Shoshone is the county chair and largest city of Lincoln County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,461 at the 2010 census. In contrast to the Shoshone Native American tribe for which it is named, the city’s say is correctly pronounced “Show-shown”, with a silent “e”.

Founded in 1882 during the construction of the Oregon Short Line, Shoshone has long been considered the main railroad station in south central Idaho’s Magic Valley region. The much larger community of Twin Falls 26 miles (42 km) to the south never developed a strong railroad presence due to the logistical issues presented by its location south of the Snake River Canyon. For many years, Shoshone was the deserted Amtrak End in south central Idaho.

The Union Pacific Railroad opened the Sun Valley resort in 1936 (and owned it until 1964), and its pre-existing spur route to Ketchum aligned here. The spur first headed northeast, following today’s US 93, to Richfield and Tikura, then peeled northwest to Picabo and upon to Bellevue, Hailey, and Ketchum, so the keep apart from was on peak of today’s more direct 55-mile (90 km) drive north on Highway 75.

About 15 miles (25 km) north of Shoshone are the Shoshone Ice Caves. The caves are lava tubes that stay cool plenty for the ice inside them to remain deadened throughout the summer. In the days back refrigeration, this feature, coupled next the railroad, made Shoshone popular considering travelers as “the without help place for hundreds of miles where one could get a cold beer.”