City of Kimberly 132 North Main St. P.O. Box Z Kimberly,ID 83341

May 8, 2008   Webmaster   

  Pat Bermingham

Lets begin with the History of the City of Kimberly

The Carey Act of 1901 is credited with commencing the development of more than a million acres of arid land which eventually became the "Magic Valley." This act, and the encouragement of I.B. Perrine, caused Peter L. Kimberly, Frank H. Buhl, and Colonel Stanley Milner to form the Twin Falls Land and Water Company. In 1904 the company opened a land and irrigation project known as the Twin Falls Tract. Irrigation water soon became available from the Milner Dam Reservoir. Development of the land followed the construction of irrigation canals.

Shortly after the irrigation tract was developed in 1905, Peter Kimberly died. His partner James McMillan took control of the Twin Falls Land and Water Company and the Twin Falls Tract. History records James McMillan as Kimberly's Founding Father.

Mr. McMillan saw to it that the town quickly progressed. He personally supervised many of the activities involved in assuring Kimberly's growth. Passenger trains soon began running regular service to the area, bringing needed commerce to build the City of Kimberly.

Kimberly grew like most farming communities. The first and major community organization was the Kimberly Farmer Assn. Organized June 7^th , 1905. By 1906 the main street consisted of stores, a meat market, a saloon and a bank with two-story false fronts and board sidewalks. The houses were mainly constructed of tar paper with dirt roofs. People came to town only when absolutely necessary for supplies and to deliver crops and livestock to the railroad. Farmers grew grain, alfalfa, clover, sugar beets, potatoes and fruit.

As private individuals bought and sold the rich irrigated farm land, the town continued to develop. Early population statistics show Kimberly's population to be approximately 400 in 1920 and 963 in  1940. Census figures show the population dropped from 1347 in 1950 to 1298 in 1960 which was typical of farm communities during that period of time. The population increased to 1557 in 1970, 2307 in 1980, 2367 in  1990, it is expected to reach 3500 by the year 2000. Our current population is 3200 as of 1998.

The City of Kimberly is still primarily supported by an agriculture economy. Most of the citizens work in Twin Falls and return to the City after work.

The following special historical sites are unique to the City of Kimberly and the surrounding areas: Big (Shoshone) and Little (Twin) Falls, China Mining Sites, Oregon Trail Historical Site, Stricker Store, Savage/Johnson house, Larson/Hodge House, Corner of Main & Center, Gill's Garage, Old Bank, and many others throughout the community.

Oregon Trail and Stricker Ranch History