Magna, Utah

Magna (/ˈmæɡnə/ MAG-nə) is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The current population of the city stands at 29,251 according to the 2020 census, a 10.4% increase over 26,505 in 2010.

Settlement of the area began in 1851 shortly after pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley. Early farmers settled in 1868 at the base of the northern Oquirrh Mountains and called their community Pleasant Green. By 1900, there were about 20 families in the area. One of the first Pleasant Green farmers was Abraham Coon, who established a livestock ranch and settlement called Coonville in a canyon mouth at about 5400 South now known as Coon Canyon. Coon Creek flows out of Coon Canyon and is one of the major Oquirrh Mountain drainages. Coon Creek flows north and west through Magna to the Great Salt Lake.

The Pleasant Green Cemetery located in the Oquirrh foothills, at about 3500 South, was established in 1883. In 1890, in response to a law requiring all children to receive free public education, the first school was built in the community.

In the early 1900s, copper mining activity in the Oquirrhs began transforming the Pleasant Green area from an agricultural hamlet to an industrial community. D.C. Jackling established the Utah Copper Company, which later became Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1906, the company began constructing its Magna Mill. Jackling chose the name "Magna" from the Latin word meaning "great" or "superior".

Beginning in 1903, Magna saw a large influx of Greek immigrants, primarily prompted by coal mine strikes in Carbon County, Utah and Fresno, California. This group eventually established a thriving Greektown and community. The formation of Magna's Greektown coincided with that of the forming of Salt Lake City, happening only about 15 miles to the east.

Boston Consolidated Copper constructed a second mill in the area in 1909. In 1911, the companies merged and the mill was renamed, Arthur Mill. Construction workers lived in a temporary settlement known as Ragtown. Several substantial homes were built in the tent city and later moved to the present community. As the mills began operating, some local farmers traded in their plows for a steady company paycheck and began moving in to work at the mills.

In 1914, Renald Woolley, the Post Master of the township, petitioned to have the Pleasant Green post office changed to Magna because of confusion with other towns such as Pleasant Grove. The petition was accepted and in a meeting above his store, the locals accepted the name of Magna for the town and post office, on October 19, 1915. (see West Valley View, June 9, 1983). By 1909, the Hawthorne School (no longer standing) had been built in the eastern Magna area. In 1908, the Webster School (destroyed by fire and demolished in June 2004) was built at the west end of what is now Main Street. In 1924, the first building of the present Cyprus High School was completed. Over the years, buildings and additions have been constructed on the campus. At the time, commuting to work by automobile was not practical. Few mineworkers had cars and cross valley roads were in marginal condition. Workers lived in the town and walked to the mills. Downtown Magna included churches, saloons, fraternal halls, and stores. Several small neighborhoods, such as Greektown, Japantown, Snaketown, and Little Italy, developed around Main Street. Many early residents were immigrants, primarily from Eastern Europe, but Magna was not a mining town.

In 1914, an Italian woman by the name of Anna Carrone settled here and met coal miner Rocco Polidori. They became a couple and moved to Denver, Colorado and went on to found the meat company Polidori Sausage.