ID HCR002

Bonneville County was established February 7, 1911, named after Captain Benjamin Bonneville, a French-born U.S. Army officer and fur trapper/explorer.

The county comprises 1,901 square miles with seven cities (Ammon, Idaho Falls, Iona, Irwin, Ririe, Swan Valley, Ucon) and two unincorporated communities, with an estimated 2008 population of 99,135.

Bonneville County hosts the Idaho National Laboratory, the state's only federally funded research and development center and nation's leading center for nuclear energy research.

The county's hydroelectric power projects constructed between 1909 and 1982 produce fifty percent of Idaho Falls' electricity, with the current $55.3 million dam completed in 1982.

The legislature congratulates Bonneville County and its residents on their centennial anniversary on February 7, 2011, recognizing the Bonneville County Centennial Heritage Association's year-long celebration and centennial gala on November 10-12, 2011.