Cassia

Formed February 20, 1879 (11^th county)

Cassia County (24,693), Burley (11,716)

The red brick Art Deco courthouse was built in 1939.  It sits on Overland Avenue between 14^th and 15^th streets.  United States Highway 30 passes three blocks north of the site.  Burton E. Morse provided the courthouse designs.  The county was formed on February 20, 1879 from Owyhee County as the 11^th county.  Albion (1879) and Burley (1918) have both served as county seat.  Twin Falls County and Power County were later separated out.  Albion was the original county seat until 1918.  The county was named for a local creek which was named for a local plant.  The county seat is named for David E. Burley a local settler. 

Cassia County government consists of a sheriff, a prosecuter, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Six Circuit Court Judges and Two Magistrate Court Judges serve Cassia, Blaine, Camas, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties (judicial.) The county is in south central Idaho on the border with both Nevada and Utah.  The Snake River forms most of its northern border.  Twin Falls, Idaho lies west and Pocatello, Idaho lies east of the county.  The county center is 21.7 miles Southeast of Burley nearer Albion.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Minidoka, Blaine, Power, and Oneida counties and Utah and Nevada and Twin Falls and Jerome counties. 

The area of the county is 2567 square miles.  It is 9 out of 44 in the state.  It ranks 15 out of 44 in population in the state.  It has a density of 9.6 persons per square mile making it 21 out of 44 in the state.  Cassia County has 52.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 84 enters from the southeast, Oneida County, and crosses into Minidoka County, north.  Interstate Highway 86 comes from Power County, east, and terminates in the county.  United States Highway 30 enters from the east joined with Interstate Highway 86, splits, and exits west into Twin Falls County.  The county looks like a capital letter F flipped over and lying on its back.  Burley is on the northwest border of the county and extends into Minidoka County.  Burley is county seat and the largest city.  It is 47.5% of the county population.  The county is pronounced KASH-EE-A.  The county seat is pronounced BUR-LEE.  This county is in the Burley Micropolitan Statistical Area.