Town file
Hazelton, Idaho
Hazelton, Idaho (Jerome County, Idaho) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 417, "No Body, No Crime... Except For That Head" (24 August 2023).
- Town
- Hazelton
- County
- Jerome County
- State
- Idaho
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 417
- Approximate location
- 42.595, -114.137
Episode 417 / 24 August 2023 / 170 min / full
No Body, No Crime... Except For That Head
"We're going to Hazelton, Idaho, in southern Idaho, in the Twin Falls region, 25 minutes outside of Twin Falls, and this is in Jerome County." about 0:05:04
The case: Murder of Maida Marie Jones (October 25, 1998). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 951
- Median household income
- $31,750 a year
- Median home value
- $330,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,060
- Religious
- 62.6%
- Property crime
- ▼ about one quarter
- Violent crime
- ▼ about one-third
History, in brief
- Excavations at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads among the oldest dated artefacts in North America. about 0:06:14
- The first permanent settlement in the area was a stage stop at Rock Creek in 1864, near the present-day towns. about 0:06:38
- In 1890 there were agricultural operations in the Snake River canyon, but no irrigation or roads to get the produce out. about 0:06:53
- A large irrigation canal system was later built for the area. about 0:07:20
- In 1974 Twin Falls became the centre of the national eye when Evel Knievel tried to jump the Snake River Canyon on his motorcycle. about 0:07:28
- The launch ramp foundation is still visible on private land on the canyon's south rim, less than two miles west of Shoshone Falls. about 0:08:34
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A great little community and definitely a farming community, with many opportunities if you are interested in agriculture; the schools are very little and offer wonderful one-to-one time with teachers and a wide variety of sports for children who are interested."about 0:08:56
5 stars
"The people are so kind and willing to help you around the town; it is a tight community that likes to help one another when things get rough."about 0:09:59
4 stars
"A larger town for Idaho with a pretty landscape, great for people who love the outdoors, with a canyon on the edge of town, many hikes, waterfalls, places to boat and the Perrine bridge, said to be the only man-made structure in the US you can base jump from."about 0:10:18
2 stars
"The people in this area are as bleak as the landscape; southern Idaho is a barren range with only sagebrush as far as the eye can see, the people are undereducated and lack morality, winters are too cold and summers too hot, and there are much nicer places to live."about 0:11:34
1 star
"A terrible place to live; the Twin Falls Police Department is no help in an emergency, jobs pay very low, neighbourhoods are very dirty, people are rude, the crime rate is getting terrible, and the reviewer plans to move back to their hometown."about 0:12:15
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Jerome, Idaho21 miles
- Bellevue, Idaho61 miles
- Lucin, Utah87 miles
- Chubbuck, Idaho88 miles
- Blackfoot, Idaho100 miles
- Idaho Falls, Idaho123 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.