Blackfoot, ID

Tater Times in Blackfoot, Idaho

“Free Taters for Out-of-Staters”

This catchy billboard lures hundreds of travelers every day to the small town of Blackfoot, Idaho, during the summer months. Just off Interstate 15, en route to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park, Blackfoot lays claim to being one of only two museums in the world dedicated to the potato.

At the Idaho Potato Expo, you’ll find the world’s largest potato chip, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as a potato “crisp.” Created for a Pringles® promotion in the early 1990s, it’s more than 2 feet long, and outweighs a quarter pound hamburger. There’s also a potato signed by former Vice President Dan Quayle, commemorating his infamous “potatoe” spelling-bee blooper.

“Potatoes are a huge part of our economic base,” says Sandy Thomas, Idaho Potato Expo director. “Idaho leads the world in potato production, and southeast Idaho produces more potatoes than any other part of Idaho. We refer to Blackfoot and Bingham County as the ‘potato capital of the world.’”

Like most of the state, the Blackfoot area primarily grows the famous Idaho Russet potato. Visitors to the Expo learn why the state is so successful at developing it. Blackfoot’s 4,500-foot elevation provides the perfect combination of warm days and cool nights, while the light volcanic-ash soil makes a rich growing medium. The nearby Snake River provides irrigation water, essential in Blackfoot’s high-desert climate. It allows moisture levels to be precisely regulated, a key to potato quality.

To the 9,646 residents of Blackfoot, potatoes are serious business. Idaho produces one quarter of the nation’s potato crop—and southeast Idaho, where Blackfoot is located, produces half of Idaho’s output. Not surprisingly, potato fields, fresh pack sheds, and dehydration processing facilities are major employers for the area.

“We were looking for something to pull people off the interstate, something that was unique to Blackfoot,” says Rex Call, retired from Blackfoot’s Basic American Foods potato processing plant and one of the founding board members of the Expo. “Like many communities, we struggle with a ‘downtown’ problem—the movement of businesses away from the city’s center. But the Idaho Potato Expo brings 25,000 paying visitors downtown every season.”

Housed in the old stone Oregon Short Line Railroad building, the Expo uses large mounted photos and simple explanations to illustrate every aspect of modern-day potato growing and processing. Other exhibits trace the history of the potato, from its origins in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia and Peru to the development of the famous Russet Burbank.

One large room devoted to antique farming equipment, much of it horse-drawn, features everything from planting potato seed to digging bud-protruding potato tubers. Local families have also donated a variety of antiquated processing devices, some of them invented locally.

How many ways can you use a potato? Visitors to the Expo come away with new ideas about this American carbohydrate staple. They can sample potato fudge and potato ice cream, made on the premises, and buy locally made potato hand lotion, “Tuber Humer” postcards, and potato-print gift-wrap. A potato-sack outfit made for a local rodeo queen is on display, as well as a sample of Teton Glacier Potato Vodka, distilled and bottled in Rigby, Idaho.

While Blackfoot residents enjoy a lovely two-mile greenbelt, a top-ranked golf course, and skateboard park, it’s the Potato Expo that pulls the majority of travelers into town.

“The absolute favorite ‘photo opportunity’ is the giant potato outside the building,” says Thomas. “We also have a small plot of potatoes, so they can see what a potato plant looks like. This year, we’re hoping to add tours of local potato farms.”

Joanne Hinkel is a freelance writer from Boise, Idaho.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article