I.B. Perrine
September 07, 2012 2:00 am - By Tetona Dunlap [email protected]
TWIN FALLS – Ever wonder who the person was that the Perrine Bridge is names after? It was named after I.B. Perrine, or Ira Burton Perrine, the man credited with founding Twin Falls and a founder of the Magic Valley. How did he do this? Perrine was responsible for bringing irrigation and electric power development to Southern Idaho. “He had the vision to see what the Magic Valley could be with water,” said Bill Vaughn Jr., a member of the board of directors for the Idaho Hall of Fame. Perrine is being inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Twin Falls Visitors Center. Perrine will be the first person from Jerome County to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. A plaque will be presented to the Perrine family. It makes me proud,” said Burton Perrine, the grandson of I.B. Perrine. Families of inductees have a choice of where they want the induction ceremony to be held and the Perrine family picked during the Perrine Bridge Festival. “He did so much for the whole Magic Valley,” said Randy Perrine, the great-grandson of I.B. Perrine. Perrine established the first farm and ranch operation in the Snake River Canyon near present-day Jerome. Although Perrine’s property could easily access water, the surrounding area could not be easily irrigated. Perrine worked to have a dam built, now known as the Milner Dam, on the Snake River with a canal system to irrigate the surrounding area. The Hall of Fame was started in 1994 and has inducted more than 150 people. |
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