City of Rexburg history

Jacob Spori, a well-educated Swiss immigrant newly settled in the valley, was hired as principal, and the Bannock Stake Academy opened on 12 November 1888.

By the time Idaho entered the Union as the 43rd state in 1890, Rexburg was the second largest city in the state.

Brigham Young University-Idaho’s precursor was known as a “stake academy,” until 1903 when the university was renamed Ricks Academy, after Thomas E. Ricks, who was the Bannock Stake president and the chairman of the school’s first Board of Education.

In 1923 the school became Ricks College, a name that stuck for nearly 80 years.

Finally, in 1937, Ricks College received word that the Church would keep and maintain the school.

World War IIThe road to warThe United States at warWar productionFinancing the warSocial consequences of the warThe 1944 electionThe new United States role in world affairs

The peak Cold War years, 1945–60The Truman Doctrine and containmentPostwar domestic reorganizationThe Red ScareThe Korean WarPeace, growth, and prosperityEisenhower’s second termDomestic issuesWorld affairsAn assessment of the postwar era

Another stunning change of course came to the school when “without warning” President Gordon B. Hinckley, current President of the Church, announced on 21 June 2000 that Ricks College would become a four-year school, renamed BYU-Idaho.

Brigham Young University-Idaho is just one of four schools owned by the LDS Church. It wasn’t until 2001 that the change was made to rename Ricks College a turn it into a 4-year college.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple in Rexburg, Idaho, on 30 July 2005, Richard F. Smith, great-grandson of Fred Smith, noted about these men: “The First Presidency did not tell them when to leave to come up here and accomplish that task.

An American Black Bear roaming around Yellowstone Bear World in 2007 Photo Courtesy Wikipedia