MURPHY, Idaho — The Owyhee County courthouse's gate was constantly being blocked by cars, so the county clerk put a dummy parking meter to deter people from parking there.
- The meter at the courthouse is the county's only operational parking meter, and it only takes change
- Parking costs just a penny for every 15 minutes, a nickel for an hour, and two nickels for two hours. But you can't spare a dime because that will jam the machine.
- The lone meter has been serving the county since 1956.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
"This is Owyhee County's only operating parking meter," states Owyhee County Museum director Eriks Garsvo.
Murphy, Idaho's lonely parking meter has, for decades, fended off cars from blocking the gate.
The Owyhee County Courthouse, built in 1936 in the middle of the high desert, became the preferred lunch stop for the open range's cattle when they discovered its lawn
To put a stop to the bovine buffet the county put a fence around the area that still stands today.
"Well, people that came to the courthouse parked right in front of the gate, blocked the gate, couldn't get through."
Kenneth Downing, county clerk in 1956, came up with a solution: put a dummy parking meter in front of the gate.
"It was a joke, it was not supposed to be an operating parking meter."
When that meter was eventually stolen, another was found in a Nampa landfill. It wasn't until a few years ago that that parking meter also didn't work.
That's when Eriks Garsvo became the director of the Owyhee County Museum
"I asked if I could take it back to the museum to see what's inside//took it to a clocksmith in Boise, got it lubricated and all cleaned up, put a coin in it, and away it went."
The price of parking in front of the gate? A penny for every 15 minutes, a nickel for an hour, and two nickels for two hours. But you can't spare a dime because that will jam the machine.
Revenue goes back to the Owyhee County Museum and is collected in a jar for a year before being tallied.
"We just emptied it for the 2023 year and we made about $6," finished Garsvo.
