Boise is the U.S. state capital whose name derives from the French word bois, meaning “woods.”
The name is linked to the Boise River, which was known to French-speaking fur trappers as rivière boisée, or “wooded river.” The description distinguished the tree-lined river from the otherwise relatively dry landscape of the surrounding Snake River Plain.
Boise developed as a significant settlement after the establishment of Fort Boise in the 1830s and the discovery of gold in Idaho in the 1860s. It became Idaho’s territorial capital in 1864 and remained the state capital when Idaho joined the Union in 1890.
The name is sometimes pronounced differently by newcomers, but the standard local pronunciation is “BOY-see.” Boise is also Idaho’s largest city and the center of the state’s government, business, and cultural life.