STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

When the Idaho Constitution was drafted, what is now Blaine County was part of Alturas County—a rough-and-tumble county that took its name from the Spanish word for “mountain summits” or “mountainous heights” and covered an area larger than the states of Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware combined.

The mining town of Rocky Bar served as the county seat, with the county seat later moving to Hailey following a very heated fight between the citizens of Hailey and Bellevue.

Learn more about the delegates from Alturas County, which was later remade into Blaine, Elmore and Lincoln counties, in a free presentation titled “Creating and Conserving the Idaho Constitution.”

The presentation will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at The Community Library. Idaho State Historical Society trustee and Idaho constitution expert Ernie Hoidal will discuss Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889.

And he will discuss efforts to preserve the constitution in partnership with the Preservation Lab at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library.

The Constitution was ratified by the citizens in November 1889 and approved by Congress on July 3, 1890. Since, it has been amended more than a hundred times but has never undergone a major revision.

A reception will be held in the Library’s foyer following the discussion. Attendees will be able to view the new exhibit “Creating and Conserving the Idaho Constitution” there. The exhibit will be on display through June 25.

Attendees may register for the event at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/9092942. The presentation also can be watched live or later on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/699171364.