Welcome to Owyhee ...
Owyhee is located in Ada County<1>.
The pronunciation of Owyhee: oh-WYE-hee<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Owyhee, you might consider that their post office opened in 1883.
Owyhee is 2,960 feet [902 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of Owyhee is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Owyhee lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Owyhee: 208 & 986<4>
Communities Also Named Owyhee ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Owyhee - they are located in Nevada and Oregon.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Owyhee.
Communities near Owyhee ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Owyhee.
- Boise
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Boise is located in Ada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229,776 people
- Former name for Boise:
- Boise City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boise <5>
- Meridian
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kuna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Melba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Boise Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Boise Junction is located in Ada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise Junction
- Boise Hills Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Boise Hills Village is located in Ada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boise Hills Village
- Mayfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mayfield is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Swan Falls
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Swan Falls is located in Ada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Falls
- Collister
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Collister is located in Ada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collister
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 Owyhee. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Owyhee.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Owyhee. 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 Owyhee.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Owyhee. See our Newspapers Page for Owyhee.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Owyhee ...
Looking for more information about Owyhee? 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 Owyhee, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Owyhee.
Adding Owyhee to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Owyhee 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 Owyhee was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Owyhee post office opened in 1883. The Owyhee post office closed in 1919.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Owyhee.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Idaho's counties, including Ada, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Owyhee. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Owyhee - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | 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 Owyhee area will be assigned with one of these codes: 208 or 986. As a result, placing a call in the Owyhee area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <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/ |