409 Main Street South

Hansen, Idaho

Four Blocks South of Highway 30

Across from City Hall

(208)420-3190

Down town Hansen, Idaho, corner of Main and Overland Streets (409 Main St.) Click here for map.

Hansen is a farming community located in the heart of Southern Idaho’s Magic Valley. The town has easy access from Interstate 84 and Highway 30. Our large shop site gives us plenty of room to accommodate large equipment and farm machinery.

Our shop building was built in 1948 by R.F. Baily and his son Art Baily. Baily’s Garage repaired cars and farm machinery for many years. Art evolved the business into construction and earth moving with his sons Brad and Bart Baily. Their business outgrew the location, but was just the right size for our growing business when we located Tiger Welding & Manufacturing here in 2006.

A Little Local History . . . . . . . . . . .

Hansen began as a town site covered in sagebrush in 1904. It is eight miles east of Twin Falls and seven miles north of Rock Creek, which was a pioneer settlement and stage station on the old Oregon Trail. John F. Hansen, a local rancher and merchant at Rock Creek, started building a store in the new town. Pending its completion, a delivery wagon came twice a week from John F. Hansen and Son’s store at Rock Creek.

In June 1905, Thomas J. Rauch was appointed Hansen’s first postmaster. That same month, settlers petitioned the county commissioners to create a school district at Hansen for the large number of families who had moved here. In September 1905, the school started with 25 pupils in grades 1-8.

The town was booming by 1910 with a train depot, a bank, two hotels and a church building. The grain elevator that is still the most prominent building in town was built in 1912. The town was incorporated in 1919 with a population of 200 people.

Hansen prospered during the roaring 1920’s, struggled through the depression and once again prospered during WWII and the postwar years. At the height of its glory, Hansen had 5 grocery stores, 6 churches, several “filling stations” and many other businesses

A narrow suspension bridge was opened in 1919 just north of town, connecting the small farming communities of western Minidoka County (later, eastern Jerome County) to shopping and doctors across the Snake River canyon in Hansen. By 1966, the Hansen Bridge was due for replacement, since it only allowed for one-way traffic: cars had become wider since the old narrow bridge was build forty-seven years earlier. The “new” Hansen Bridge was opened on September 22, 1966. It was controversial at the time, because the route it opened from Interstate 80 to the Magic Valley hub of Twin Falls, cut through prime farmland and bypassed the town of Hansen. The last passenger train service with a stop in Hansen ended on January 4, 1970 after 64 ½ years. Although there are several small businesses in Hansen today, over the last 40 years Hansen has become a “bedroom community” with most people who live here working in surrounding communities.

This historical information was condensed from the book: “History of Hansen 1904-1984” by Frances Harris. It can be purchased and/or checked out at the Hansen Public Library.

www.hansen.lili.org

Hansen and Kimberly Area History Movie
Thanks to the Hansen Public Library for the interesting historical photos used in this movie.
Double Click to start. -- Double Click to stop.

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