Demographics & Occupations in Pocatello, Idaho, after the Great War
Throughout the decades, Pocatello, Idaho, has gone through many changes to become the city it is today. At the turn of the twentieth century, Pocatello was experiencing an increase in the city’s population. This young developing city saw a 64.7% increase in the population throughout the early portion of the century.[1] Migrants of all ethnicities and religions flocked into the city for the rich opportunities the city provided. These settlers from both domestic and abroad had essentially come here to build a new life for themselves and their families.
A rich employment opportunity in Pocatello that brought people from all over the world to the city was the railroad. Not only did the railroad bring migrants, but it also made the city more industrial than it was in the nineteenth century. The railroad originated in Utah, and its purpose was to transport materials from the Eastern part of the United States to the Western part. The railroad provided a large number of jobs to the public and the Union Pacific Railroad was the largest employer in Pocatello. The Union Pacific Railroad employed about 4,000 men in the city.[2] The majority of occupations that the railroad provided was vigorous labor and included jobs such as electricians, brakemen, mechanics, conductors, and engineers.[3] To provide materials for the rail cars, the city had a railroad shop which also provided many jobs to the area.
With a vast number of railroad workers in the city, another employment opportunity that flourished was the retail industry. With many railroad workers making a decent wage, they needed a place to spend their salary. Grocery stores were the highest employers providing jobs such as cashiers, clerks, bookkeepers, and baggers.[4]
With the railroad providing job opportunities to Pocatello, many of the settlers that came within 1910 to 1920 were from Idaho’s southern border of Utah, another state that was highly economically dependent on the railroad. Besides Utah, employees from Western states such as Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming migrated into the city.[5] Another region in the United States were migrants hailed from was the Mid-West. Compared to the 1910 census, Pocatello continued to experience a rise of amount of individuals who came from the Mid-West. The majority of mid-west migrants came from Missouri, while Pocatello also saw vast amount of people coming from Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.[6]
On an international level, the people who immigrated into Pocatello came from all over the world. Both men and women from Europe and Asia found a home within the “Smile Capital of the World.” The English, Greeks, and Italians were the majority of European immigrants in the city, while Japanese and Chinese were the majority from Asia.[7] A trend that can be seen within the international community in Pocatello was that immigrants from the same or different countries shacked up together in lodges. The individuals that lived in these lodges were predominantly all single males. The men in these lodges were mostly employed by the Union Pacific Railroad or they worked retail jobs as salesmen.[8]
The Italians and the Greek immigrants had also made a cultural impact as well as a demographic impact. Both groups formed their own sub-communities within the larger Pocatello community. The Greek and Italian communities resided around 3rd Street and Center Street and extended all the way to 6th Street in modern day Pocatello. Although the Greeks immigrated into Pocatello, they still kept their culture and beliefs. The Greek migrants brought their Greek Orthodox faith with them during their immigration. A church was built in 1915 for a place that Greek immigrants could practice their faith.[9] The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is still active today on 5th Street. The St. Anthony Church was built in 1914 for those domestic and abroad for those who follow the Roman Catholic Faith. A memorial was built in remembrance of all of those migrants who came to Pocatello for those who worked for the Union Pacific and Oregon Short Line. At the bottom of the memorial are the last names of the founding families who first migrated to Pocatello.
Besides a place for employment, migrants from domestic and abroad have made Pocatello as the place where they would raise their families. Young couples in their twenties and thirties after migrating would start their families after they moved to the Smile captial.[10] The average family had between two and five children with some families having at least seven children. The head of the household was able to provide for the family, while the women of the house stuck to a traditional role of taking care of the children and the household.[11]
Pocatello, from 1910 to 1920, was a growing industrial community. The railroad was an industry that provided jobs for generations of men; it also made Pocatello a more diverse community with people from all around the world looking for rich opportunities.
– Kelsey Baguley
[1] “Census of Population and Housing”. Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
[2] “Pocatello’s Up Yard.” Idaho State Journal (Pocatello, ID) , Jan. 23, 2003.
[3] Family Search. 1920 Census, Available at www.familysearch.com. Accessed March 22, 2017
[4] Ibid.,
[5] Ibid.,
[6] Ibid.,
[7] Ibid.,
[8] Ibid.,
[9] Greek Orthodox church Pocatello, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Accessed March 22, 2017 https://www.assumptionpocatello.net/
[10] 1920 census.
[11] Ibid.,