Bear Lake

Formed January 5, 1875 (10^th county)

Bear Lake County (6,371), Paris (541), Montpelier (2,644)

The 1885 red brick courthouse is on Center Street at Main Street.  United States Highway 89 is Main Street in the town.  The Neo-Classical courthouse was designed by Truman O. Angell, Jr.  A Liberty Bell replica sits out front of the building.  A new courthouse was being built in 2020.  The county was created on January 5, 1875 from Oneida County as the 10^th county with Paris as the only county seat.  A local lake is the source for the county’s name.  The county seat is named for founder Frederick Perris and misspelled. 

Bear Lake County government consists of a sheriff, a prosecuter, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Three Circuit Court Judges and a Magistrate Court Judge serve Bear Lake, Bannock, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, and Power counties (judicial.) The county is in the southeast corner of the state on the border with both Utah and Wyoming.  The county center is 7.3 miles Northeast of Paris nearer Montpelier.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Caribou County and Wyoming and Utah and Franklin County. 

The area of the county is 971 square miles.  It is 32 out of 44 in the state.  It ranks 36 out of 44 in population in the state.  It has a density of 6.6 persons per square mile making it 28 out of 44 in the state.  Bear Lake County has 63.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 30 crosses east to west in the county from Wyoming into Caribou County.  United States Highway 89 goes north to south from Wyoming into Utah.  The county is overall rectangular with the northeast corner missing.  Paris is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Montpelier is near the center of the county.  Paris is the county seat and Montpelier is the largest city.  Paris is 8.5% of the county population while Montpelier is 41.5% of the county population.