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Montpelier, Idaho

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Montpelier census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83254. It lies in Montpelier Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Montpelier quadrangle. 2,643 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,981 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Montpelier within Bear Lake County

On record in Montpelier

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Montpelier grew from 2,597 to 2,643 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,597
20202,643+46 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

8 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Montpelier between 1992 and 2020, burning about 261 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Debris and open burning2
Recreation and ceremony2
Smoking1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
16 August 1994Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCaribou-Targhee National Forestnot named
7 July 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCaribou-Targhee National ForestLEFT FORK
28 July 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined49 acresIdaho Falls DistrictBNK VLY II
18 July 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCaribou-Targhee National Forestnot named
21 June 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCaribou-Targhee National ForestHOME CANYON
8 April 1992Debris and open burning2.0 acresCaribou-Targhee National Forestnot named
6 April 1992Debris and open burning49 acresCaribou-Targhee National Forestnot named
14 March 1994Smoking160 acresIdaho Falls DistrictMONTPELIER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bear Lake County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Montpelier: 5 occurrences, 5 past producers, 3 producers, 2 prospects. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Gypsum-Anhydrite, Limestone, General. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Waterloo MinePhosphorus-Phosphates, Oil Shale, Fluorine-Fluorite, REE, Uranium, VanadiumPast Producer1907
Montpelier Canyon Gypsum DepositGypsum-AnhydritePast ProducerSedimentary
Montpelier Limestone QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer1908
Owen QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Unnamed Gypsum DepositGypsum-AnhydriteProspect
Bennington Canyon MinePhosphorus-PhosphatesPast Producer1941
Home Canyon MinePhosphorus-PhosphatesPast ProducerBedded - Phosphate
Phosphate DepositPhosphorus-PhosphatesOccurrence
Unnamed LocationPhosphorus-PhosphatesOccurrence
Bear Lake ConcreteSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Bear Lake County

Storms near this place

22 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Montpelier in 22 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 14 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 3 flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1997Thunderstorm WindMontpelier$70,000no account filed
June 1998Tornado (F0)Montpelier$20,000no account filed
July 2011FloodMontpelier$2,000Extensive lowland and field flooding continued through much of July along the Bear River upstream of Stewart Dam. Water continued to surround a couple homes in the dingle area and water continued to impact a portion of Pegram Road near the town of Pegram. Water levels on the river receded considerably beginning July 24th.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindMontpelier$1,000Trees reported down in Montpelier on Eastshore Road and Highway 89 with carport roof blown off as well in the town.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindMontpelier$400A large tree snapped due to a strong thunderstorm wind on July 4th.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindMontpelier$300no account filed
April 2026Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-The Sheep Creek Hills mesonet site recorded a 59 mph thunderstorm outflow wind gust.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-The Sheep Creek Hills mesonet station PC506 recorded a 63 mph wind gust.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-The Sheep Creek Hills mesonet site recorded a 58 mph wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-A 64 mph wind gust was measured at the Sheep Creek Hills PACIFICORP mesonet site.
December 2025Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-A 66 mph wind gust was measured at the mesonet station PC506 Sheep Hills Creek.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-Sheep Creek Hills mesonet site recorded a 62 mph wind gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-A 59 mph thunderstorm outflow wind measured at Sheep Creek Hills Pacificorp mesonet site.
June 2018Flash FloodMontpelier-A strong thunderstorm dumped heavy rain and hail on Montpelier. Washington Street, one of the main streets in the city, had several inches of water running on it. Extensive hail fell as well with some small branches and limbs downed from trees and minor crop damage reported.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-Spotter measured a 65 mph wind gust west of Montpelier.
May 2016HailMontpelier-One inch hail in Montpelier with small branches stripped off trees.
June 2011HailMontpelier-A trained spotter reported 2 inch hail in Montpelier.
June 2011HailMontpelier-One inch hail reported by spotter 1 mile north of Montpelier.
June 2011FloodMontpelier-Extensive lowland and field flooding occurred along the Bear River upstream of Stewart Dam. Two homes in the dingle area were surrounded by water. Waterh encroached on some outbuildings and agricultural supp0lies were flooded in low lying areas. Water covered a portion of Pegram Road near the town of Pegram. The Bear border river gauge was inundated with water. Extensive flooding of fields occurred along the lower end of teh Thomas Fork near the confluence with the Bear River.
May 2011FloodMontpelier-Extensive lowland and field flooding occurred along the Bear River upstream of Stewart Dam. Two homes in the dingle area surrounded by water. Water covered a portion of Pegram Road near the town of Pegram. Water flowed across Poverty Flat Road near the intersection with Pegram Road. Extensive lowland flooding also occurred along the Thomas Fork near the Wyoming Border. Water flowed across county roads and some livestock corrals were inundated with water. Humerous small creeks draining east into Bear River and Bear Lake exceeded their banks and caused damage and washouts along back country roads. Montpelier Creek caused flooding of some prpoerties in the canyon east of the town of Montpelier.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-Spotter reported 61 mph wind gust.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindMontpelier-A 65 mph wind gust was measured from thunderstorm wind in Montpelier.

Every storm recorded in Bear Lake County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Wardboro4.7 miles13
Bern4.8 miles13
Bennington4.9 miles13
Ovid5.8 miles13
Dingle7.3 miles13
Lanark7.5 miles13
Liberty8.2 miles13
Paris8.5 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on MontpelierAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q984372The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 396914. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.