In the state of Idaho, during the very early 1900’s, people were looking for a viable way of making a living in what is called the Upper Snake River Valley. They experimented with several different crops, but soon discovered that the sugar beet seemed a good fit for this valley.
On August 21, 1903, a group of men met in Salt Lake City, Utah, to form the Fremont County Sugar Factory. This factory was to be built in Fremont County, Idaho. Joseph F. Smith the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints was elected president of this organization. This group purchased nearly a whole section of land in then Fremont County, Idaho, with part of it to be used for the location of a sugar factory.
The cornerstone laying ceremony for the sugar factory was held on December 9, 1903, with construction starting quickly on the factory. The town of Sugar City was laid out soon afterward with a ten acre park in the center of the city. This park featured a race track and a baseball diamond for the city team called the “Sugar City Red Socks”.
An opera house was one of the first establishments to come to Sugar City, followed by a newspaper—The Sugar City Times, followed by a bank, a mercantile, a hotel, a hardware, a lumber company and a meat market.
The sugar factory closed in 1942 because of a serious decrease in sugar beet acreage. This was when potatoes became a more popular crop for this area of Idaho.
Education has always been an important part of Sugar City. The first school building was built in 1904, right after the city was organized. The Sugar-Salem school district is comprised of the city itself and the surrounding farm communities. The district currently has an enrollment of about 1,600 students in four different schools.
The closing of the sugar factory in 1942, seriously affected the growth of Sugar City. Most of the businesses closed when the factory closed. For many years, the population of Sugar City was less than a thousand people.
The complexion of Sugar City was permanently changed in 1976, when the Teton Dam broke flooding all of Sugar City and ruining all but about 20 of the homes in the city. The city saw this as a good time to rebuild, to build better and they did. Roads were paved, some sidewalks were put in and barns and pig pens were not re-built.
Growth at Brigham Young University-Idaho has greatly affected growth in Sugar City. With the growth of the university in Rexburg came new businesses and opportunities there causing Sugar City to quickly become a bedroom community to Rexburg.
2015 brought new growth to Sugar City as developers began new housing developments bringing many new homes, apartments and townhomes to Sugar City.
Today, the city is working hard to see that growth is well planned and that the small town feel of the community is not lost.
