Arco, Idaho

Arco was named for Georg von Arco, an inventor who later became the chief engineer of Telefunken (a major German manufacturer of radio vacuum tubes). Originally the settlement was named Root Hog but when the town fathers changed the boundaries to include the crossroads of two stagecoach routes, they applied to the US Post Office to change the name to "Junction." The Postmaster General didn't approve and he suggested "Arco" because the German engineer was visiting Washington DC at the time...

Arco is located between the Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve and the Idaho National Laboratory reservation. On July 17, 1955, Arco became the world's first nuclear powered city. There are more than 50 nuclear reactors built on the land of the Idaho National Laboratory. The economy of Arco is still based mostly on the INL but agricultural products and the recreational possibilities of the Lost River Valley have gotten more important in recent years. The population of Arco peaked in the 1960's, then started dropping as research efforts and construction at the INL were cut back.

An interesting landmark in Arco is the sail/conning tower of the USS Hawkbill, a nuclear submarine that was decommissioned in 2001. The conning tower was placed in Arco in commemoration of the 40,000 sailors who were trained in nuclear operations at the Idaho National Laboratory. Another landmark just outside of town is "Number Hill." Since 1920, most graduating classes from Arco High School have ventured onto the hill to paint their year's number on the rock somewhere. Now there's a pretty extensive collection of "number graffiti."