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Ketchum, Idaho
City
Ketchum in September 2007
Motto(s):  "Small town, big life."
Location of Ketchum in Blaine County, Idaho.
Coordinates: 43°40′52″N 114°22′18″W / 43.68111°N 114.37167°W / 43.68111; -114.37167Coordinates: 43°40′52″N 114°22′18″W / 43.68111°N 114.37167°W / 43.68111; -114.37167[1]
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Blaine
Founded	1880
Government
• Mayor	Neil Bradshaw
Area [2]
• Total	3.25 sq mi (8.43 km2)
• Land	3.21 sq mi (8.31 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.12 km2)
Elevation	5,853 ft (1,784 m)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	2,689
• Estimate  (2016)[4]	2,753
• Density	858.43/sq mi (331.45/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code	83340
Area code(s)	208
FIPS code	16-43030
GNIS feature ID	0397833
Website	ketchumidaho.org

Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 2,689 at the 2010 census, down from 3,003 in 2000. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities share many resources; both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its world-famous skiing. The city also draws tourists from around the world to enjoy its fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, art galleries, and more. The airport for Ketchum, Friedman Memorial Airport, is approximately 15 miles (24 km) south in Hailey.

History

Originally the smelting center of the Warm Springs mining district, the town was first named Leadville in 1880. The postal department decided that was too common and renamed it for David Ketchum,^[5] a local trapper and guide who had staked a claim in the basin a year earlier. Smelters were built in the 1880s, with the Philadelphia Smelter, located on Warm Springs Road, processing large amounts of lead and silver for about a decade.^[6]

After the mining boom subsided in the 1890s, sheepmen from the south drove their flocks north through Ketchum in the summer, to graze in the upper elevation areas of the Pioneer, Boulder, and Sawtooth mountains. By 1920, Ketchum had become the largest sheep-shipping center in the West. In the fall, massive flocks of sheep flowed south into the town's livestock corrals at the Union Pacific Railroad's railhead, which connected to the main line at Shoshone.^[7]

After the development of Sun Valley by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936, Ketchum became popular with celebrities, including Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway loved the surrounding area; he fished, hunted, and in the late 1950s bought a home overlooking the Wood River in nearby Warm Springs. It was there he committed suicide; he and his granddaughter, model and actress Margaux Hemingway, are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery. The local elementary school is named in his honor.

Every Labor Day weekend, Ketchum hosts the Wagon Days festival, a themed carnival featuring Old West wagon trains, narrow ore wagons, a parade, and simulated street gunfights.

The Clint Eastwood film Pale Rider (1985) was partially filmed in Sawtooth Mountains nearby Ketchum.^[8]

Geography

Ketchum is located at an elevation of 5,853 feet (1,784 m) above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.08 square miles (7.98 km²), of which, 3.05 square miles (7.90 km²) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km²) is water.^[9] However, two mountain streams, Trail Creek and Warm Springs Creek, join the Big Wood River in Ketchum.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 2,689 people, 1,431 households, and 583 families residing in the city. The population density was 881.6 inhabitants per square mile (340.4/km²). There were 3,564 housing units at an average density of 1,168.5 per square mile (451.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.9% White, 0.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 6.5% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.1% of the population.

There were 1,431 households of which 15.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 59.3% were non-families. 44.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.88 and the average family size was 2.63.

The median age in the city was 44 years. 14.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.4% were from 25 to 44; 32.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 3,003 people, 1,582 households, and 607 families residing in the city. The population density was 991.4 people per square mile (382.7/km²). There were 2,920 housing units at an average density of 964.0 per square mile (372.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.74% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.33% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.90% of the population.

There were 1,582 households out of which 14.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 61.6% were non-families. 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.90 and the average family size was 2.60.

In the city, the population was spread out with 12.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 37.6% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,457, and the median income for a family was $73,750. Males had a median income of $31,712 versus $27,857 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,798. About 3.5% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

• Sawtooth Botanical Garden


• Ketchum Sun Valley Historical Society Heritage & Ski Museum


• Sawtooth National Recreation Area


• Sun Valley's Bald Mountain or "Baldy" has 13 chairlifts and 65 runs. It covers 2,054 acres (8.31 km²) and has 3,400 feet (1,000 m) of vertical from top to bottom.

Special events

• Trailing of the Sheep


• Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival


• Sun Valley Jazz Festival


• Sun Valley Summer Symphony


• Wagon Days


• Sun Valley Film Festival


• TEDxSunValley

Notable former and current residents

• 
  Melissa Arnot - mountain guide


• 
  Bowe Bergdahl, United States Army soldier captured by the Taliban


• 
  Peter Cetera - singer-songwriter, Chicago
  


• 
  Christin Cooper - alpine ski racer


• 
  Dick Fosbury - 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the high jump


• 
  Karl Fostvedt - professional skier


• 
  Gretchen Fraser - alpine ski racer, first US winter Olympic Gold medalist


• 
  Tom Hanks - Academy Award (5 nominations, 2 wins) actor


• 
  Ernest Hemingway - Nobel Prize-winning author, committed suicide in Ketchum


• 
  Mariel Hemingway - Academy Award-nominated actress, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway


• 
  Cody Lampl (born 1986) - professional ice hockey defenseman


• 
  Steve Miller - musician


• 
  Tim Ryan - sportscaster


• 
  Ann Sothern - Academy Award–nominated film and television actress


• 
  Tisha Sterling - actress


• 
  Picabo Street - Olympic and world champion ski racer


• 
  Adam West - actor, TV's Batman
  


• 
  Van Williams - actor


• 
  Scott Glenn - actor

Sister cities

Ketchum has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• 
  Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy
  


• 
  Tegernsee, Germany
  

References

External links

Media related to Ketchum, Idaho at Wikimedia Commons

• City website


• Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau


• Ketchum Sun Valley Historical Society Heritage & Ski Museum