Historical Marker · No. 192
Owyhee Country
Owyhee County · Idaho
Mackenzie's brigade was a mixed company: about 25 Canadians, 32 Hawaiians and 38 Iroquois. The three Hawaiians he detached in the winter of 1819 to trap this country never returned; a search party later found the place where they had camped and the skeleton of one of them, and the fur men blamed a Bannock band, though no one knows for certain. The name first appears in writing as "Owhyhee River" on William Kittson's map of 1825, and in 1863 Owyhee became the first county organized by Idaho Territory.
What the plaque says
Owyhee Country The name applied to these mountains and the whole surrounding region is an outdated spelling of the word "Hawaii". Fur-trading ships brought Hawaiian natives--then called "Owyhees"--to the Northwest. In 1818, Donald Mackenzie brought the first big brigade of fur hunters to the Snake river valley. He sent several Owyhees to trap in this region--and they never came back. Ever since then, this has been called the Owyhee country, and Owyhee county carries the name on. (Pronounce "Owyhee" and "Hawaii" aloud--they sound the same.) 192 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department
Where it stands
43.40732, -116.86491 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Givens Springs — 8.0 mi
- Froman's Ferry — 10 mi
- Steamer "Shoshone" — 14 mi
- The College of Idaho — 20 mi