Hello everyone, I have spent some time this semester working with my fellow students going through the United States census records for both Bannock and Bingham counties in Idaho. I did this as part of the research for our graduate seminar class “Global Idaho” where we have been studying the immigration of the Nikkei, people of Japanese descent, and their impact on south eastern Idaho.

One of the research tasks that I and others in the class took upon ourselves was sifting through the 1900 to 1940 records, so we could see what these records could tell us about lives of the Nikkei during this time period. It was an interesting thing to see that the largest population of Nikkei were recorded in the 1900 census with around 350 people counted,[1] but that this number slowly decreased until in the 1940 census there were only around 250 Nikkei still in the area.[2]

I found the ebb and flow of their population prior to World War II fascinating. The 1900 census shows that all of the Japanese immigrants were men tied to jobs with the railroad. A mix of married and single men had come to America with dreams of success leaving their families behind. They lived in areas close to where they worked and their populations centered around railway stations and camps.[3] The 1910 census demonstrated much of the same information, but also showed that Nikkei women were starting to arrive in small numbers. The work they did and the places they lived still revolved mainly around the railroad, but jobs had begun to diversify into other forms of labor, particularly agriculture.[4] The 1920 census displayed the leap that these Japanese-Americans were making towards adapting to their new homes. Women made up a full third of the Nikkei population, and the census now showed married couples with children. Jobs were no longer tied only to the railroad, and the population centers demonstrated this.[5] Using census data and GIS mapping software we were able to see that the Nikkei’s homes spread through out the area. Nikkei businesses were located and mapped, showing a vibrant entrepreneurial presence in downtown Pocatello.[6] Clusters of residences out in the countryside show areas where the Nikkei were leasing their lands to farm for themselves.[7]

The 1930 census followed a similar pattern to that of the 1920 census, farming locations moved, jobs diversified even more, the gap in numbers between the genders shrank, and the American born Nisei were beginning to come of age. It was in this decade that the population of Japanese-Americans shrank for the first time in the region since they started arriving in the 1890’s.[8] Perhaps this is because they sought for the success they wanted elsewhere in Idaho. Places like Twin Falls to the west and Rexburg to the north had large Nikkei populations as well and some may have moved there. Some probably left Idaho for good by going to other states searching for greener pastures. The 1940 census brought different changes to the population. The number of Nikkei in south eastern Idaho was now around 250 people the lowest point to this time period. They were clustered in the cities of Pocatello, Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, and also in the farming regions and Fort Hall Indian Reservation that lay between these cities.[9]

This is were the story that can be told from the manuscript census data ends for now. It has yielded a lot of wonderful data. In the next year or so the United States Census Bureau will be releasing the 1950 manuscript census records to the public, it will be interesting to see that it says about the continuing story of the Nikkei in south eastern Idaho.

Footnotes

1 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1900, Idaho.”

2 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1940, Idaho.”

3 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1900, Idaho.”

4 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1910, Idaho.”

5 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1920, Idaho.”

6 Nancy Shiozawa, “Japanese Business 1900-1940,” February 21, 2020.

7 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1920, Idaho.”

8 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1930, Idaho.”

9 United States of America, Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1940, Idaho.”

References

Nancy Shiozawa. “Japanese Business 1900-1940,” February 21, 2020.

United States of America, Census Bureau. “United States Census, 1900, Idaho.” Genology. FamilySearch, n.d. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DY9D-8N?owc=9BQP-44K%3A1030549801%3Fcc%3D1325221&cc=1325221&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMM5L-86B.

United States of America, Census Bureau. “United States Census, 1910, Idaho.” Genology. FamilySearch, n.d. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RJB-L26?owc=QZZQ-JNN%3A133637701%3Fcc%3D1727033&cc=1727033&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMLHN-DNL.

United States of America, Census Bureau. “United States Census, 1920, Idaho.” Genology. FamilySearch, n.d. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RNXLFN?i=1&cc=1488411&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMDCF-FT6.

United States of America, Census Bureau. “United States Census, 1930, Idaho.” Genology. FamilySearch, n.d. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R42-XF5?i=2&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXHDV-XRM.

United States of America, Census Bureau. “United States Census, 1940, Idaho.” Genology. FamilySearch, n.d. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MT-DHZ6?owc=QZXT-BWG%3A790104001%3Fcc%3D2000219&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK985-C56.