Bench is an unincorporated community in Caribou County, in the U.S. state of Idaho.[1]

Bench, Idaho
Unincorporated community
Bench, Idaho Show map of Idaho Bench, Idaho Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 42°30′13″N 111°40′49″W
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Caribou
Elevation	6,194 ft (1,888 m)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
Area codes	208, 986
GNIS feature ID	396102[1]

Geography

Bench is located along Niter-Bench Road, at 42°30′13″N 111°40′49″W.[1]

History

The community of Bench is part of the Gem Valley, an area that also includes the communities of Grace, Turner, Central, Lund, Bancroft, and Niter.[2]

A post office called Bench was established in 1902, and remained in operation until 1923.[3] The community was named for a prominent landform near the original town site, commonly referred to as a "bench".[4] The "settlers attempted dry farming with little success"; the Bench Canal Company was formed to provide irrigation to the area. The Bench Canal, a 27-mile-long irrigation system, received water in July 1902, but was not completed until October 1919, due to the scarcity of labor caused by servicemen entering World War I.[2]

In 1906, Bench was on the Soda Springs-Lago stagecoach line, which connected Grace, Niter, and Bench to the community of Soda Springs,[5] which would in 1919 become the county seat of Caribou County. Bench's population was 75 in 1909.[6]

In addition to the post office, a number of businesses operated in Bench. In the early 1900s, Bench's sawmill was owned by the Tolman family.[7] Bench's school operated into the mid 20th century.

Bench is closely associated with the nearby community of Niter; the two communities, separated by the Bench Canal, shared a newspaper column, titled "Niter-Bench", in the Caribou County Sun from 1957[8] to 1977.[9]

Bench regulated kissing on Sunday, requiring the participants to "'pause for breath' between each kiss."[10]

References