Emmett/Gem County Community Review Report Summary

By the mid 1920’s, Emmett had become well known as the ‘Valley of Plenty,’ thanks to
abundant water and the climate of warm days and cool nights ideal for growing high quality
apples and cherries. Quality of life had improved dramatically, and citizens could even travel
a few miles north to the Roystone Hot Mineral Springs Resort and Health Spa for a soak in
the geothermal water.
Emmett was also the county seat of newly incorporated Gem County (incorporated 1915)
and boasted a growing population of 6,427 who had a community dance every Saturday
night, nightly picnics along the river and at the parks, annual visits from the traveling circus,
and an annual Fourth of July celebration complete with marching bands. Families shared
the fruit harvesting and sorting, storing the harvest in numerous packing sheds prior to
commercial shipment to Payette and subsequent distribution around the country. Emmett’s
Cherry Festival, which began in 1928, is one of Idaho’s oldest continuous festivals.
Agricultural production in Emmett and Gem County was widely renowned as a result of the
success of Scottish immigrant Andy Little, who became known as the ‘Sheep King’ of Idaho,
grazing over 100,000 sheep in the region and shipping over one million pounds of wool per
year, the largest in the United States.
Emmett’s faith community thrived, and constructed numerous beautiful buildings, which
stand to this day supported by a strong Ministerial Association and documented in the
National Register of Historic Places.
Mural on the side of the Gem County Historical Museum in Emmett
Emmett has weathered many storms and has been a resilient and hopeful community,
moving past challenging times of the Great Depression, World War II, and the closure of
the Boise Cascade Mill to its current ideal atmosphere for raising families in clean air, on safe
streets, and surrounded by friendly people. With good planning and committed,
communicative leadership, Emmett and Gem County have a bright future.
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