Caldwell, Idaho

Hundreds of Chinese immigrants made their homes in Caldwell in the 1870's and 1880's. They had come to America to help build the railroads but when that work was mostly finished, they wanted to settle down and live normal lives. However, Idaho developed a strong backlash against the Chinese that culminated in the 1886 convention in Boise of the Anti-Chinese League. Things hadn't been good for the Chinese immigrants already but they definitely went downhill after that. By 1890, every one of them had left Caldwell, pushed out by social pressure and outright violence.

Caldwell achieved a bit of fame again in March 1908 when Harry Orchard (aka Albert Horsley) was tried and convicted in the courthouse here of the assassination of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg. This was over a long dispute beween the miners unions and the mine owners in which Steunenberg had played a central role. After his guilty plea, Orchard turned on the mine union officials and 3 of the top officials were indicted. However, Clarence Darrow defended the union president successfully and all other charges were dropped. Orchard was sentenced to hang but his sentence was commuted to life in prison and he died there.

These days, Caldwell is home to the College of Idaho and the Caldwell Night Rodeo (a national "top 5" ranked event). The J.R. Simplot Company, one of the world's largest processors and producers of frozen food products has made its headquarters in Caldwell. Caldwell is one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho with an estimated 66.7% population increase just since 2000.