[5][6] Boise City was founded in 1908 by developers J. E. Stanley, A. J. Kline, and W. T. Douglas (all doing business as the Southwestern Immigration and Development Company of Guthrie, Oklahoma) who published and distributed brochures promoting the town as an elegant, tree-lined city with paved streets, numerous businesses, railroad service, and an artesian well.

Boise City's prosperity in the 1930s, like that of Cimarron County generally, was severely affected by its location at the heart of the Dust Bowl region.

[15][16] Boise City was the location of an unusual event during World War II when it was mistakenly bombed by a friendly U.S. bomber crew during training.

For the 50th anniversary of the incident, the crew of the bomber was invited back to Boise City, but all members declined, some for health reasons and others because they did not want to draw more attention to their mishap.

Boise City experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with mild, dry winters and long, hot, wetter summers.

[27] The Boise City Airport, which serves all of the county, is located approximately six miles north of the town center.

[13][33] The Cimarron Heritage Center Museum includes exhibits and artifacts on dinosaurs, the Santa Fe Trail and other local historic sites.

[34] The museum grounds showcase a restored Santa Fe Depot, a blacksmith shop, a one-room schoolhouse, a windmill exhibit, buggies, and more.

[34] The separate Cold Spring and Inscription Rock Historic District similarly features Inscription Rock with Santa Fe Trail travelers' names inscribed, but also has a former camp site with a stone building that served as a stagecoach station, and a stone spring house.

[41] Boise City during the Dust Bowl was the main setting for the 99th episode of the horror podcast The Magnus Archives.