As America turns 250 years old this year and many are reflecting on our country’s past, we wanted to take a closer look at Idaho’s history, which reflects the breadth of the American experience. Discovering more about the places we see and touch in our daily lives can create deeper connections with our home and our community. So we’re taking a deep dive into the history of Boise, one small piece at a time with our America 250: Short Histories of Boise Project. Each Monday on Idaho Matters, we’ll bring you a snapshot of a small corner of our Capital City and its unique past.
Today we’ll explore River Street Neighborhood.
Boise, like any city, has experienced both triumphs and tragedies over the years. While the 20th century is often remembered as a period of rapid growth and economic success for Boise, there is another side to the story.
BIPOC residents who have called this city their home have not always been recognized as full citizens, with all the rights and privileges that status affords you. This has been true for Idaho’s Indigenous communities since the earliest days of European settlement: for Hispanic and Asian communities long before statehood and for African American residents who began arriving in Boise toward the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. While this vast western state offered opportunity to some, for others, the doors were largely closed, with only a few narrow paths available.
For much of the 20th century, the River Street Neighborhood, tucked away south of downtown and north of the Boise River, was the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in Boise. A working-class section of the city, the neighborhood housed immigrants from the Basque Country, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hawaii, Japan, Russia, and elsewhere.
By the 1940s, discriminatory housing practices had created a segregated Boise. Non-white residents were largely barred from living in many neighborhoods unless they were domestic workers, and they were excluded from various downtown businesses as well. In fact, there was really only one neighborhood where non-white residents could reliably buy or rent homes: the River Street Neighborhood.
When World War II broke out, Black soldiers who came to train at Gowen Field and brought their families with them found few housing options available to them in the city. So where did they go? To River Street, where they found a welcoming community and made the most of their time in Boise.
This was a common theme in the River Street Neighborhood: residents may have been pushed there by intolerance and injustice, yet they joined a vibrant community and stood up for each other in spite of the difficult circumstances. They opened businesses and community centers, and many took active roles in the Civil Rights Movement.
One prominent figure was Dorothy Buckner, mother of Idaho’s first African American state legislator, Cherie Buckner-Webb. In the 1960s, Dorothy Buckner organized civil rights activists; in the 1970s, she founded a community center and remained a steadfast advocate for the River Street Neighborhood. And in that decade, the neighborhood was, unfortunately, in great need of advocacy.
The River Street Neighborhood changed drastically during the 1960s and 1970s. “Urban renewal” is a painful term in communities across America. Though these projects were intended to revitalize blighted areas, they often displaced longtime residents and eroded the character of neighborhoods. In River Street, historic buildings were torn down, outside businesses moved in as the area was rezoned, and sadly, what remains today is only a fraction of the vibrant community that once thrived there.
There is, however, still hope that Boise can keep the collective memory of the River Street community alive. The Boise City Department of Arts & History has taken steps to preserve and interpret the neighborhood’s history through the Erma Hayman House and other initiatives. Erma Hayman lived in her house on Ash Street for more than 60 years and was a fixture in the community throughout that time. Today, visitors can tour Hayman’s house and take a glimpse of what life was like in the River Street Neighborhood.
The America 250: Short Histories of Boise Project is brought to you in collaboration with the City of Boise’s Department of Arts & History; with support from Boise State University’s History 502 class; and music provided by the City of Boise’s Cultural Ambassador, the Boise Philharmonic. The music, John Williams' "Liberty Fanfare," was recorded by the Boise Phil in 2025.
For a full schedule of city-sponsored America 250 events, visit City of Boise America 250 and for events and programs across the state, visit America 250 in Idaho.
References:
Bill White, III. “Birth of the River Street Neighborhood.” River Street Digital History Project. Accessed December 15, 2025. https://www.riverstreethistory.com/evolution-of-river-street/birth-of-the-river-street-neighborhood/.
Bill White, III. “Growth, Decline, and Rebirth of the River Street Neighborhood.” River Street Digital History Project. Accessed December 15, 2025. https://www.riverstreethistory.com/evolution-of-river-street/river-street-is-born/.
Boise City Department of Arts & History. “Biography: About Erma Hayman.” Boise City Department of Arts & History. Accessed 2025. https://www.ermahaymanhouse.org/about-erma-hayman/biography/.
Boise City Department of Arts & History. “The House: About Erma Hayman.” Boise City Department of Arts & History. Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.ermahaymanhouse.org/about-erma-hayman/the-house/.
Boise City Department of Arts & History. “The River Street Neighborhood: About Erma Hayman.” Boise City Department of Arts & History. Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.ermahaymanhouse.org/about-erma-hayman/the-river-street-neighborhood/.
Boise City Department of Arts & History. “Voices of River Street: A History of Urban Change and Community Strength, 1940-1972.” Boise City Department of Arts & History. Accessed 2025. https://www.ermahaymanhouse.org/whats-on/exhibitions/voices-of-river-street/.
Cunningham, McKay and Latonia Haney Keith. “Redlining and Intergenerational Wealth.” November/December 2021. Idaho State Bar. https://isb.idaho.gov/blog/redlining-and-intergenerational-wealth/#_edn18.
White, William A. III. Segregation Made Them Neighbors: An Archaeology of Racialization in Boise, Idaho. Lincoln, Nebraaska: University of Nebraska Press and the Society for Historical Archaeology, 2023.
