Learn about the history of 4-H and Benewah County

History of 4-H

The beginnings of 4-H started in 1912 when Grace M. Shepherd, state superintendent of public instruction, took over the boys’ and girls’ club work. A statewide program was organized and the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were invited to cooperate. Throughout the state, there were thirty potato clubs and nineteen sewing clubs. Between all the clubs there were 570 members. In 1914 with the passing of the Smith-Lever Act the boys’ and girls’ clubs gained more momentum and were transferred to the Extension Service from the Dept. of Public Instruction. In the mid-1920’s the clubs gradually assumed the name Boys’ and Girls’ Four-H Clubs. It was not until 1948 that congress authorized the use of the 4-H Name and Emblem.

History of Benewah County 4-H

The town of St. Maries was so named by Jesuit Father Pierre DeSmet during the 1840’s. St. Maries was recognized as a settlement in the 1880’s, incorporated as a village in 1902, and as a city in 1913. Benewah County was established by an act of the Idaho Legislature on January 23, 1915. Benewah County was from the southern portion of Kootenai County and was named after a Chief of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. F. I. Rockwell was hired as Benewah County’s First Agricultural agent on February 21, 1918.