Sandpoint is a city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, United States.[1] Its population was 6,835 at the 2000 census.
Sandpoint's major industry is tourism and recreation, thanks to its proximity to scenic Lake Pend Oreille and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort. It is the headquarters of Coldwater Creek, a women's apparel retailer, Litehouse, a national salad dressing manufacturer, and the location of one of the largest film festivals in the Northwestern United States, the Lakedance International Film Festival.
Sandpoint is on the International Selkirk Loop and two National Scenic Byways (Wild Horse Trail and Pend Oreille Scenic Byway).
Economy
Local businesses in and around Sandpoint include Litehouse (a national salad dressing manufacturer), Coldwater Creek (a national clothing and apparel marketer), Encoder Products, and Percussion Aire (medical instrumentation).
Since 2002, Sandpoint has been home to Quest Aircraft[2] the manufacturer of the Kodiak, a ten-seat, single-engine, turboprop airplane designed and produced to meet the needs of missionary and humanitarian organizations that travel to remote regions of the world.
History
The Salish Tribes, specifically the Kalispel and the Kootenai built encampments on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille every summer, fished, made baskets of cedar, and collected huckleberries before returning to either Montana or Washington in the fall. The encampments ended before 1930.[3]
The region was extensively explored by David Thompson of the Northwest Company starting in 1807. Disputed joint British/American occupation of the Columbia District led to the Oregon boundary dispute. This controversy ended in 1846 with the signing of the Oregon Treaty, whereby Britain ceded all rights to land south of the 49th parallel.
In the 1880s the Northern Pacific Railroad brought European and Chinese settlement to the area.
In August 1888, twenty-nine year old author and civil servant Theodore Roosevelt, visited Sandpoint on a caribou-hunting trip in the Selkirk Mountains[4] Roosevelt documented what a rough-and-tumble environment "Sand Point" was at that time (and for many decades following).
Sandpoint was officially incorporated in 1898.
Timber harvesting and railroads drove the economy for nearly a century as lumberjacks moved in from the over-harvested Great Lakes region. Several lumber companies operated in the region from as early as 1896 to present, the most notable being the Humbird Lumber Company which operated from 1900 to around 1944. The lumber companies bought land from the Northern Pacific Railroad and built a major mill at Sandpoint and adjacent Kootenai. Lumber company-owned railroads extended into many of the local drainages including Grouse Creek, Gold Creek and (Rapid) Lightening Creek. Although the trees were never exhausted in the area, Humbird Lumber succumbed to the low timber prices of the Great Depression.
"Stump ranches" were sold by Humbird to many families who slowly cleared much of the valley land of tree stumps. Farming and ranching became the third largest business in the area, behind lumber and railroads, prior to the "discovery" of Lake Pend Oreille as a sports fishery in the 1950s. The economy was given a boost during World War II from Farragut Naval Station, a training center for the US Navy located at the southwestern end of Lake Pend Oreille.
The opening of Schweitzer Mountain Resort in 1963 turned the area into a year-round tourism destination. The beauty of the surrounding Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains and Lake Pend Oreille has kept Sandpoint a tourist favorite for water sports, hunting, hiking, horseback riding, fishing and skiing.
In the 1980s and 1990s nearby Coeur d'Alene and Hayden Lake attracted nationwide publicity when white supremacist Neo-Nazi groups (most notably the Aryan Nations) set up headquarters in the area. Many Sandpoint residents reacted negatively to such groups; some formed the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force in opposition. In 2001 the Aryan Nations lost a lawsuit filed against them.[5] The lawsuit bankrupted the organization and forced them to give up their Hayden Lake property and disband.[6]
In August 2006, Sandpoint and the Panida Theater were host to the first international film festival in Northern Idaho. The Lakedance International Film Festival, as it is now known, has become one of the largest of its kind in the Northwestern United States, with around 50 independent movie screenings at The Panida Theater and other venues, and other film related events. This festival, along with The Festival at Sandpoint, and Lost-in-the-50's, among other events, continue to build Sandpoint's reputation of being an arts and culture capital of Northern Idaho and the Inland Northwest.
Rail transportation
The Sandpoint Amtrak station serves as the only stop in Idaho. The Amtrak Empire Builder route carries passengers daily in both directions between Chicago, Illinois to the east and Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon to the west.
Education
Sandpoint is part of the Lake Pend Oreille School District.[7]
Notable natives and residents
- Mark Fuhrman, best known for his controversial testimony at the O. J. Simpson trial
- Jerry Kramer, former Green Bay Packers right guard
- Joe Mather, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder
- Patrick F. McManus, outdoor writer
- Viggo Mortensen, actor
- Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican Vice-President nominee
- Jake Plummer, former quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos
- Marilynne Robinson, writer and winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Jake Rosholt, mixed martial artist and former wrestler
- Ben Stein, actor, writer, political commentator
Demographics
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 6,835 people, 2,873 households, and 1,680 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,750.9 people per square mile (676.7/km²). There were 3,188 housing units at an average density of 816.7/sq mi (315.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.24% White, 0.12% African American, 1.01% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.46% of the population.
There were 2,873 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,461, and the median income for a family was $41,596. Males had a median income of $35,533 versus $20,795 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,643. About 14.9% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
Population history
- 2007 estimate - 8,216[9]
- 2000 - 6,835
- 1990 - 5,203[10]
- 1980 - 4,403
- 1970 - 4,144
- 1960 - 4,355
- 1950 - 4,265
- 1940 - 4,356
- 1930 - 3,290
- 1920 - 2,876
- 1910 - 2,993
- 1900 - 507
References
Further reading
External links
