Timeline of Boise, Idaho

• 1863 – Fort Boise established by United States Army.[1]
• 1864 – December 7: Boise designated capital of Idaho Territory.[2]
  • Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman newspaper begins publication.[3]

Christ Chapel was constructed in 1866 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

• 1866 – Christ Chapel built.
• 1867 – Henry E. Prickett becomes mayor.
• 1870 – Territorial Prison built.[4]
• 1871 – Assay Office (Boise, Idaho) built.
• 1881 – Historical Society of Idaho Pioneers organized.

1884 Boise High School Graduates

• 1886 - Anti-Chinese convention held [5]
• 1890 – Boise becomes capital of new State of Idaho.
• 1892 – Woman's Columbian Club organized.[6][7]
  • Boise Sentinel newspaper begins publication.[3]
• 1896 – Ahavath Beth Israel synagogue built.
• 1897 – Idaho Intermountain Fair begins.

• 1900 – Population: 5,957

• 1901 – Idanha Hotel opens

1902"Boise High School." It was not the well-known white brick building present today. It was a traditional red brick, typical of the time period. The cornerstone was laid in 1902. A pageant with 1,200 students, as many adults, and three volleys from the cadet corps marked the joyous ceremony. Mayor Moses Alexander stated Boise High School was "where the rich and the poor meet on terms of equality" (qtd. in Worbois 4). [8]

• 1905 – Carnegie Public Library opens [8][9]
• 1906 – Boise Commercial Club organized [10]

Main Street in 1911

• 1907 – Julia Davis Park established
• 1908 – Pinney Theatre opens [11]
  • Swedish Lutheran Church built
• 1909 – College Women's Club organized [12]
• 1910 – YWCA organized [12]
  • Population: 17,358
• 1912 – Idaho State Capitol opens (first phase)
• 1913 – Idaho Labor Herald and New Freedom newspapers begin publication.[3]
  • Boise-Payette Lumber Company in business

Map of Boise in 1917

• 1920 – Population: 21,393
• 1921 – St. John's Cathedral completed
• 1925 – Union Pacific Depot opens
  • Idaho Country Club founded, became Hillcrest in 1940
• 1926 – Airfield in operation, at present site of Boise State University[13]
• 1927 – Egyptian Theatre opens
• 1928 – Bandshell built in Julia Davis Park
• 1932 – Boise Junior College opens
  • Idaho Legionnaire newspaper begins publication[3]
• 1938 – Boise Airport moves to present site
• 1939 – Rose Garden dedicated in Julia Davis Park
  • First Albertsons supermarket opens
• 1940 – Hillcrest Country Club opens at former Idaho Country Club
  • State Funeral of U.S. Senator William Borah; 23,000 pass bier in state capitol[14]

Boise's Carnegie Public Library opened in 1905 on Washington St. and remained at that site until the library moved in 1973.

• 1955 – Boise homosexuality scandal begins
• 1957 – Boise Cascade headquartered in Boise
• 1958 – Second public high school, Borah, opens
• 1960 – Population: 34,481
• 1964 – Bishop Kelly High School opens
• 1965 – Third public high school, Capital, opens
• 1968 – Boise Greenbelt plan adopted
• 1969 – Boise College becomes Boise State College
• 1970 – New Bronco Stadium opens, constructed in less than a year.
  • Population: 74,990
• 1972 – St. Alphonsus Hospital moves to present site from downtown[15]
• 1973 – Boise Co-op founded.[16][17]
  • State Penitentiary closes[4]
• 1974 – Boise State College becomes Boise State University and Boise Bible College established.
• 1975 – One Capital Center opens
  • Boise A's minor league baseball team begins play (two seasons)[18][19]
• 1976 – Old St. Alphonsus Hospital arson,[20] later razed.[21]
• 1977 – Idaho Shakespeare Festival begins.[22]

US Bank Plaza, constructed as "Idaho First Plaza," opened in 1978.

• 1978 – U.S. Bank Plaza opens, as "Idaho First Plaza"[23][24]
  • Micron Technology begins operations
  • Boise Buckskins minor league baseball team begins play (sole season)[25][26]
• 1979 – Mountain West Airlines-Idaho headquartered in Boise
• 1980 – Population: 102,249
• 1982 – Taco Bell Arena opens as "BSU Pavilion"
• 1984 – World Center for Birds of Prey established
  • Boise, Idaho Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens
  • Funeral of U.S. Senator Frank Church[27][28]
• 1986 – Bronco Stadium installs first blue AstroTurf field
• 1987 – Boise Hawks minor league baseball team's first season, relocated from Tri-Cities[29]
  • Eastman Building fire,[30][31][32]
• 1988 – Boise Towne Square Mall opens
  • Discovery Center of Idaho constructed.
• 1989 – Memorial Stadium opens for baseball
• 1990 – Boise Open golf tournament begins
  • Boise Centre (convention center) opens
  • Population: 125,738
• 1992 – Boise Weekly begins publication
  • Foothills School of Arts and Sciences established
• 1995 – Idaho Black History Museum built
• 1997
  • City website online (approximate date).[33]
  • Boise Contemporary Theater group founded
  • CenturyLink Arena opens
  • Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (college football) game begins as "Humanitarian Bowl"[34]
• 1998 – Fourth public high school, Timberline, opens
• 1999 – Boise Hare Krishna Temple built

Aerial view of Boise in 2007

• 2000 – Riverstone Community School relocates to Boise.
  • Population: 181,711 [35]
• 2002 – Islamic Center founded.[36]
• 2003 – Boise Dharma Center founded.[36]
• 2004 – David H. Bieter becomes mayor.[37]
• 2005 – Caldwell-Boise Express bus begins operating.[38]
  • Boise Guardian begins publication.[39]
• 2006 – Treasure Valley Rollergirls founded.
  • Albertsons LLC headquartered in Boise.

Butch Otter and Lori Otter, Governor and First Lady of Idaho, open the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games

• 2007 – College of Western Idaho founded.
• 2008 – Trey McIntyre dance troupe relocates to Boise.[40]
  • Frank Church High School opens.
• 2009 – February: 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games held.
• 2010 – Population: 205,671.
• 2011 – Idaho Aquarium opens.
• 2012 – Treefort Music Fest begins.
• 2013 – City sesquicentennial.[41]

• Boise history
• Boise metropolitan area
• Media in Boise, Idaho
• List of mayors of Boise

Wikimedia Commons has media related to History of Boise, Idaho.

• Boise City Office of the Historian
• Items related to Boise, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
• Items related to Boise, various dates (via U.S. Library of Congress, Prints and Photos Division)