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Official Website
The county was established in 1913 and named after Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President.
The Salt Lake City to Virginia City Stagecoach was established through the area in 1864. Stops were established at Market Lake (Roberts), Sand Hole (Hamer), and Camas. Small settlements grew up around the stagecoach stops with the most significant development occurring at Market Lake. The county's first post office was established at Market Lake on July 29, 1868 when the post office at Eagle Rock was relocated there. Initial settlement at Mud Lake also originated in 1868.
The Utah and Northern Railway reached Camas on July 3, 1879, bringing with it a new wave of settlement, particularly at Camas and Market Lake. Mormon settlement of the county began when John R Poole settled the Menan area in April, 1879 with the settlement initially named Poole's Island. Settlement followed at Lewisville in 1882, Rigby in 1883 and Ririe in 1888.
A common characteristic of Jefferson County's early settlements was their reliance upon a series of canals to deliver water from the Snake River. The first of these systems commenced at Menan in 1880 with construction of the Long Island Canal. The Butte-Market Lake Canal originated in 1884 with construction starting on the big Feeder Canal in 1895. The Owlsey Canal in western Jefferson County had its origins April 13, 1909.
Adjacent Counties
Cities & Communities
- Grant
- Hamer
- Heise
- LaBelle
- Lewisville
- Menan
- Monteview
- Mud Lake
- Rigby (County Seat)
- Ririe
- Roberts
- Terreton
Links
Camas National Wildlife Refuge
Targhee National Forest (part)
National Register of Historic Places
