You can make almost anything out of potatoes! You can “boil ‘em, mash ‘em, put ‘em in a stew’” but can you make a museum based on potatoes? The answer is “Yes!”
Blackfoot has called itself The Potato Capital of the World for a long time because as the county seat of Bingham County it has the distinction of growing more potatoes than any other county, not only in Idaho but also in the United States. Idaho produces 13.5 billion pounds of potatoes per year on 300,000-320,000 acres of farmland. Bingham County is responsible for 20.4 percent of that annual crop. The next Idaho county with the largest yield is Power County at 10.3 percent.
Bingham County has the distinction of growing more potatoes than any other county, not only in Idaho but also in the United States.
NOTE: Every state grows potatoes. But Idaho produces approximately 32 percent of the nation’s potatoes. The next highest is Washington. Worldwide: The U.S. is the 5th largest producer of potatoes just behind China, India, Ukraine, and Russia.
In 1986, community leaders felt Blackfoot should make good on its claim. At the same time, a historic train depot was donated to the city of Blackfoot. This 1913 stone Oregon Short Line Rail Road building would soon become the home of the Idaho Potato Museum.
Idaho Potato Museum circa 1988 Museum.
At first, the community was unconvinced that a museum based on potatoes could be successful. No one would want to come and see potato exhibits, they said. Yet, after several public meetings, locals agreed to give it a try – after all potatoes are what Bingham County and Blackfoot residents live and breathe.
The community came together, pooled its resources, and created the Idaho Potato Expo. (Later, in 2000, it changed its name to Idaho Potato Museum.) The museum officially opened in August 1988 for one month. It was a community experiment to see if a museum based on potatoes could attract visitors. It could! Two thousand people came to view what could be a potato museum as there were only examples of possible exhibits. With a lot of hard work and investment from volunteers, success followed. In 2024, approximately 40,000 people visited the museum!
Why Idaho?
One of the first exhibits a museum-visitor encounters is “Why Idaho?” Potato production numbers don’t tell the entire story as potatoes can be grown all over the world and in various climates. So, what makes a potato grown in Idaho stand out? Three things: Climate, soil and water. All the conditions for growing perfect potatoes come together in southeastern Idaho.
- Climate: Potatoes require hot days and cool nights during the growing season. For example, temperatures in Bingham County will drop at least 20 degrees (Fahrenheit) at night. The average temperature in the coolest month of May is 67°F to and the low is 43°F. During the hottest month of July, the average high is 85°F and the average low is 55°F.
- Soil: The soil of south and southeastern Idaho is volcanic. This means the soil is sandy and full of minerals and nutrients! The sandy soil allows Idaho spuds to grow into a beautiful, oblong shape.
- Water: Potatoes require consistent watering in the growing season – one to two inches of water per week. While Idaho’s average annual rainfall is only nine inches, water is plentiful. The Snake River runs through the middle of southeast Idaho’s agricultural lands. The Snake River Plain Aquafer is the size of Lake Erie and holds a billion-acre feet of water. It runs the length of the eastern part of the state from Rexburg to Twin Falls.
Idaho Potato Museum Exhibits
Visitors who tour the museum find fun and interesting facts about potatoes. They also discover the museum’s eclectic exhibits and collections. One of the most heralded exhibits is the world’s largest potato crisp! It was made in 1990 by Pringles. The crisp is 23 inches long and 14.5 inches high. For those who think a potato crisp and potato chip are the same thing, think again. In U.S. English vernacular, a chip is something sliced off of a potato whereas a crisp is made from potato parts. Think of it as a smashed and very thin Tater Tot!
For those who love politics, the potato signed by former vice president Dan Quayle is a must see. Vice President Quayle’s infamous misspelling of the word “potato” became fodder for broadcast newscasters, spurred on jokes from late-night talk shows. For a short time, elementary school children were able to feel superior to one of the most powerful men in the nation.
The incident took place on June 15, 1992. Quayle incorrectly corrected a 12-year-old’s spelling of “potato” by adding an “e” to the end of the word during a spelling bee. The signed and slightly shriveled potato came to the museum byway of a Californian disc jockey who asked Quayle to sign the potato.
Among its many exhibits, the museum hosts a variety of collections like its potato peelers, spikes, stamps, and mashers! The collection that the kids like best is the collection of Mr. Potato Heads! This classic toy has been entertaining children since the 1950s. It was the first toy to be advertised on TV. Back then, the toy consisted of a group of parts that kids stuck into a real potato!
Before visitors leave the museum, they learn that potatoes are not just for eating! If you are 21 or older you can actually drink a spud – in the form of vodka. It takes 9.2 potatoes to make a bottle of potato vodka. Who knew?
Idaho Potato Museum Café
Seeing the extensive collection of potato peelers and mashers and reading about potatoes primes visitors for a potato treat! A short stop at the museum’s cafe for a potato-themed snack, ranging from a baked potato to potato cupcakes to French fries or Tater Tots usually hits the spot! Potato soup with a potato roll is also one of the offerings!
Potatoes are Good for You!
One reason why potatoes are such an amazing crop is because the average yield of potatoes per acre is 458 CWT (hundred weight) = 45,800 pounds of potatoes! (Potatoes 2023, September 2024, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service www.nass.usda.gov). This is more food per acre than any other crop – compare it to winter wheat which produces, depending on the state but take Arizona with the highest yield per acre at 103 bushels per acre, 6,180 pounds of food per acre. Note: the smallest yield was for Wyoming and New Mexico at 17 bushels per acre. (www.nass.usda.gov) Rice yields are even less.
Not only that, potatoes are a Superfood! Potatoes are rich in COMPLEX carbohydrates, making them am excellent source of food energy. They have the highest protein content in the root and tuber family. They are a source of high-quality proteins and are also very rich in vitamin C. In fact, a single, medium-sized potato contains about half the recommended daily intake of the vitamin.
And a potato contains a pretty impressive fifth of the recommended daily value of potassium – even more than a banana. The potato is so impressively rich in starch that it ranks as the world’s fourth most important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice.
The only nutrient missing from a potato is Vitamin A and D which you can get from eating fish, egg yolks, cheese, beef liver, milk, butter and, a variety of vegies.
Get a Potato Selfie!
As a giant ode to the wondrous vegetable, the museum has an enormous baking potato in front of the building. Staff worked with a Boy Scout on his Eagle Scout project to install a selfie stand, so you can put your phone on the stand and then join the giant spud for a photo. It just may end up being one of your favorites. There’s more to this humble spud that you can ever imagine!
