Orofino, Idaho

Orofino, Idaho
City
Clearwater River near Orofino
Clearwater River near Orofino
Location of Orofino in Clearwater County, Idaho.
Location of Orofino in Clearwater County, Idaho.
Orofino, Idaho is located in the United States
Orofino, Idaho
Orofino, Idaho
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 46°29′8″N 116°15′32″W / 46.48556°N 116.25889°W / 46.48556; -116.25889
CountryUnited States
StateIdaho
CountyClearwater
Area
[1]
 • Total2.61 sq mi (6.76 km2)
 • Land2.46 sq mi (6.38 km2)
 • Water0.15 sq mi (0.38 km2)
Elevation
1,030 ft (310 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total2,656
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
3,099
 • Density1,257.71/sq mi (485.63/km2)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
83544
Area code208
FIPS code16-59320
GNIS feature ID0396986
Websitewww.cityoforofino.org
View of Orofino, 1931

Orofino oro-FEE-noh; ("fine gold" [ore] in Spanish) is a city in and the county seat of Clearwater County,[4] Idaho, United States, along Orofino Creek and the north bank of the Clearwater River. It is the major city within the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. The population was 3,142 at the time of the 2010 census.

Nearby is the historical "Canoe Camp," where the Lewis and Clark expedition built five new dugout canoes and embarked on October 7, 1805, downstream to the Pacific Ocean. Some four miles (6 km) north is the Dworshak Dam, third-highest dam in the United States, completed in the early 1970s. Nearby is the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery, started to try to compensate for the loss of migratory fish upstream after the dam was constructed.

Originally the name was two words, Oro Fino, applied to a gold mining camp established in 1861 two miles (3 km) south of Pierce. When the United States government opened up the Nez Percé reservation to non-tribal settlers in 1895,[5][6][7][8] thousands of European Americans rushed to lay claims to land. Clifford Fuller set up a trading post on his new homestead. The town (Orofino-on-the-Clearwater) was established the next year.[9] The railroad, later part of the Camas Prairie Railroad, was constructed from Lewiston in 1899.[10]

Orofino is home to state institutions: Idaho State Hospital North and the Idaho Correctional Institution–Orofino. These two facilities are located adjacent to Orofino High School, which includes the junior high or middle school grades, and whose mascot is the Maniac.

Orofino hosts an annual July 4 celebration, as well as the Clearwater County Fair and Lumberjack Days in late summer.[11] Each spring, Boomershoot, an annual precision rifle event, is held nearby.

  1. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference wwwcensusgov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ^ Hamilton, Ladd (June 25, 1961). "Heads were popping up all over the place". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 14.
  6. ^ Brammer, Rhonda (July 24, 1977). "Unruly mobs dashed to grab land when reservation opened". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 6E.
  7. ^ "3,000 took part in "sneak" when Nez Perce Reservation was opened". Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 19, 1931. p. 3.
  8. ^ "Nez Perce Reservation". Spokesman-Review. December 11, 1921. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Why they call it Orofino". Lewiston Morning Tribune. February 26, 1933. p. 4.
  10. ^ Idaho for the Curious, by Cort Conley, ©1982, ISBN 0-9603566-3-0, p.95-97
  11. ^ "Three loggers share all-around Lumberjack Days championship". Lewiston Morning Tribune. September 17, 1962. p. 12.