The gray stone building located at 130 N.W. Main Street in Blackfoot was first built by the Oregon Short Line Railroad, a subsidiary of Union Pacific. Construction began in 1912 and the building was completed in August 1913. Countless tons of freight and passengers passed through the doors of the railroad station over the years.
A group of people in the potato industry had been talking and brainstorming for years about a way to showcase potatoes and their importance to the local economy. Then Union Pacific donated the old railroad station in Blackfoot to the City of Blackfoot. The question of what to do with the building was answered by the idea of turning it into a potato museum. That original group of planners was composed of people from all parts of the potato industry in Blackfoot, as well as city and county officials. They had no money, no manpower, and no idea how to make it happen. But they had big dreams.
Not everyone was enthusiastic about the idea. “People won’t come to Idaho just to look at a potato museum”, was a frequently heard comment. Not to be deterred, promotional work was undertaken in the home community of Blackfoot. Arrangements were made for the director of the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming, to come to speak at a general Chamber of Commerce meeting in February 1988. He addressed the specific topic of specialized museums. This was a well-attended meeting with an upbeat message, “Sometimes we don’t see the gold in our own backyard.”
It was decided to have a “trial” opening that summer of 1988. But first, tons of elbow grease had to be expended to clean the building and shape it up for use.
The two-week trial opening was held in June 1988. Approximately 2,000 people attended, most of them local or from the immediate area. There were no real displays, only dividers borrowed from the Blackfoot School District with ideas written out as to what the planned displays would show.
A local Blackfoot woman, Maureen Hill, volunteered to act as an unpaid director to prepare the Expo to receive tourists. That year some 5,000 visitors came through. Most of the initial financial support of the Expo came from the potato industry; Basic American Foods, Nonpareil, local potato growers, and others in the industry. There was also support from Bingham County. The city of Blackfoot, of course, provided the building.
The displays came from three basic sources. First, there were specific items donated by a myriad of people. Second, money was donated specifically earmarked for display improvement. Third, there were corporate donors of money and display items, such as the world’s largest potato crisp donated by Pringles of Proctor & Gamble.
Nancy Batchelder was the first full-time paid director, serving in that position for the next four years. Maureen and Nancy are given credit for deciding to serve baked potatoes as the “free taters for out-of-staters”. The equipment for the kitchen was donated and the freight room was turned into a mini-restaurant. It was difficult to run and never paid its way. A broken pipe during the winter of 2002 caused enough damage that the kitchen had to be closed.
Basic American Foods stepped in so the "Free Taters" program could continue. They donated boxes of dehydrated hash browns to give to museum visitors.
The Spud Seller gift shop started small with a few items taken on consignment. More than 30 years later, the gift shop is the museum’s main source of revenue offering visitors a wide selection of potato, farm and Idaho themed souvenirs.
In May of 2002, Mayor Scott Reese approached Blackfoot Chamber of Commerce executive director Merlin Wright about the possibilities of the Chamber taking over the operation of the Expo and moving the Chamber offices into the building. After considerable discussion with all parties involved, the move took place in mid-June 2002.
Under the direction of the Chamber of Commerce, a new board of directors for the Potato Museum, Inc., was appointed. This move allowed both the museum and the Chamber to have 9 to 5 hours and be open year round.
It was not long before the two organizations realized they were too different to share a board of directors. To operate to the best advantage of each, the two non-profit boards agreed to share the building, the cost of utilities and a full-time director with two part-time staff. This partnership continued successfully for the next 10 years.
By 2016 the Blackfoot Chamber of Commerce and the Idaho Potato Museum had outgrown their partnership. Both organizations required their own office space and their own director. Executive Director Tish Dahmen, who had been hired in June 2012, agreed to remain with the museum. The Blackfoot Chamber offered their now open director position to one of their board members. The Chamber moved to 76 Judicial Street, still in downtown Blackfoot, in December 2016.
With the help of a grant from the Blackfoot Urban Renewal Agency, the museum was able to start in 2014 and complete in 2016 an extensive building and exhibit renovation. The cafe was once again open up, exhibits refreshed and long needed building repairs and upgrades were made.
Because of a board of directors and executive director who were able to see the museum's potential and because of community support, the museum has been able to increase visitation from 5,000 people a year to 45,000!
The future of the Idaho Potato Museum continues to look promising.