Mackay ) is a town in Custer County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, United States. The population was 439 at the 2020 census. The town is pronounced "Mackie" with the accent on the first syllable.

Highways

US 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the Canadian border north of Eureka in Lincoln Coun ...

- to Challis (north) and

Arco ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

(south)

Etymology

The town was named in honour of

John William Mackay John William Mackay (November 28, 1831 – July 20, 1902) was an Irish-American industrialist. Mackay was one of the four Bonanza Kings, a partnership which capitalised on the wealth generated by the silver mines at the Comstock Lode. He al ...

who owned the local copper mines. The nearby Mackay Peak in the White Knob Mountains is also named after him.

Geography

Mackay is located at (43.911880, -113.613669), at an elevation of 5,905 feet (1,800 m). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. About north of Mackay is Idaho's highest mountain:

Borah Peak Borah Peak, also known as Mount Borah or Beauty Peak, is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Idaho and one of the most prominent peaks in the contiguous United States. It is located in the central section of the Lost River Range, within th ...

, with a summit

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of . Mt. McCaleb, , overlooks the city.

Climate

The climate of Mackay ranges from lows of -40 °F (-40 °C) to highs of +30 °F (-1 °C) in the winter. In the summer, temperatures range from lows of 30 °F (-1 °C) to highs of 100 °F (38 °C) in some areas. Mackay has a fairly dry climate, typical of high desert bordering alpine areas.

Sports

The main athletic attraction in the city is Mackay High School. The Miners have won ten state championships in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in the 1A (previously A-4) division and five state championships in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. Volleyball, girls' basketball and track are other athletic opportunities in Mackay.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 517 people, 247 households, and 137 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 352 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.6% Native American, and 0.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.0% of the population. There were 247 households, of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.5% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age in the city was 47.5 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.3% were from 25 to 44; 31.4% were from 45 to 64; and 22.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.6% male and 48.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 566 people, 261 households, and 149 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 353 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.59%

, 0.35% Native American, 0.71% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.35% from two or more races.

of any race were 2.30% of the population. There were 261 households, out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,807, and the median income for a family was $31,667. Males had a median income of $38,750 versus $20,357 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $14,237. About 13.0% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 19.8% of those age 65 or over.

1983 earthquake

On Friday, October 28, 1983, the Borah Peak earthquake occurred at 8:06 am MDT, measured at 6.9 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

. The Challis-Mackay region experienced rather thorough damage, with 11 commercial buildings and 39 homes with major damage; while another 200 houses were damaged, minor to moderately. Chickens were running all through the streets. Mackay experienced the most severe damage. Most of the city's large buildings on its Main Street were damaged, to some extent; eight of these buildings were deemed condemned and closed down. Most of these buildings were built from materials such as brick, concrete block, and stone, each varying.

Notable residents

* Chase A. Clark, 18th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Idaho (1941–43) and federal judge *

Marilyn Howard Marilyn Lenore Howard (April 18, 1939July 13, 2020) was an American politician from Idaho who served as the 23rd Idaho Superintendent of State school, Public Instruction from 1999 to 2007. She is the most recent member of the Democratic Party (U ...

, politician and educator

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Idaho Cities in Custer County, Idaho