Heyburn: Born From Federal Water

Heyburn, Idaho did not exist before the federal government decided to water the desert. Congress passed the Reclamation Act in nineteen oh two, creating the Bureau of Reclamation and authorizing irrigation projects across the arid West. The Minidoka Project, begun in nineteen oh four, diverted Snake River water to newly opened farmland on both banks.

In nineteen oh four the Oregon Short Line Railroad built a bridge across the Snake at this location, and surveyors laid out a town. Lots went on sale in October of nineteen oh six. The town was named for United States Senator Weldon B.

Heyburn of Idaho, who served Idaho in the Senate from nineteen oh three to nineteen twelve. Originally called Riverton, the community officially became Heyburn in nineteen oh seven. The arrival of railroad workers and farm settlers gave the town its first population in the space of a single season.