schoolhouse in Cassia County; at least one factor in Albion’s being named county seat over Oakley was Albion’s diverse population as opposed to Oakley’s heavily Mormon population; Cassia County’s first bank, D.L. Evans Bank, was established in Albion in 1904

  • Notable Residents & Those who Attended the Normal School:  Terrell W.  Bell, Secretary of Education in the Ronald Reagan Administration; Harold B. Lee, who became the seventh President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • Notable Features:   3 cemeteries, city offices, volunteer fire department; elementary school; LDS & other churches; cafes & eateries, motel, convenience stores, telecommunications provider, haunted mansion & event hosting

  • Location:   8.4 miles east of Burley on Hwy 81 E, then 9.4 miles south on Hwy 77, Cassia’s Historic Byway

  • Population 2020 Census: 234

Almo, Cassia county, ID

  • Settled: 1870s

  • Origin of Name: Records of early settlers indicate that “Almo” came from a word meaning “great battle.” It is possible that the Almo Massacre in 1862, an Indian attack on an emigrant wagon train, could have been the “great battle,” however, many historians dispute that the battle ever actually occurred- regardless, Almo was named some time later; Myron Durfee, who came to Almo in 1892 as part of the Almo Massacre rescue party, then returned to settle the valley in 1878, submitted the name when he applied for the post office at the stage stop.

  • Settled: In 1842, mountain man Joseph Remington Walker guided the second group of pioneers bound for California through the Raft River Valley, Almo Valley, the City of Rocks and over Granite Pass.  That established the route as the main California Trail, with the Salt Lake Alternate later meeting the trail at the Twin Sisters in the City of Rocks. Many early Almo settlers were of the second generation of Mormon pioneers from Utah’s Willard and North Ogden areas, seeking new land as they spread into the valleys of Southern Idaho and northern Utah.  Johnny Stines, a cowboy for  Shirley, Sweetser, and Keough cattle operations, and Jim Sage built cabins in the valley in the late 1860s. Hundreds of thousands of pioneers passed through the area between 1843 and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.  Railroad towns sprang up along the railroad, including Kelton, on the northwestern edge of the Great Salt Lake.  The Kelton Road followed the Salt Lake Alternate Trail from Kelton, passed through Almo and the City of Rocks, through Albion, and  along Goose Creek, finally joining the Oregon Trail near Burley.  Freight wagons and stagecoaches followed the Kelton Road on to Oregon and the mining camps at Boise  

  • Known for: Once had a thriving business district, including saloons, a dance hall, & other businesses, serving as a hub for mining operations in the adjacent areas

  • Notable Features:  Cemetery, LDS Church, Volunteer Fire Station; Tracy’s Store, claims to be the oldest continually operating retail store in Idaho; hotel, eating places, convenience store, hot springs/swimming pool, RV Parks, Camping Areas 

  • Location:  9.2 miles east of Burley on Hwy 81 E, then 32  miles south (43 miles total, 53 minutes) on Hwy 77. Cassia’s Historic Byway

Black Pine, Cassia county, ID

  • Settled: In 1876, considered the richest mining strike in the area; a few settlers settled in 1888
    Origin of: Named for the heavy stand of pine trees in the area

  • Known for: An early stagecoach stop; once had a store, post office established in 1895, a school and a church

  • Location:  61.5 miles (65 minutes) southeast of Burley, then west at exit 263 

  • No population is reported  for this Idaho ghost town

City of Rocks, (also called The Silent City of Rocks,) Cassia county, ID

  • Traveled:  A popular resting place on the California Trail, visited by tens of thousands of pioneers on their way to California

  • Origin of Name:  The monolithic granite formations in this isolated area, jutting from the countryside somewhat resemble a city made of stone; many of the rocks are named individually for their suggestive shapes

  • Known for: A 25-square-mile geographic cluster of granite rocks that rise in the area; well-known landmark on the California Trail for settlers on their journey to California; early travelers smeared their names in wagon grease on rocks in the area; ruts from the countless wagons that traveled through are still visible; though it was never a permanent settlement, its unique nature attracts thousands of visitors each year; the National Park System manages the area through the City of Rocks National Preserve, a unique designation allowing grazing on public and private property within the park boundaries; nearby Idaho’s Castle Rocks State Park is jointly maintained with City of Rocks National Preserve

  • Location: 9.2 east of Burley on Hwy 81 E, then 32  miles south on Hwy 77, Cassia’s Historic Byway; alternate route, 39 miles south on Hwy 27 to Oakley, then southeast on Birch Creek Rd. E (mostly gravel after leaving Oakley)

  • No permanent population resides at this historical Idaho site  

Connor (variant- Conner) Creek, Cassia county, ID

  • Origin of Name: Named for Colonel, later General, Patrick E. Connor, commander  of the California Infantry, which was summoned to patrol the California Trail during the heavy Indian attacks of the early 1860s; Captain Samuel P. Smith led an attack on Indians on the banks of Connor Creek, nearly obliterating the tribe

  • Known for: Site of Connor Creek Massacre, between Colonel Connor’s troops and Indians; former site of Connor Creek Store, now a private residence 

  • Location: At the rise of Connor Ridge, 10.9 (13 minutes) miles southeast of Albion on Hwy 77; the community of Connor is at the mouth of Connor Creek

  • No population is reported  for this rural area

Declo, Cassia county, ID

  • Settled:  Originally a Mormon settlement, founded in late 1870s; townsite was surveyed in 1909 and 1910; incorporated in 1912
    Original Name: Marshfield, after Marsh Creek, that ran through town before emptying in the Snake River

  • Origin of Name: When Marshfield applied for a post office in 1917, officials insisted the settlement be renamed, since there were already 5 Marshfields.  According to tradition, when its name was changed, it was decided to create a name consisting of the initials of the first five people to come into the post office. After August Detlef, General Enyeart, James Cooley, Hyrum Lewis and Lorenzo Olsen, the town was christened Declo, after the quintet’s last name initials         

  • Known for: Pumping stations for the Minidoka Reclamation Area are located north of town; Hwy 30 South, the main route from Boise ran through town  before the freeway was built, continuing south through Malta, Strevell, Snowville, Salt Lake City, and other southern points

  • Famous Residents:  J.R. (Jack) Simplot & family moved to the area in 1909, when he was one-year old, and raised near Declo; founder of J.R. Simplot Co. and Idaho’s first billionaire, industrialist and philanthropist 

  • Notable Features: Cemetery, City Hall, Post Office; LDS Church; Declo Elementary School K-5, Declo Middle School 6-9, Declo High School 10-12; LDS church; Convenience Stores, Restaurants,  Beauty Shops, Farm-related Service Businesses; once had banks, a grocery store, several retail businesses, and for many years had an antique railroad car, said to have contained the mummified remains of John Wilkes Booth, which currently resides at Burley’s Cassia Historical Museum

  • Location:  9.2 miles east of Burley on Hwy 81 E

  • Population 2022:  338

Earncliff,  Cassia county, ID

  • Origin of Name: Named after the Rocky cliff north of the settlement, where “earns,” or eagles lived 

  • Location:  Several miles east of Almo, past Riblett, in “The Narrows” area

  • No population is reported  for this Idaho ghost town

Elba, Cassia county, ID

  • Settled: In the 1860s by Albert Sweetser, J.Q. Shirley, Del Rice and “Dirty Bill.”  Cattlemen, including Jasper Harrell, James Shirley and Lew Sweetser ran huge cattle herds throughout the Raft River Valley, including the Elba area. After the Beechers and others filed for homesteads in the area, the cattlemen moved their herds to less-settled areas of the valley

  • Originally Named:  Cassia Creek, then later Beecherville, after the Beecher family, early settlers

  • Origin of Name:  Since “Beecherville” was too long to fit on a postal stamp, the name was changed to “Elba” when a post office was established. Elba is the Mediterranean island where Napoleon was exiled; it’s unknown why that name was chosen.

  • Notable Features:  Elba Park, Cemetery; LDS Church & Relief Society building; Melcher Mine & Million Dollar Mansion located in the area

  • Location:   9.2 miles east of Burley on Hwy 81 E, 8.4 miles east of Burley on Hwy 81 E, then 23 miles south on Hwy 77, Cassia’s Historic Byway

  • Population 2022:   Latest census is 102, had 212 in 1909 and 70 in 1960

Juniper,  Oneida county, ID

Located in Oneida County, Juniper is in close proximity to Southern Raft River communities
Settled: Settled by Mormon settlers in 1889

  • Origin of Name: Named after the juniper trees that grow in the area

  • Location:  This agricultural community is located 56.9 miles southeast of Burley on I-84, exit 263

  • No population is reported  for this Idaho ghost town

Riblett,  Cassia county, ID

  • Origin of Name: Named after Frank Riblett, local teacher, early surveyor of what became the Minidoka Reclamation Project; served in the Spanish American War and as US Congressman

  • Location:  Several miles east of Almo, the first settlement towards the area known as “The Narrows”

  • No population is reported  for this Idaho ghost town