The name: At one time called names including Bugtown, Hamburg, Sagebrush City and Alkali Flats, Caldwell derives its name from a defrocked United States senator. Alexander Caldwell, who was president of the company that owned and platted the townsite in 1883, was pushed out of his Senate post when it was found that bribery helped him gain office.

History: The words of one of Caldwell’s original residents captured with unflinching honesty the state of the future Canyon County seat when pioneers first gazed upon it in the 1860s.

“... like a place deserted by God himself,” Mrs. Robert Strahorn, whose namesake graces Albertson College’s Strahorn Hall, wrote.

But the city, which started as nothing more than a “town of tents” at the end of the railroad tracks has come a long way from the alkali dust-ridden wasteland scattered with sagebrush and greasewood that greeted early settlers. In fact, as home to one of America’s top liberal arts colleges and a thriving business community, Caldwell has established itself as one of the gems of the county.

Here’s a look at just a few important dates in the city’s history:

• The town’s oldest church was established in 1890 — when the population was about 500 — by the Ladies Presbyterian Building Society. The church, at 9th Avenue and Albany Street, is still standing.
• On July 4, 1893, residents celebrated the dedication of a new Canyon County Courthouse at 11th Avenue and Albany Street. The project cost $2,500.
• In 1897, a group of local Caldwell farmers predicted that sugar beets would someday become a major industry in the Treasure Valley. Nearly 50 years later, the Amalgamated Sugar Co. opened its Nampa factory and has since become a major force in Canyon County’s agricultural industry.
• The Caldwell Chamber of Commerce began in 1903.
• The Saratoga Hotel — burned down in 1990 by an arsonist who has yet to be identified — opened in 1904.
• The city entered the national spotlight on Dec. 30, 1905, when former Gov. Frank Steunenberg was assassinated at his home at 16th Avenue and Dearborn Street. Harry Orchard was convicted of the crime and spent the rest of his life in jail.
• J.R. Simplot began his onion and potato dehydration plant in Caldwell in 1941.

Trivia fact: In 1923, College of Idaho freshman Josh Lowell intercepted nine passes and returned all of them for touchdowns, leading to the team’s 114-0 victory over Albion.