The Evolution of County Boundaries in Utah

Utah Historical Quarterly

Vol. 23, 1955, Nos. 1-4

THE EVOLUTION OF COUNTY IN UTAH BOUNDARIES

BY JAMES B. ALLEN

F YOU WERE to go back to the time when Brigham Young first envisioned the western Mormon empire you would hear him describe a state larger than the state of Texas. This dream, the State of Deseret, is the beginning of the history of Utah's boundaries, for the Mormon colonists hoped to bring this vast area into the Union as a part of the United States. Before his death, however, Brigham Young saw this territory reduced five different times, until it reached the limits of the present state of Utah. During this time rapid and effective colonization was taking place, and with the expansion of colonization came the necessity for local government and thus the organization of counties. As the territory decreased, the number of counties increased, until at statehood there was a total of twenty-seven. Since that time two more have been added.

If this study shows any one thing, however, it is that historically there has been nothing particularly sacred about an established county line. Boundaries in Utah have been changed, and changed often, according to changing conditions. What follows is the story of this evolution.

It will be observed that boundary changes during Utah's territorial p.eriod were made more easily than in the period since 1896, there being approximately ninety changes during that time. These changes, of course, were not made merely to satisfy the whims of the legislature, but came about as a result of the need for local government in areas of growing population. Even though the legislature had the power to create, enlarge, diminish, or even abolish a county, such action was not taken without good cause. With statehood the method of altering boundaries changed. Article 11 of the Utah constitution recognized existing counties as legal subdivisions of the state and prescribed the method by which new changes were to be made. This called for the approval of the voters in the county and in the area affected.

The Provisional State of Deseret included an amazing amount of territory. All of the area presently within the states of Utah and Nevada was included, as were parts of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The famous "Mormon Corridor," extending from Salt Lake City to the coast of southern California, was part of Brigham Young's dream for a vast Mormon empire which included territory all the way to the sea.

The first attempt to organize counties in this large area was made by the General Assembly of the State of Deseret on January 31, 1850. Six counties were originally created, and the boundaries were determined merely by reference to natural geographic features. No attempt was made to organize the entire state into counties, but only that area where colonization had extended by 1850. Northernmost of the first counties was Weber, whose boundaries were described as being all of "that portion of country known as Weber Valley, and extending as far south as Stony Creek, and west to the Great Salt Lake." Great Salt Lake County was defined as ". . . all that portion of country known as the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, and lying South of Stony Creek." To the west was Tuilla County, which was identified simply as "Tuilla Valley," and Utah Valley was made into Utah County. San Pete Valley, named after an Indian chieftain, Sanpitch, became San Pete County.

An area called "Little Salt Lake Valley" also was made into a county, but the name was changed to Iron County later the same year, the new name coming from the rich iron deposits in the region. Colonization had not extended into this area, but within the next year towns such as Cedar City and Parowan were established. It is interesting to observe the immense amount of territory included within the county as it was finally defined in December, 1850: "... all that portion of country, lying in the southeast corner of the Great Basin, and being south of the divide between Beaver Creek and the Sevier River, and east of the Desert Range, extending south to the rim of the Basin, and east to the Wasatch Range of mountains."

A new county, Davis, was created on October 5, 1850, and included the smallest area of all. It occupied a small pocket east of the Great Salt Lake and extended as far south as the Hot Springs near Salt Lake City. This was the last county created in Deseret, for in September, 1850, Congress ignored the appeal for statehood and established the Territory of Utah with greatly reduced borders. The new territory was bounded "... on the west by the State of California, on the north by the Territory of Oregon, and on the east by the summit of the Rocky Mountains, and on the south by the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude . . . ." In the new territory, after the counties of Deseret were recognized as they then existed, the Legislative Assembly honored Millard Fillmore by naming the first county of its creation after the President. The new county was defined as "that portion of Iron County known as Pauvan valley . . . ." Millard County included the city of Fillmore, where the seat of government for the territory was located for a time.

Although settlement had moved little beyond the valleys of the Wasatch Mountains, in March, 1852, the Legislative Assembly of Utah passed an act defining county boundaries which extended the boundaries to include the entire territory. The names of four new counties appeared: Juab, Desert, Green River and Washington.

Desert County formed a strip about thirty-five miles wide extending from the Great Salt Lake to California. Tooele, Juab, and Millard also were extended to the California border, and Iron and Washington counties were peculiar in that they stretched the entire width of the territory, a distance of approximately six hundred miles. Weber County was extended north to the Oregon (the present Oregon-Idaho) line and west to the California boundary. To the south, Great Salt Lake and Utah counties were bounded on the west by Tooele County and on the east by the territorial line. San Pete County likewise extended eastward to the territorial line, which was the Rocky Mountains in present Colorado. In northeastern Utah, Green River County included all that territory in the Bear Lake area, and also the Green River region of what is now Wyoming.

Little settlement had extended into the Green River Valley in 1852, but it is significant to note that Brigham Young wanted to have control over this area because of the fact that thousands of immigrants were coming through this gateway each year. A trading post at Fort Bridger would be a great advantage to them. In 1853 colonists were sent there, and by 1855 a very successful settlement had been made at Fort Supply. A year later Green River County was enlarged to include all the parts of Great Salt Lake and Utah counties that were east of a line intersecting Sulphur Creek where Emigration Road crossed it, and also part of San Pete County. This change is important in that it reduced greatly the size of both Utah and Great Salt Lake counties, which had extended to the eastern boundary of the territory. At the same time, the eastern boundary of Davis County was defined as being the western Summit County line. Summit County was created January 13, 1854, from the western end of Green River County and extended south to the southern line of Great Salt Lake County. Its area included the summit of the watershed between Green River and Salt Lake valleys. Few people had settled here as yet, so the county was made dependent upon Great Salt Lake County for election, revenue, and judicial purposes and remained so until 1861.

In western Utah, Carson County was formed by an act of January 17, 1854, and was named after the famous frontiersman, Kit Carson. It included all those parts of Tooele, Juab, Millard and Iron counties west of 118° longitude." This was a direct outgrowth of the attempt of the settlers in Carson Valley to govern themselves. Finding that they lacked authority to enforce their own laws, they had petitioned California to annex this section for judicial purpose. California refused. Some of the settlers, gold miners especially, objected to Mormon rule from Salt Lake City and wanted to be annexed to California. When tie Utah legislature heard of these actions, they took steps to provide these people with their own self-government by creating Carson County and sending Orson Hyde (one of the Twelve Apostles) to organize the county and to be the probate judge. This was the first county government organized in what is now the state of Nevada.

No major changes in counties were made in 1855. The dividing line between Weber and Davis counties was changed when Davis was given that part of Weber County south of a line running down Weber River to a point north of the northwest corner of Kingston's Fort, then due west to the Great Salt Lake. Davis County also was changed on the south by having that part of the county west of the Jordan River attached to Great Salt Lake County. The boundary between Juab and San Pete counties was further defined in 1855 by moving it slightly east to the dividing ridge between Juab and San Pete valleys.

Non-Mormon settlers in Carson County still continued to protest rule by Utahns, and in 1856 were agitating for annexation by California. This, of course, was refused by Congress, and Utah took immediate action to increase the number of settlers in the valley. 17 In January of that year the Utah legislature extended the northern boundary of Carson County to the Oregon line. New Mormon settlers brought their families with the intent of making permanent settlements. By August of 1856, the Mormons were in a distinct majority. In 1857, however, the settlers were called home because Johnston's Army was approaching Utah, and the county was disorganized the same year. 18 The same disposition was made of Green River County one year later. Both counties, however, were reorganized in 1859.

Two new counties were created in western Utah in 1856, Humboldt and St. Mary's. They included all the area north of Millard County, east of Carson, and west of 114° longitude. The 116th meridian divided the two counties, with Humboldt on the west. This action, it will be observed, greatly reduced the size of Weber, Tooele, Desert and Juab counties.

By 1856 Mormon settlement in northern Utah had progressed, and the legislature had very good reason for organizing more counties there. The fact that they formed new counties so soon after settlement began to filter into these areas shows the concern of the leaders for setting up good local self-government.

The creation of four new counties in 1856 again reduced the size of Weber. Greasewood County, so named because of the abundance of greasewood in the region, included all the area west of the Great Salt Lake as far as St. Mary's County. All the area of Cache Valley, and west along the southern line as far as Green River County, was made into Cache County. This region was settled the same year by a small group of families under the supervision of Peter Maughn, who had come at the direction of Brigham Young for that purpose. Between Cache and Greasewood counties, and as far south as the center of the Bear River, lay the new Malad County, taking its name from the Malad River. The rest of Weber County as far south as "a point due west from the hot springs at the territorial road in Weber county" was made into Box Elder County.

At the same time two more new counties were created in other parts of the territory. Cedar County was created from that part of Utah County which approximates present-day Cedar Valley. Iron County was split almost in half with the creation of Beaver County, but both continued to extend from Carson County to the eastern extremity of the territory. It was in this same year that the first settlement in Beaver County was established, and other towns grew within a very few years.

By authority of the same act (January 5, 1856), the boundary between Iron and Washington counties was re-defined as being "... a line running east and west across this Territory, through a point four miles north from the northeast corner of Fort Harmony."

A few days later (January 12) a new county, Shambip, was created from the southern portion of Tooele County. The boundary was a line running west from Cedar County along the summit of the dividing ridge between Tooele and Rush valleys, thence west to St. Mary's County. This included Rush Valley where settlement was begun in 1855. It appears, however, that not enough people located there to justify a county organization, for it was returned to Tooele in 1862.

The year 1861 brought many boundary changes to Utah. The legislative assembly re-defined boundaries in the west only to see their action nullified when Congress made western Utah into Nevada Territory. The territorial assembly had left Carson County as it was; Humboldt County was extended south to California; and St. Mary's County had its eastern boundary reduced to the 115th meridian and was extended south to California. These changes reduced the western area of Washington, Iron, Beaver and Millard counties, but extended Juab, Shambip, Tooele, Desert and Greasewood counties westward to 115° west longitude. However, Congress, by creating Nevada and placing her eastern border at 116°, upset all the recent changes of the territorial assembly. Carson, Humboldt, and St. Mary's disappeared as Utah counties. The Utah counties now extended their borders one degree westward. This degree of territory was taken from them, however, die following year, when Congress moved the Nevada boundary to 115° west longitude. Four years later (1866), the western boundaries of Utah's western counties were further affected by Congressional extension of Nevada Territory to the 114° of longitude, on the present Utah-Nevada boundary.

On Utah's eastern border, the counties also were drastically changed by the action of Congress in 1861. Colorado Territory was created, which took from the eastern counties about three degrees of their area. Furthermore, Nebraska Territory (Wyoming) was extended westward to 110° west longitude, thus taking a sizeable area from Green River County.

The territorial legislature, in January of 1862, re-defined the county boundaries. The new definition created two new counties, Wasatch and Morgan, and discontinued Desert, Greasewood, Malad, Cedar and Shambip counties. Wasatch County, named for the Wasatch Mountains, included the area known as Provo Valley, which had been settled well enough by 1862 to justify the legislature in granting the citizens' petition for a county organization. Named after Jedediah Morgan Grant, a councilor to Brigham Young, Morgan County was carved out of the eastern part of Davis.

It now becomes increasingly difficult to locate county lines exactly because of the fact that so many boundaries, especially from 1862 to 1880, were determined by reference to roads, creeks, ranches, forts, and other landmarks which are difficult to locate. We can, however, get a picture which will serve well enough to give the reader a good idea of the most important changes.

Washington, Iron and Beaver counties remained approximately the same. The north, west, and south sides of Millard County remained nearly the same, but the eastern boundary was changed to follow the summit of the mountain ranges. Sanpete County was extended northward and eastward according to certain ranges of mountains and became part of the southern boundary of the new Wasatch County. (Notice that from here on the name "Sanpete" becomes one word instead of two.) Green River County was reduced by the formation of Wasatch County, and Utah County now included only that area near Utah Lake.

It is interesting to note that the counties around Salt Lake area were divided more often during this early period and, of course, were much smaller than those in other parts of the territory. This could well have been caused by the fact that even though the pioneers were making an effort to expand colonization, the population grew much more rapidly in this area.

By 1864 settlement had extended into eastern Cache County; Richland County was carved out of it, the summit of the dividing mountain range being the boundary.

In southern Utah another new county, Kane County, was created by detaching part of Washington County, leaving to Washington County only a small section in the west. The principal city in Kane County was Virgin City, which had been settled as part of an attempt by the church to establish cotton plantations, vineyards, etc., in Utah's "Dixie." The county received its name in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, an early friend of the Mormons.

Settlement also was growing more rapidly in Washington County itself. In 1857 a number of missionaries who had been sent to preach to the Indians, along with their families, settled in the town of Washington. In 1861 three hundred Saints were sent to found the city of St. George in what was now a large-scale effort to colonize the southland.

Two more counties were created on January 16, 1865. Sevier County 34 was split off the southern part of Sanpete County, and Beaver County was divided in order to form Piute County from the eastern part. There was only one main settlement in Sevier County, Richfield, which had been settled the previous year by eleven citizens from Manti. In a short time, however, more settlements grew.

A few towns in Piute County, such as Marysvale and Circleville, had been settled by 1864. By this time, also, nearly all the principal valleys of the Wasatch Mountains had been colonized. It is interesting to observe, in this connection, that seven more permanent counties were organized during the territorial period, and of these none were in the western part of die state. It would appear, therefore, that the extent of colonization had a great deal to do with the formation of and change in county lines.

The final change in territorial lines came in 1868, when the coming of the railroad made it necessary to form a new territory from parts of Dakota, Utah and Idaho. The commencement of settlement along the line of the railroad made this necessary because the country was so far from the capitals of the other territories. Accordingly, part of the northeast corner of Utah was given to the new territory, Wyoming, and Utah's borders were then reduced to their present status.

In 1866 the legislature again re-defined all the county boundaries. This was the last complete re-definition. Later changes referred to and amended this act. There were no significant changes at this time, but it should be noted that even tiough most of Green River County was taken into Wyoming in tbis year, the territory still remaining in Utah was added to no other county until 1872. The eastern boundary of Juab County was re-defined in 1868, but the act appears to be only for clarification and not a major change. The names of two counties were changed in 1868. Great Salt Lake County became simply Salt Lake County, and the name of Richland County was shortened to Rich.

A new county, Rio Virgin, was created from the western part of Washington County. Apparently, however, the legislature was unfamiliar with the geography of the western part of the territory, for most of the country described seems to have been in Nevada. Thus, there existed the unusual condition of a Utah county outside the Utah territorial boundaries. This was rectified, however, in 1872 when the legislature again extended the boundary of Washington County to include "all that portion of Rio Virgin County now remaining in the Territory." Washington County was further reduced in 1869, when another slice of her eastern territory was given to Kane County and Tokerville was made the county seat of Kane County. Washington was now one of the smallest counties in the state, but contained the largest population of any in southern Utah.

In 1872 the last remaining part of Green River County was absorbed into Summit County, extending the boundaries of the latter eastward to the territorial line. Another act in the same year extended the boundary of Rich County slightly to the south, and seems to have had the effect of defining definitely the boundaries in the area where Rich, Morgan and Summit counties join. Previously, these three counties were supposed to meet at the place where the northern boundary of Summit County crossed the Bear River, but this point had been in Wyoming Territory since 1868.

A more complete division of the eastern part of Utah was begun in 1880, with the creation of Emery, San Juan and Uintah counties. It now becomes easier to locate most of the boundaries because of the fact that after 1880 many county lines were determined by reference to range and township lines.

Emery County was created on February 12, and was carved out of the center of Sevier and Sanpete counties. The number of settlers in this region had become so great that the need for such a move was apparent. A committee, therefore, petitioned the legislature for creation of a new county to be called "Castle County." The law makers approved, but changed the name in honor of George W. Emery, one of the few territorial governors who had the sincere respect of the people of Utah. This is the only Utah county which bears the name of a governor.

The new county included most of the area of present Carbon and Emery counties. It is interesting to notice that the legislature did not include the area east of the Green River. This left the country formerly belonging to Sevier County completely cut off, and that area belonging to Sanpete County connected only by a narrow strip of land on the north. This unusual situation occurred because, on February 13, the governor vetoed a bill creating San Juan County, which would have included this territory, on the grounds that the proposed county included too much territory for the convenience of the people. 48 Five days later, therefore, the territory west of Green River, north of parallel 38°31' and south of the mouth of Price River was added to Emery County, and San Juan County was formed with smaller borders.

In 1879 the church had "called" 200 members to settle the San Juan country. This led to the famous Hole in the Rock expedition to this isolated area of Utah and to the organization of San Juan County. San Juan included all those parts of Kane, Iron and Piute counties lying east of the Green and Colorado rivers. Bluff, the county seat, had only 225 inhabitants.

In northeastern Utah, all of the territory west of the 110th meridian to where it strikes the Green River, and north of Emery County, was made into the new Uintah County. This reduced both Summit and Wasatch counties in area and also included that part of Sanpete County which would otherwise have been isolated by the creation of Emery County.

Another important act of 1880 apportioned the waters and islands of Great Salt Lake to Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Box Elder and Tooele counties. Salt Lake County was extended only slightly to the northwest. Included in the Davis County section was Antelope Island, while Fremont Island went to Weber County. Tooele County received a number of the smaller islands. The largest piece of the lake was attached to Box Elder County.

The 1880 changes also altered the northern boundary of Sanpete County by placing it at the township line between townships eleven and twelve. This necessitated extending the Utah and Wasatch lines a few miles to the south, which was done. This boundary was further defined in 1884, by an act which placed the Utah-Wasatch boundary at its present location.

The creation of Garfield County, in March of 1882, took another section off the eastern end of Iron County, cutting it by more than half. The new county was named after President Garfield. At the same time, the legislature re-defined all the boundaries of Kane, Iron and Washington counties according to range and township lines. With this re-definition Washington County was slightly enlarged both on the north and the east, gaining a strip of land approximately thirty miles wide. In 1884 the line between Iron and Garfield counties was changed, which added a small section, including Panguitch Lake, to die southwest corner of Garfield. An act of 1888 re-defined the boundaries of Millard and Juab counties, but the changes appear to have been insignificant.

Two changes occurred in 1890: a very small portion of the northern end of Sevier County was attached to Sanpete County, which made the dividing line die same as exists today. The second change was the creation of another new county, Grand. This was done by detaching that part of Emery County which lay east of the Green River. Grand County received another piece of land in 1892, when part of tbe soudiern end of Uintah County was given to it. The final change in the Washington-Iron County boundary was made in 1892, when a small portion of the northeast corner of Washington County was given to Iron. The dividing line between Tooele and Juab counties was finally and definitely fixed in 1894.

Two more new counties were created before the end of the territorial period. Wayne County was formed in 1892 from the eastern end of Piute, taking more than half of it. In 1894 Emery County was divided so that the northern section became Carbon County, and the boundaries of both these counties became the same as they are today. This division came as a result of the efforts of the growing city of Price to have the county seat transferred from Castle Dale. With the failure of this project, the citizens along the Price River petitioned for the creation of a new county and their petition was granted by the legislature. The name comes from the immense deposits of coal in this area.

With these final changes, the counties of Utah remained the same until after statehood. Twenty-seven counties existed in 1895. In 1896 Utah became a state and the constitution stated that: "The several counties of the Territory of Utah, existing at the same time of the adopting of this Constitution, are hereby recognized as legal subdivisions of this State." Only two more counties have been created since that time.

Duchesne County was created in 1914 on the petition of citizens in the eastern portion of Wasatch County. An act of 1913 had made it legal for citizens of any portion of a county to petition for a new county. The petition had to be signed by at least one-fourth of the qualified electors of the area affected and one-fourth of the qualified electors in the remainder of the county.

In 1917 the citizens of the northern part of Uintah County petitioned for the organization of a new county. Geographically, this district belonged more logically to Wyoming, for access from Utah was, and still is, extremely difficult because of the high Uinta Mountains. The petition was acted upon and Daggett became the last new county in Utah. It was given its name after Ellswortb Daggett, the first surveyor-general of Utah.

In summary, tben, Utah's boundaries have seen frequent changes. Thirty-nine counties have been created, ten have become extinct, and the first fifty years of Utah's history saw some change in boundaries with nearly every session of the legislature. Thus has been the evolution of county boundaries in Utah.

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