Ever found yourself staring at the U.S. flag, trying to figure out which star belongs to which patch of dirt? Most people don't think about it. But if you’re standing in the middle of the Sawtooth Mountains or grabbing a basket of finger steaks in Boise, the question hits different: what number state is Idaho in the grand timeline of America?
Idaho is the 43rd state.
It officially joined the party on July 3, 1890. Honestly, the timing was a bit of a strategic move by the guys in charge back then. President Benjamin Harrison signed the admission bill just one day before the Fourth of July. Why? Because according to federal law at the time, new stars were only added to the flag on Independence Day. If he’d waited until July 5th, Idaho would’ve had to wait an entire year to see its star fly on the official banner.
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The Wild Race to Statehood
The late 1880s were a weird, frantic time for the American West. It wasn't just Idaho looking for a seat at the table. There was this massive rush where North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington all squeezed into the Union in November 1889. Idaho was basically sitting in the waiting room, watching everyone else get their memberships.
Wyoming actually beat Idaho by a few days, becoming the 44th state just a week after Idaho's admission. It was a rapid-fire expansion that changed the map forever.
Before it was a state, the Idaho Territory was a monster. When Abraham Lincoln first signed the papers to create it in 1863, it was actually larger than Texas. It included all of modern-day Idaho, Montana, and almost all of Wyoming. Over time, the government chipped away at it, carving out those other territories until we were left with the "strange chimney" shape we recognize today.
Why did it take so long?
Politics. It’s always politics.
In the 1880s, there was a huge debate about whether Idaho should even exist as a single entity. People in the northern panhandle felt totally disconnected from the southern part of the territory. There was a very real, very serious plan to split the land up—giving the north to Washington and the south to Nevada.
Governor Edward A. Stevenson basically saved the state. He fought tooth and nail to keep the borders together, arguing that Idaho had enough resources (mostly gold and silver) to stand on its own two feet.
What Number State Is Idaho? More Than Just a Chronology
Being the 43rd state means Idaho missed the "Founding Father" era by over a century. By the time it joined, the Civil War was a memory and the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. This gave the Idaho Constitution a bit of a different flavor compared to the original thirteen.
For one, the state's founders were obsessed with water. If you look at the legal documents from 1890, they spent an incredible amount of time arguing about irrigation and river rights. In a high-desert environment, water was more valuable than the gold they were pulling out of the Coeur d'Alene mines.
- Admission Date: July 3, 1890
- Preceded by: Washington (42nd)
- Succeeded by: Wyoming (44th)
- Population at statehood: Roughly 88,548 people
Surprising Facts About the 43rd State
You probably know about the potatoes. Everyone knows the potatoes. But Idaho's entry into the Union brought some pretty progressive (and some controversial) ideas to the table.
Idaho was a pioneer in women’s suffrage. While the U.S. didn't pass the 19th Amendment until 1920, Idaho gave women the right to vote in 1896—just six years after becoming a state. It was the fourth state in the entire country to do so.
Then there’s the name. Here’s a bit of trivia that usually wins bar bets: "Idaho" isn't actually a Native American word. A guy named George M. Willing claimed it meant "Gem of the Mountains" in a Shoshone dialect when he proposed it for the Colorado territory. Turns out, he just made it up. By the time people realized it was a fake word, the name had already stuck to the mining camps in the Pacific Northwest.
The "Gem State" Identity
Despite the name being a total fabrication, it ended up being surprisingly accurate. Idaho produces 72 different types of precious and semi-precious stones. It’s one of the only two places in the world where you can find the Star Garnet (the other is India).
The 43rd state is also home to some insane geography that doesn't get enough credit:
- Hells Canyon: It’s actually deeper than the Grand Canyon. Seriously.
- Shoshone Falls: Often called the "Niagara of the West," and it’s actually taller than the real Niagara Falls.
- Craters of the Moon: A volcanic wonderland so weird that Apollo astronauts actually trained there to prepare for walking on the lunar surface.
Why Idaho's Number Still Matters
Knowing what number state is Idaho helps put the Western expansion into perspective. It represents that final "filling in" of the American map.
If you're planning a trip or looking to move here, you'll see "1890" plastered on everything from the state seal to local brewery logos. It’s a point of pride. It marks the moment Idaho stopped being a lawless frontier territory and became a legal equal to New York or Virginia.
The transition wasn't exactly smooth. The early state government had to deal with intense labor wars in the mining districts and a population that was growing faster than the infrastructure could handle. But that "frontier grit" is still a big part of the local culture today.
Actionable Takeaways for History Buffs
If you want to actually see this history instead of just reading about it, here is what you should do:
- Visit the Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise: It opened in 1872 (back in the territorial days) and housed some of the West’s most notorious criminals. The stone walls were literally hand-carved by the inmates.
- Check out the Idaho State Museum: They have the original copies of the state constitution. It’s surprisingly cool to see the handwritten debates about those 1890 borders.
- Drive the "Pioneer Historic Byway": This route in Southeast Idaho follows the path of the early settlers and gives you a real sense of how isolated the 43rd state was when it first joined the Union.
Idaho might have been late to the party as the 43rd state, but it definitely made an entrance. From fake names to record-breaking canyons, there’s a lot more to the Gem State than what you’ll find in a grocery store aisle.
To dig deeper into the actual geography that defined these borders, you should look into the history of the 117th meridian—it’s the reason the "panhandle" exists and why the state isn't just a perfect rectangle.