BlockBefore

Murphy, Idaho

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Murphy census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83650. It stands on South Fork Rabbit Creek. The Survey maps it on the Murphy quadrangle. 96 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,802 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Murphy within Owyhee County

On record in Murphy

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

Murphy fell from 97 to 96 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
201097
202096-1 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

16 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Murphy between 1996 and 2020, burning about 11,812 acres in total. 6 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
Natural6
Equipment and vehicle use3
Debris and open burning3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Recreation and ceremony1
Firearms and explosives 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
27 August 1996Natural533 acresBoise DistrictCON SHEA
8 July 2002Natural1,346 acresBoise DistrictGUFF
4 July 2014Equipment and vehicle use9.0 acresBoise DistrictMM34 HWY78
31 July 1997Natural5.0 acresBoise DistrictSINKERBUTT
28 July 2017Natural993 acresBoise DistrictMURPHY FLAT
2 July 2006Natural1,356 acresBoise DistrictGUFF
12 July 2001Natural365 acresBoise DistrictSTRIKE BAS
8 June 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined13 acresBoise DistrictCON SHEA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Owyhee County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Murphy: 6 occurrences, 1 unknown, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Mercury, Geothermal, Volcanic Materials, Pumice. 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
PumicePumiceUnknown
Pumicite DepositVolcanic MaterialsOccurrence
Fletcher & BrunzellMercuryOccurrenceCinnabar
Geothermal LocationGeothermalOccurrence
Newt WrightGeothermalProspect
Owyhee Mercury PropertyMercuryOccurrence
Rock & Paul CinnabarMercuryOccurrence
T. BlackstockGeothermalOccurrence

Every working recorded in Owyhee County

Storms near this place

15 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Murphy in 15 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 6 flash flood, 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood. The reports record 1 death. 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
June 2009Flash FloodMurphy1 killedFlash Flooding was reported by law enforcement along Highway 78 and closed a section from Grandview to Walters Ferry, Idaho. A fatality occured when a vehicle was swept into the Snake River near Murphy, Idaho.
June 2023FloodMurphy-Water and mud was reported flowing over Highway 78 near mile post 28.
June 2022HailMurphy-A member of the public posted a photo of hail on social media.
August 2022FloodMurphy-A member of the public submitted a photo of flash flooding in Rabbit Creek which washed out one road.
August 2022HailMurphy-A member of the public submitted this photo via social media.
August 2022Heavy RainMurphy-A spotter reported 1.2 inches of rainfall with a passing thunderstorm and created localized flooding nearby.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindMurphy-A member of the public reported three trees blown down from thunderstorm gust on social media.
September 2013Flash FloodMurphy-Water and mud flowed across sections of Highway 78 between Murphy and Eagle View subdivision about 4 miles north of Murphy. A car was washed off a road and a person was rescued from the vehicle. Rabbit Creek caused erosion of a secondary road near Murphy.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMurphy-A trained spotter reported a large tree was uprooted and a rock wall was partially destroyed.
May 2004Flash FloodMurphy-Very heavy rain from an overhead thunderstorm caused mud and debris to wash across streets in a housing subdivision.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindMurphy-Reported from Swan Falls dam Idaho Power.
August 2003Flash FloodMurphy-Sinker Creek overflowed banks
May 1997Flash FloodMurphy-A very slow moving thunderstorm dumped heavy rain upon the Owyhee Mountains of Southwest Idaho. Flash flooding ensued which left one foot of water on highway 78. Numerous dry washes and gullies were flowing with water.
September 1997Flash FloodMurphy-Heavy showers over south west Idaho during the afternoon of September 11th produced minor flash flooding near the town of Murphy in Owyhee County. A spotter reported water and debris over highway 78 at mileposts 14 and 22. No damage or injuries reported.
July 1995HailMurphy-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Owyhee 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
Guffey5.4 miles15
Sinker (historical)7.1 miles13
Reynolds10.2 miles13
Wilson11.2 miles14
Slacks Corner13.8 miles13
Oreana14.1 miles18
Democrat14.5 miles14
Givens Hot Springs16.5 miles14

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 MurphyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q961918The 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 374082. 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.