STATE OF IDAHO 1940-59
| 1940 | Idaho population: 524,873. Senator William E. Borah dies January 19. Legislation creating a position of Comptroller to be appointed by the Governor, and taking away many powers of the State Auditor, ruled unconstitutional by the Courts. |
| 1941 | Gowen Field completed south of Boise and becomes a military air base. J.R. Simplot food dehydrator begins operations in Caldwell. |
| 1942 | Farragut Naval Training Station established at Lake Pend Oreille. A Pocatello army air base and gun relining plant established. Japanese-Americans placed in internment camps at Hunt. Two anti-liquor initiatives rejected by the voters. Mountain Home Air Base site was approved. |
| 1944 | Mountain Home Army Air Field officially opened. |
| 1945 | State Tax Commission established. Idaho's first phosphate processing plant constructed by the J.R. Simplot Company. |
| 1946 | Most recent Idaho Code published. A teacher's retirement system established. Election of Idaho's governor and other state officials for four-year terms begin. Two anti-liquor initiatives and an anti-gambling initiative defeated. |
| 1947 | A state school reorganization plan enacted. University of Idaho Southern Branch at Pocatello becomes Idaho State College. State Board of Corrections established. Idaho State Archives established. |
| 1948 | Bureau of Reclamation begins plans to construct a Hell's Canyon dam in the Snake River for flood control. Idaho Senator Glen Taylor runs for Vice-President on Progressive Party ticket. |
| 1949 | National Reactor Testing Station near Arco established. |
| 1950 | Idaho population: 588,637. State Highway Department established with provisions for nonpolitical administration. |
| 1951 | Nuclear electric power developed at the National Reactor Testing Station. State teacher's colleges at Lewiston and Albion are closed. |
| 1952 | Anderson Ranch Dam completed. |
| 1953 | Television comes to Idaho with KIDO-TV (now KTVB) in Boise July 12. C.J. Strike Dam dedicated. Supreme Court rules against Idaho law legalizing slot machines and other lottery devices. |
| 1954 | Submarine reactor tested and perfected at the National Reactor Testing Station. Voters approve initiative to regulate dredge mining. |
| 1955 | State Department of Commerce and Development established. Lewis-Clark Normal opens at Lewiston. Lucky Peak Dam dedicated July 6. The Atomic Energy Commission lights Arco with electricity generated by atomic energy. |
| 1956 | Construction of Palisades Dam completed. Construction in Idaho of the National Interstate Highway System commenced. Constitutional amendment ratified to permit a governor to succeed himself for reelection. |
| 1958 | Boise-Stanley Highway Association established. Voters defeat "Right to Work" initiative. |
| 1959 | Brownlee Dam completed on the Snake River. |
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