Hayden City

Hayden City offices are located at 8930 North Government Way and 9393 North Strahorn Road, Hayden ID 83835; phone: 208-209-2013.

Beginnings [1]

The area west of Hayden Lake was originally settled by homesteaders in the late 1800's. By the early 1900's the area grew into a thriving community based on local agriculture and logging-related activities around Hayden Lake. In the early 1900's, summer resorts along the southwest side of the lake were developed, providing a robust recreational economy in the local area. An electric rail line serviced these resorts from 1906 through 1929, providing convenient and direct access to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. These resorts were located on the southwest shores of Hayden Lake where the Hayden Country Club, the Clarke House and the Avondale golf course are now located.

By the early 1920's, fruit orchards were abundant in the area warranting the expansion of packing plants to process the crops. Dairy and poultry farms, cattle ranches and other agricultural endeavors were also in operation throughout the area. In the late 1920's many people moved to the area from the midwest and other areas, developing more agricultural land under the Homestead Act, while also working in the logging, lumbering and recreational industries centered around the lake.

The general area extending west from the summer resorts to just west of Government Way, between Miles and Honeysuckle Avenues, became known as "Hayden Village". In the 1950's some commercial development was located along Government Way servicing the local community and highway traffic traveling along State Highway 95, as located on Government Way at the time. The City of Hayden was incorporated in 1955, with its initial boundaries generally covering 440 acres of the area known as "Hayden Village". Commercial development along Government Way continued to grow to take advantage of the visibility that the highway provided, and the growing community. Many of the original small farms located in the "Hayden Village" area continued to operate, with the balance divided into smaller parcels for residential use.

As commercial development along Government Way and the area's population grew, the capacity of Government Way to adequately service highway traffic became an issue. State Highway 95 was relocated to its current location to the west of Government Way in 1972. Commercial development has since developed along Highway 95 and along the major arterials to service the growing local community and area.

The original residential area of "Hayden Village" remains much the same, though many of the original large lots have been subdivided into smaller residential lots in the north and south areas of the original village. Major residential developments consisting of smaller lots have occurred in the southeastern portion of what is now Hayden and to the west of Highway 95, in the southwestern part of Hayden's current city limits. The original estimated population for "Hayden Village" of 718 people in 1950 has grown to around 10,300 in 2003 due to the increasing geographic size of the City and ongoing residential development occurring through time .

1. City of Hayden 2007 Comprehensive Plan Update, January 2007, section II-A, pp. 12