Gem County, Idaho County, Idaho were: Gem County, Idaho Gem County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,719. The county seat and largest city is Emmett. Gem County is part of the Boise, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gem County is home to the Idaho ground squirrel. Named for the state nickname, "Gem State," the county was established on March 15, 1915, partitioned from Canyon County and Boise County. Fur trappers were in the area as early as 1818, and Alexander Ross explored Squaw Creek in 1824. Prospectors and miners moved through the
Gem State Adventist Academy a new campus for the aging and outgrown Gem State, now near the expanded city. It was voted that a new school should be built in a more rural area. The land chosen had been bought in previous years, in the country on top of a hill overlooking the Boise Valley. By the fall of 1962, the administration building, dormitories, power plant and laundry were complete enough to start school. The primary focus of a faith-based education with real life work training did not change. Over 93% of students went on to college after graduation. Gem State Academy is ultimately