The Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot: 3 Fun Things to Know!
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If you know anything about me at all, it’s that I do not need a reason to visit any destination. The Maldives had the exact same pull as West Virginia – and I visited both the same year haha. So when I tell people I went to Idaho, and more specifically the Idaho Potato Museum, they usually as me: “Why?”
Simple.
Because I hadn’t been – and I can.
You could make the case for Idaho that they have a fantastic (and not busy) outdoor scene with hiking trails, slopes, and tons of natural hotsprings or that their food scene has set off like a wildfire with the amount of renown chefs making waves in Boise, Idaho Falls, and Southern Idaho…yes, technically those things are true. The Idaho tourism board is certainly trying to show potential visitors that they are more than just their potato reputation.
However, I think they should fully embrace the potato tourism. Because they have the best campiest potato attraction in the world that NOBODY ELSE can replicate.
The Idaho Potato Museum.
Getting to the Idaho Potato Museum
The Idaho Potato Museum is located in Blackfoot, Idaho, in the Southeast of the state. The closest “big(ger)” city to Blackfoot is Idaho Falls (30 min drive). But since I was roadtripping from Boise, I took the long way, visited the Idaho Potato Museum along the way, and THEN parked myself in Idaho Falls for a few days. There are a lot of fun things to do in Idaho Falls, and my recommendation is to visit from there to save you some driving time.
| Nearby Destinations | Distance from the Idaho Potato Museum |
| Idaho Falls, ID | 30min |
| Jackson, WY | 2hrs |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 2h30m |
| Boise, ID | 3h30m |
The museum is in Blackfoot because Bingham County (where Blackfoot is located) produces more potatoes than any other county in the United States.
Blackfoot is just outside of the Fort Hall Reservation, established in 1867 by President Andrew Johnson by Executive Order on June 14, 1867 to forcibly and violently removed the local Indigenous Nations from their ancestral lands, in this area specifically the the Shoshone and Bannock people.
There was ample free parking at the Idaho Potato Museum, and space for RVs and larger trucks as well, however if you are planning on staying overnight I recommend the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel which is owned and operated by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
My Experience at the Idaho Potato Museum
I know you might be expected a really long and thorough dissertation about the Idaho Potato Museum and its philosophical impacts on the global food network, but alas, no this is gonna be one of the shortest blog posts I’ve ever written.
Buckle up.
So when we arrived to the Idaho Potato Museum, we were one of two groups visiting. I believe it was a random week day about two hours before closing, so that wasn’t surprising. In fact, it was quite nice to have enough elbow room to enjoy the museum.
Another perk to visiting Idaho is that it’s never too busy or overwhelming, so if you’re not a fan of crowds when you travel, bump up Idaho in your list!
The Idaho Potato Museum walks you through the history of potato farming in Idaho, as well as some of the notable innovators in the potato industry. Not a lot of people know this about me, but I once upon a time wanted to be a farmer.
You can thank Harvest Moon 64 for that.
But then I realized that farming is hard work, I get sun exhaustion very easily, and I can’t stand up very long…so my dream was shattered almost as quickly as it has formed. Still, I am always extremely interested in the agriculture industry and the Idaho Potato Museum definitely fulfilled that. Plus, it was very silly and fun so even if you aren’t a big farm nerd you’ll still enjoy it.
Along with all the interesting facts, there are also a few bits that elaborate on potato culture – because yes, it’s a thing. There’s a huge collection of Mr Potato Head figurines, donated by Potato Heads around the country. And if that’s not their official fandom name, it is now.
I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised at all the potato paraphernalia, considering I too enjoy food-related objects, but the Idaho Potato Museum takes it to another level. They even have the world’s largest potato chip! It’s incredible.
The Idaho Potato Museum isn’t too big, it took us about an hour to get through and we were pretty much reading everything (again, farm nerd here), so I would suggest at least an hour, especially with kids who might want to play with a few of the interactive parts.
The Cafe
After strolling around the museum, we decided to pop into the adjoining cafe for a bite of these potatoes we just heard so much about. We ordered French fries, a baked potato, and potato salad – all staples for the potato food branch.
Now, the actual potato-potatoes themselves…those were bangin. And I expect nothing less from THE literal Idaho Potato Museum. But the toppings…those were a little lackluster, ngl. So while I do recommend trying one of their potatoes, I wouldn’t advise skipping lunch to order the whole menu.
Why Potatoes? Why Idaho??
Potatoes are a big deal, whether you love them or hate them (hating them is a red flag tho). Even one of the most iconic American celebrities, Marilyn Monroe, visited Idaho and proved that she can even make a potato sack look good.
But…how did Idaho become synonymous with Idaho? And, perhaps more importantly, WHY??
In short…because Idaho has ideal growing conditions. But you should know by now that there’s always more to the story.
First, South America
Potatoes originated in South America, in the Andes mountains. Potatoes have been cultivated by Indigenous groups in the region since 3000 BC, and they were also the first to dehydrate potatoes into chuño which is still eaten today. However around 200 BC, during early Incan civilization, the agricultural potential of potatoes grew. In Inca mythology there is a goddess of potatoes, Axomamma, though unlike other mythical deities, she is pretty indifferent to the going ons of the peoples. Aside from the potato harvest of course.
During the infamous Spanish colonization of the Americas, a conquistador by the name of Francisco Pizarro is credited to bringing the potato to Spain in the 1500s. Now, Pizarro is up there with Cortez as being one of the most evil colonizers to step foot in the Americas. He worked as a magistrate in Panama and an inspector of “encomiendus,” aka the right to exploit local forced labor (slavery).
Yeah…they just be makin up titles for slave owners and enforces. But okay.
That wasn’t a big enough title for Pizarro however. He heard whispers of the gold in South America. For years, he was unsuccessful in finding the rumored “golden city,” but he did have his butt handed to him a NUMBER of times by Indigenous Nations (where he almost died multiple times and most of his men did), the harsh Amazon rainforest. Eventually, however, he made it to the border of what is now Ecuador and Peru and stumbled upon a bustling trade port.
YES. Indigenous Nations had their own trade, economies, and sophisticated societies.
After finding this port, Pizarro led a more formal expedition (backed by the king of Spain) and pillaged every single village along the coast from Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador until they finally made contact with the Inca Empire. But, get this, they were sneaky about it and said they just wanted to speak with their ruler. Mind you, all the diseases that the Europeans brought over with them killed upwards to 65-90% of some populations, including the previous monarch Huayna Capac.
So when Pizarro arrived, the Inca Empire was in a fragile state with Capac’s sons trying to one up each other for control of what was at the time the largest Empire in the world. Now I could write a whole blog post on the Siege of Cusco, but…I’ll save it for another time.
Then, Europe
Getting back to the point of this blog post, colonization not only wrecked the hundreds (probably thousands) of Empires, Nations, and Tribes in the Americas, but also destroyed 99.6% of all potatoes. Yes my fellow potato loving friends. Out of the 3,000 potato varieties that flourished in the Andes, today there are only 40.
Once potatoes made their way back to Spain, it then went to Italy, France and Portugal who were each having their own evil romps in the Americas and bringing back produce and spices for new culinary dishes they would willfully under-season. But the potato wasn’t welcomed with open arms. In fact, the Europeans thought potatoes (then called batata) were HIDEOUS and an obvious work of the devil himself, so out of only the most dire circumstances, it was begrudgingly used to feed dying people in hospitals.
SO ON THAT NOTE, in 1590, the Europeans forced this crop onto the Irish. Whew, no time for a second detour, but the British weren’t at ALL subtle about their gestures.
The potato landed on the shores of Virginia in 1621 by way of Bermuda from Europe.
Finally, Idaho
The potato found its way to Idaho in the 1800s. I PROMISEEE I won’t go into detail, but the first potatoes in Idaho were planted by Rev. Henry Spaulding, a missionary who aimed to colonize the Pacific Northwest during the Oregon Trail days. His missionary party also included Samuel Parker and Marcus Whitman (remember Whitman for later).
Similar to whenever Europeans showed up anywhere, the Indigenous Nations in the Pacific Northwest were battling literal biological warfare from all the European diseases. And, with European fur traders killing the majority of the beaver population in the area, Umpqua, Makah, and Chinookan Nations were trying to find a solution to keep their community going. However, Whitman and the other missionaries wanted to help by offering their consulting services to the Liksiyu (Cayuse) and Niimíipu (Nez Perce) Nations nearby. Parker said, and I QUOTE:
I do not intend to take your lands for nothing. After the Doctor [Whitman] is come, [sic] there will come every year a big ship, loaded with goods to be divided among [you]. Those goods will not be sold, but given to you. The missionaries will bring you plows and hoes, to teach you how to cultivate the land, and they will not sell, but give them to you.
Samuel Parker, 1835, in negotiation to allow missionary settlement to the area
See how easily they lie like that?
So the missionaries move in, right, and set up the missionary’s trade products and agriculture. This is when Spaulding planted the first potato crops. See! Look at me looping back to the story! However, as is the case with these lecherous bad-faith deals, the missionaries began to get frustrated with their new “business partners.” For starters, the Cayuse demanded that their products be bought at the same rates as any European. The missionaries didn’t want to pay for their labor, so they had to rely on other sickly Europeans who didn’t know how to survive or Hawaiian Kanaka sailors who had recently immigrated to the area.
YES, THE KINGDOM OF HAWAII EXISTED AND HAD FLOURISHING TRADE AND IMMIGRATION WITH NATIVE AMERICAN NATIONS.
What really gets me is that Whitman’s wife complained that the Cayuse and other Nations were “dirty” because they “clean too much.” Imagine thinking….that people sweeping, mopping, and taking showers meant they were dirty???
Whew no wonder the colonizers had a dust cloud of polio, measles, and smallpox following them around.
I say all this because these missionaries, and those that came after to plant more potatoes, are applauded for being innovators and planting a crops where Indigenous communities hadn’t (or at least not routinely in the same place). They’re given titles as pioneers in innovation, even by the Idaho Potato Museum.
But you know what, the Cayuse and…literally everyone else in the area had a reason for not having a large agriculture economy. Because it wasn’t sustainable. To grow all of the potatoes in the area, fragile waterways from the river valleys needed to be diverted, and as a result, the salmon population and other ecosystems are endangered.
Respect Indigenous knowledge. There’s a REASON for everything. They’ve been around the block since time immemorial.
Conclusion: The Idaho Potato Museum
So, there you have it folks. Everything you wanted to know about the Idaho Potato Museum…and probably a lot of extra context you didn’t need.
But I’m glad you have it now.
There’s always a story, even somewhere as unassuming as the Idaho Potato Museum. A crop that had traveled through genocide, across oceans, passed from enslaved hands, plowed onto stolen land, nourished by stolen waterways, harvested by underappreciated (and forcibly undocumented) hands, all for me to shove down my throat with a bunch of ketchup.
The world is both big, and yet very very connected.
Anyways, I hope you’ve enjoyed this abridged version of the Idaho Potato Museum! Have you ever visited the Idaho Potato Museum? Let me know your experience in the comments below!
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