Bonner County is the second-most northern county in Idaho, bordered on the south by Kootenai County and on the north by Boundary County, on the east by Lincoln and Sanders counties in Montana and on the west by Pend Oreille County, Washington.

David Thompson, the first known white man to enter Bonner County, established Kullyspel House trading post near present-day Hope in 1809. The first two settlements were established in the 1860s to accommodate the miners on their way to the gold fields in British Columbia and western Montana. A steamboat was launched on the Pend Oreille River in 1866, making travel much easier. The Northern Pacific Railroad reached Bonner County in 1881, prompting the establishment of several towns. In the next twenty-five years, two more railroads crossed Bonner County, connecting the scattered communities. Steamboats continued to serve the communities and settlers on Lake Pend Oreille until the 1930s.

Bonner County�s ethnic ancestry is varied, with German being the most predominant at 21%, followed by 12% English and 11% Irish.

We have been a Genealogical Society since September 1979. Our goal is to foster and encourage the interest of members and others in genealogical research, to provide aid in their research efforts and to acquire books and other forms of genealogical records. To make them easily available to our members and the public, we donate them to the Family History Center in Sandpoint. These are some of the categories of books and microfilm we have donated in the last several years:

MEMBERSHIP and MEETINGS

Society membership is open to anyone who is interested in their family history or local history. Our membership dues are $15.00 per year.

We meet in January, February and March on the fourth Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 PM. April through August, we meet on the fourth Thursday of the month from 7 to 9 PM. September and October, we again meet on the fourth Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 PM. We do not have meetings in November and December due to the holidays.
Our meeting place is

After the business meeting, we have a program on a topic of genealogical research.

Anyone interested in genealogy is welcome at our meetings.

LOOKUP

Some of our members are willing to look up local records, such as cemeteries, naturalization, birth records from 21 February 1907 to 30 June 1911, marriage records from 21 February 1907 to 30 April 1947, and many types of land records. Divorce records from 1990 to the present are available if you have the case number. Some earlier records are available. No death records or passport records are available in Bonner County.

If we can help you, either email or write to

The more information you can include about your subject, the more likely we can find the information you need.

Bonner County was part of Kootenai County before 21 February 1907. Contact Kootenai County for earlier records.