Welcome to Obsidian ...
Obsidian is located in Custer County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Obsidian, you might consider that their post office opened in 1918.
Obsidian is 6,660 feet [2,030 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the elevation of Obsidian is about 1¼ mile [or ~2 km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Obsidian lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Obsidian: 208 & 986<3>
Communities near Obsidian ...
We have created a list of 9 communities that are near Obsidian.
- Stanley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Stanley is located in Custer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanley <5>
- Sawtooth City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawtooth City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawtooth City
- Sawtooth City is located in Blaine County
- Galena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Galena is located in Blaine County
- Bonanza ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
- Bonanza is located in Custer County
- Custer ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north) - Atlanta
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
- Atlanta is located in Elmore County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atlanta <5>
- Boulder ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
- Boulder is located in Blaine County
- Boulder has also been known as:
- Boulder Basin
- Alturas City ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alturas City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alturas City
- Alturas City is located in Elmore County
- Clayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Clayton is located in Custer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We're compiling a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Obsidian. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Obsidian.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Obsidian. 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 Obsidian.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Obsidian ...
Looking for more information about Obsidian? 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.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Obsidian, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Obsidian.
Adding Obsidian to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Obsidian 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 for Obsidian was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
X2X - From that list, the Obsidian post office opened in 1918.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Obsidian.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Obsidian. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Custer County: www.co.custer.id.us/
The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Idaho's counties, including Custer, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Obsidian - 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 Obsidian area will be assigned with one of these codes: 208 or 986. As a result, placing a call in the Obsidian area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |