COMMUNITY PROFILE
Cambridge is a rural town located in a broad, large, mountain valley at 2650 ft. elevation in west-central Idaho. The rolling valley is largely occupied by large farm/ranch operations with cattle feeding on the sage/grass hills, while hay and grain operations dot the valley floor. The town of 328 people (2010 census) is located on the valley floor adjacent to the Weiser River. The mountains confining the valley are extensively pine and fir forested with the Payette National Forest encompassing most of that area. Within the adjacent mountainous National Forest are the peaks; Hitt, Cuddy, Council, and Indian Mountains ranging from 7589 to 8126 feet elevation that lie west, north, and east of Cambridge. The area surrounding Cambridge is very diverse. Approximately 20 miles northwest is the start of the Hells Canyon of the Snake River. This gorge, when coupled with the Seven Devils Mountain range, has the deepest gorge on the North American continent.
The diverse country surrounding Cambridge offers abundant year-round recreational opportunities. Its rivers, lakes, and reservoirs provide boating, swimming, water skiing, and fishing. The road system accessing the free flowing Snake River in Hells Canyon turned Cambridge into a hub for river floating, and jet boating trips. Our mountains provide winter sports activities of skiing, and snowmobiling. Spring and Fall provides good mule deer, elk, bear, and turkey hunting opportunities.
Cambridge is a small rural town but the surrounding working population of farmers, ranchers, and loggers more than doubles the area population. While Cambridge had its start as a railroad town, much of its commerce is related to U. S. Highway 95 that bisects the town. That arterial is the single highway in Idaho that connects north and south Idaho. The town has a wide range of services for daily living with grocery stores, medical and dental clinics, restaurants, bank, auto repair, telecommunications office, library, home building and repair store, art gallery/craft store, museum, senior center, assisted living center, post office, county fairgrounds exhibit hall and rodeo arena, and Weiser River hiking/biking trial. A volunteer fire department with ambulance and certified emergency medical technicians provides emergency services to the area. A hospital with emergency services, including air ambulance services, is 30 miles away in Weiser. Extensive shopping and medical facilities are located 60 miles (an hour drive) to the southeast on U. S. Highway 95.
Cambridge has elementary and middle/high schools located in separate buildings. The elementary school, although several years old, is updated and modern. The middle/high school was constructed in 2000 and has a detached gymnasium. Elementary school enrollment is approximately 50 students, kindergarten through 6th grade. Middle/high school enrollment, 7th through 12th, is also about 50 students. School sports teams are made up of the students from Cambridge and a school in the adjacent community Midvale, to have sufficient members to field teams in football, basketball, track, and volleyball. The school also has the only small school division marching band in the state.
The community has a variety of churches: First Baptist, Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic, and Church of Latter day Saints (Mormon).
The climate is referred to as being moderate with spring and fall from 30 to 75 degrees F. Winter usually has snow cover from December through February with some periods of sub-zero temperatures. Summers are usually dry with daytime temperatures ranging from 80 to a rare 110 degrees F. During the summer hot spells, nights nearly always cool down for comfortable sleeping. The humidity is usually moderate through the year with some summer lows to 5%. Average annual rainfall is around 20 inches with much of the moisture falling in the late fall, winter and early spring. Snow depths are variable in winter ranging from 6 to 36 inches, usually melting in March.
Cambridge is a rather typical rural town in western America. Rural America has a shrinking population, as does Cambridge, with much of the areas wealth held in land, livestock, and very expensive farm machinery. The farm machinery continues to eliminate employment opportunities while low commodity prices require operations to grow in size in order to accumulate capital sufficient to afford the operation. That eliminates some farm and ranch families, even limiting the family members that can take over the operation. Couple that problem with our area's forestry situation where operations are failing because of the lack of management of the federal forest lands diminishing logging and sawmill employers and employees. What remains for jobs are low paying, seasonal, recreation centered services jobs. For that reason, towns like Cambridge are growing in the number of retired persons with accumulated wealth that come seeking the rural lifestyle. The children that grow up in the area generally leave for cities with greater job opportunities unless they can step into a family business with established capital wealth. Rural life is not easy but many want to stay, enjoying the way of life, its people, and its freedoms.
Additional information about Cambridge Idaho can be found on the Cambridge Commercial Club website: cambridgeidaho.com