Nickname: Gem State Date Ratified: July 3, 1890 (43rd) Capital: Boise [caption id="attachment_1682" align="aligncenter" width="210" caption="Map of Idaho"] [/caption]

• The territorial capital of Idaho was Lewiston.
• Idaho is home to Sun Valley ski resort, where the world's first chairlift was installed.
• American Falls, was the first town in the U.S. to be completely relocated. It was moved in 1925 to allow for the construction of the American Falls Dam.
• Arco, Idaho was the first American city to be powered by electrically generated nuclear power on July 17, 1955.
• Idaho is the only state that may have been named as a result of a hoax. Lobbyist George Willing originally claimed that Idaho was derived from a Shoshone word meaning "gem of the mountains." However, Willing later claimed to have made the name up himself, and Congress actually originally named the area the Colorado Territory in 1861.
• Idaho was also the site of the infamous Ruby Ridge standoff in 1992.
• The state flag of Idaho was adopted in 1907, and is based on a flag carried by the First Idaho Infantry during the Spanish-American War.

[caption id="attachment_1683" align="aligncenter" width="210" caption="Flag of Idaho"] [/caption] Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win a copy of State by State: A Portrait of America by Matt Weiland.