Bear Lake County County
Established January 5, 1875 with its county seat at Paris. Named for Bear Lake, which lies half in Idaho and half in Utah. In 1863 the first permanent settlement was at Paris, established by forty Mormon families who came in wagons, in ox carts and on foot over very difficult terrian from Cache Valley, Utah.
Mapped Location
Bear Lake County: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Bear Lake County
- Feature Type: County
- County Seat: City of Paris
- Established: Tuesday, January 5, 1875
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Bear Lake County
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Bear Lake County | Official |
Origin Notes and History of Bear Lake County
References to Bear Lake County that document the origin of its place name
BEAR RIVER AND LAKE, Bear Lake County.—A fur trapping party composed of Hoback, Rezner, Robinson, Cass and Miller of the Hunt-Astoria party (q.v.) were the first white men upon these waters, trapping the region in the winter of 1811-12. They called the stream Miller River for one of their party. In 1818, Donald Mackenzie, leader of the Snake country expedition (q.v.), wishing to examine the country south of the Snake River, journeyed to Bear River and to the lake which drained into it. He called the body of water Black Bear Lake from the number of black bear (q.v.) which he saw in that vicinity. To Ashley's men in 1826 it was known as Little Lake in distinction from the Great Lake farther west, and Bear River was spoken of by them as waters that flowed into the Pacific. Part of this lake was in Spanish territory, being south of 42°, but there is no evidence of any exploration made by them. The Shoshonis called this river ''Quee-yaw pah," meaning "Quee-paw" "tobacco root," and "pah," "water," or "the stream along which the tobacco root grew." This root grew along this stream in abundance, producing a food which the Indians used extensively.—IRVING, Astoria; DALE, Ashley-Smith Explorations.
BEAR LAKE.—Named for Bear Lake (q.v.), which is within its borders. The county seat is Paris, named by recent Mormon converts from France who settled there in 1863
Bear Lake County
- Alton
- Bear Lake Hot Springs
- Bear Lake Sands
- Bennington
- Bern
- City of Bloomington
- Border
- Chausse
- Dingle
- Fish Haven
- Geneva
- City of Georgetown
- Giveout
- Glencoe
- Harer
- Lanark
- Liberty
- Lifton
- Lindsayville
- Manson
- City of Montpelier
- Nounan
- Novene
- Ovid
- City of Paris
- Pegram
- Raymond
- City of Saint Charles
- Sharon
- Turnpike
- Wardboro
- Wooleys
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2016-11-27