A City Without a Mayor

Idaho’s territorial government was already operating in the city, after the territorial capital was transferred from Lewiston to Boise in 1864. Did Boise truly need a municipal corporation guiding it—or would that just lead to additional regulation and taxes?

 Anti-Government Sentiment in Early Boise  

Some Boiseans recognized the advantages of a charter, but many resented that a charter had been forced upon them by the Territorial Legislature, and voters declined the first proposed charter on March 25, 1865. The legislature responded with a new charter—one that provided for the appointment of temporary municipal officers and did not require voter ratification. However, the document failed to name the appointees, which delayed the formation of a city government until Boise’s first election.

In November 1867, four men who had won city council seats on the anti-charter ticket in January succumbed to citizen pressure and were sworn into office. Still, one councilmember-elect and the mayor-elect, L. B. Lindsey, continued to refuse office. The four city council members then appointed a fifth council member and appointed Henry E. Prickett to the position of mayor. Prickett subsequently filed the townsite patent with the federal government, and President Ulysses S. Grant authorized it three years later.

Abandonment of the City Charter & Modern Boise