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Welcome to Murphy ...

Murphy is located in Owyhee County<1> and is the County Seat for Owyhee County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Murphy, you might consider that their post office opened in 1899.

Murphy is 2,800 feet [853 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the elevation of Murphy is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Murphy lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Murphy: 208 & 986<3>

The ZIP code for Murphy: 83650<4>

Communities Also Named Murphy ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 23 communities that are also named Murphy - they are located in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa (2), Kentucky, Michigan (2), Mississippi (2), Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia (2) and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Murphy.

Communities near Murphy ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Murphy.

  • Melba
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Silver City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Walters Ferry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Walters Ferry is located in Canyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters Ferry
  • Swan Falls
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Swan Falls is located in Ada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Falls
  • Oreana
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Oreana is located in Owyhee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreana
  • Bowmont
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Bowmont is located in Canyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmont
  • Empire City ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Empire City is located in Owyhee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
  • De Lamar ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • De Lamar is located in Owyhee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Lamar
  • Kings Corner
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Kings Corner is located in Canyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Corner
  • Kuna
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Murphy. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Murphy.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Murphy. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Murphy.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Murphy. See our Newspapers Page for Murphy.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Murphy ...

Looking for more information about Murphy? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Murphy, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Murphy.

Adding Murphy to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Murphy in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Murphy was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Murphy post office opened in 1899.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Murphy.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Idaho's counties, including Owyhee, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Murphy - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 208 code has been Overlayed with the 986 area code. New phone numbers in the Murphy area will be assigned with one of these codes: 208 or 986. As a result, placing a call in the Murphy area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Murphy). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Murphy or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/