OWYHEE COUNTY, Idaho — First organized and named in 1863, Owyhee County is the Gem State's oldest county. It shares its name with the Owyhee River, Owyhee Mountains and the Owyhee Cayonlands.

Owyhee is the old phonetic and white-man way to say and spell Hawai'i. While the Hawai'ian Islands and the Gem State are a little more than 2,800 miles apart, their histories cross paths thanks to Canadian fur trader John Cook and the idea that having a Hawaiian in their hunting party would make it easier to interact with Native Americans.

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