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Tooele County, Utah
Tooele County (/tuːˈwɪlə/ too-WIL-ə) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 72,698. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele. The county was created in 1850 and organized the following year. Tooele County is part of the Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The western half is mostly covered by the Great Salt Lake Desert and includes the city of Wendover (the immediate neighbor of West Wendover, Nevada) and Ibapah. Within the central section lies Skull Valley, between the Cedar and the Stansbury Mountains. It contains a few small towns as well as the Dugway Proving Ground. The population centers are on the eastern edge in the Tooele Valley, between the Stansbury and Oquirrh Mountains. This area contains the cities of Tooele, Grantsville, Erda, and Lake Point as well as the unincorporated community of Stansbury Park. Tooele Army Depot is located on the southern edge of the valley. The Stockton Bar geologic feature separates Tooele Valley and Rush Valley, in which the towns of Stockton, Vernon, Faust, and Rush Valley are located. Additional small towns, Ophir and Mercur, are located in two canyons on the south western side of the Oquirrh Mountains.
Tooele is home to one of the nine statewide regional campuses of Utah State University (located in the city of Tooele).
Evidence of several indigenous Native American groups has been found in Tooele County, but only the western Shoshone-speaking Goshute tribe claim the desolate lands as their ancestral home. The Goshute's traditional territory includes most of modern Tooele County.
The Great Salt Lake Desert, which comprises much of the northern portion of the county, provided a major stumbling block for the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party in 1846. Its crusty sand slowed the group's wagons to such an extent that the group spent six days crossing its 80-mile length, severely sapping the group's resources and leading to their eventual disaster.
In 1847, Mormon pioneers settled in the neighboring Salt Lake Valley. Initially, Tooele Valley was used as a major grazing ground for Mormon cattle owners from Salt Lake and Utah Valleys. In 1849 the first white settlers established permanent roots in the Tooele Valley. Building a saw mill, the settlement was called E.T. City after LDS leader E.T. Benson. The territorial legislature first designated Tooele County—initially called "Tuilla"—on January 31, 1850, with significantly different boundaries. Its government was not organized at that time, and the area was attached to Salt Lake County for judicial and administrative purposes. It is speculated the name derives from a Native American chief, but controversy exists about whether such a chief lived. Alternate explanations hypothesize that the name comes from "tu-wanda", the Goshute word for "bear", or from "tule", a Spanish word of Aztec origins meaning "bulrush".
The Goshutes did not accept Mormon encroachment on their traditional homeland. The Mormons occupied the best camping sites near reliable springs, hunted in Goshute hunting grounds, and overgrazed the meadowland, leaving it unfit for sustaining the animals and plants used by the Goshutes. Mormons believed that Utah was a promised land given to them by God, and did not recognize any Goshute claim to the land. Goshutes began confiscating Mormon cattle that trespassed onto their property. In response, the Mormons ordered their armies to kill the Goshutes. In 1850, they ambushed a Goshute village, but the Goshutes were able to defend themselves without casualties. Later that year, a contingent of at least 50 men attacked the Goshute camp, killing nine and suffering no casualties. In 1851, General Daniel H. Wells took 30 people prisoners. After they tried to escape, Wells executed them. Similar attacks occurred throughout the 1850s with Goshutes typically being on the losing side.
By June 10, 1851, the county government was organized. On that date the county attachment to Salt Lake County was terminated. By 1852, Grantsville, Batesville, and Pine Canyon (later named Lincoln) were settled.
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Tooele County, Utah
Tooele County (/tuːˈwɪlə/ too-WIL-ə) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 72,698. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele. The county was created in 1850 and organized the following year. Tooele County is part of the Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The western half is mostly covered by the Great Salt Lake Desert and includes the city of Wendover (the immediate neighbor of West Wendover, Nevada) and Ibapah. Within the central section lies Skull Valley, between the Cedar and the Stansbury Mountains. It contains a few small towns as well as the Dugway Proving Ground. The population centers are on the eastern edge in the Tooele Valley, between the Stansbury and Oquirrh Mountains. This area contains the cities of Tooele, Grantsville, Erda, and Lake Point as well as the unincorporated community of Stansbury Park. Tooele Army Depot is located on the southern edge of the valley. The Stockton Bar geologic feature separates Tooele Valley and Rush Valley, in which the towns of Stockton, Vernon, Faust, and Rush Valley are located. Additional small towns, Ophir and Mercur, are located in two canyons on the south western side of the Oquirrh Mountains.
Tooele is home to one of the nine statewide regional campuses of Utah State University (located in the city of Tooele).
Evidence of several indigenous Native American groups has been found in Tooele County, but only the western Shoshone-speaking Goshute tribe claim the desolate lands as their ancestral home. The Goshute's traditional territory includes most of modern Tooele County.
The Great Salt Lake Desert, which comprises much of the northern portion of the county, provided a major stumbling block for the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party in 1846. Its crusty sand slowed the group's wagons to such an extent that the group spent six days crossing its 80-mile length, severely sapping the group's resources and leading to their eventual disaster.
In 1847, Mormon pioneers settled in the neighboring Salt Lake Valley. Initially, Tooele Valley was used as a major grazing ground for Mormon cattle owners from Salt Lake and Utah Valleys. In 1849 the first white settlers established permanent roots in the Tooele Valley. Building a saw mill, the settlement was called E.T. City after LDS leader E.T. Benson. The territorial legislature first designated Tooele County—initially called "Tuilla"—on January 31, 1850, with significantly different boundaries. Its government was not organized at that time, and the area was attached to Salt Lake County for judicial and administrative purposes. It is speculated the name derives from a Native American chief, but controversy exists about whether such a chief lived. Alternate explanations hypothesize that the name comes from "tu-wanda", the Goshute word for "bear", or from "tule", a Spanish word of Aztec origins meaning "bulrush".
The Goshutes did not accept Mormon encroachment on their traditional homeland. The Mormons occupied the best camping sites near reliable springs, hunted in Goshute hunting grounds, and overgrazed the meadowland, leaving it unfit for sustaining the animals and plants used by the Goshutes. Mormons believed that Utah was a promised land given to them by God, and did not recognize any Goshute claim to the land. Goshutes began confiscating Mormon cattle that trespassed onto their property. In response, the Mormons ordered their armies to kill the Goshutes. In 1850, they ambushed a Goshute village, but the Goshutes were able to defend themselves without casualties. Later that year, a contingent of at least 50 men attacked the Goshute camp, killing nine and suffering no casualties. In 1851, General Daniel H. Wells took 30 people prisoners. After they tried to escape, Wells executed them. Similar attacks occurred throughout the 1850s with Goshutes typically being on the losing side.
By June 10, 1851, the county government was organized. On that date the county attachment to Salt Lake County was terminated. By 1852, Grantsville, Batesville, and Pine Canyon (later named Lincoln) were settled.