Minidoka County, Idaho

Minidoka County
County
Minidoka County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Idaho
Idaho's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°51′N 113°38′W / 42.85°N 113.64°W / 42.85; -113.64
Country	United States
State	Idaho
Founded	January 28, 1913
Named for	Dakota Sioux word meaning "a fountain or spring of water."
Seat	Rupert
Largest city	Rupert
Area
• Total	763 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Land	758 sq mi (1,960 km2)
• Water	5.3 sq mi (14 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	21,613
• Density	28/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.minidoka.id.us

Minidoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,613.^[1] The county seat and largest city is Rupert.^[2]

Minidoka County is part of the Burley, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The name Minidoka is of Dakota Sioux origin meaning "a fountain or spring of water."^[3] Minidoka was first used in 1883 as a name for the Union Pacific's Oregon Short Line, a railroad spur in the middle of the Snake River Plain. The spur later became the site of a watering station along the line. The village of Minidoka grew up next to the station. The Minidoka name was then given to a reclamation project under then President Theodore Roosevelt which included the construction of the Minidoka Dam, completed in 1904. Minidoka National Historic Site (in adjacent Hunt of Jerome County) was part of the original reclamation project and hence shares the name. Minidoka County was created by the Idaho Legislature on January 28, 1913, by a partition of Lincoln County.^[4]

Camp Rupert, west of Paul, was a prisoner of war (POW) camp during World War II.