Georgetown, ID

Georgetown sits in Bear Lake County’s Bear River Valley, between the river and the mountains to the east. Mormon pioneers settled the town in 1864 along the Oregon Trail route, and it took its name from George Q. Cannon. The 2020 census counted 503 residents. Farming still sets the larger frame: open fields, irrigation, and the road toward Bear Lake and Montpelier make this a valley town with a strong sense of its surrounding country.

City business happens at the Main Street office, where residents can pay water bills, read council minutes, handle permits, and keep up with building forms. Georgetown’s position on the Oregon Trail–Bear Lake Scenic Byway puts a historic travel route through the middle of ordinary town business. The city’s small scale shows up in its hours, its meeting notices, and the way the mountains appear at the end of the road. Georgetown is a place where pioneer history is part of the map, while water service, permits, and council nights keep the present moving.