The Clara Foltz mines opened on Paddy Flat, and other diggings commenced on Boulder and Gold Fork Creeks.

James Horner built a cabin on Clear Creek in 1881, other miners settled on the Payette River.

That same year Louis McCall and other settlers took squatter's rights on Payette Lake.

[3] A freight stop was established at Lardo to service the increased mining activity at Warren Meadows.

The maps also point out sawmills at Warner's Pond and on Gold Fork Creek.

From the 1910s onwards, logging became, along with farming and ranching, the economic mainstay of Long Valley.

Towns distant from the railroad, such as Alpha, Crawford and Roseberry, soon lost their vitality and died.

Towns near the railroad, such as Cascade, Donnelly and McCall, thrived and became the population centers of Valley County.

The route turns west at Payette Lake in McCall and ends at New Meadows in Adams County, at the junction with US-95.

[6] The county has public-use airports owned by the state, by the U.S. Forest Service, and by local municipalities.

[7] Valley County has long been a Republican stronghold, though it currently gives Democrats larger vote shares than most of Idaho.

Democratic strength is entirely centered around the tourist town of McCall and the surrounding area around the Payette Lake, while the rest of the county remains strongly Republican.

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,862 people, 4,393 households, and 2,870 families living in the county.

[20] School districts include:[21] Residents are in the area (but not the taxation zone) for College of Western Idaho.