Grantsville is the second most populous city in
Tooele County
Tooele County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 58,218. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele. The county was created in 1850 and organized the following year.
Tooele County ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, United States. It is part of the
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
. The population was 12,617 at the 2020 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in growth occurred during the 1970s, 1990s, and 2010s. Recent rapid growth has been attributed to being close to Salt Lake City, small town community feel, lower housing costs than Salt Lake County, the nearby
Deseret Peak recreational center, the
Utah Motorsports Campus
Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015. The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kar ...
raceway, and the newly built
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
distribution center located just outside the city. It is quickly becoming a bedroom community for commuters into the
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...
.
History
The area of Grantsville was originally populated by the
Goshute
The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today:
* Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah
* Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah ...
tribe.
Grantsville was originally called "Willow Creek", and has also been called "Twenty Wells" due to the natural wells that give fresh water to the area. Grantsville was settled by
Mormon pioneers
The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...
in 1850.
The present name, after Col. George D. Grant, a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was adopted c. 1853.
A post office called Grantsville has been in operation since 1864.
Geography
Grantsville is bordered on the south by South Mountain, which separates
Rush Valley
Rush Valley is a long north-trending valley in the southeast of Tooele County, Utah. It lies adjacent to and attached to the south of Tooele Valley; the separation point is the low point of the valley at Rush Lake, and lies at the southeast o ...
from
Tooele Valley
Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 30 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army ...
. To the north is
Stansbury Island
Stansbury Island is the second largest island within the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah. Located in Tooele County, it is considered an island even though a dirt causeway connects it to the mainland. Stansbury Island was named after Ho ...
, and on the east are the
Oquirrh Mountains
The Oquirrh Mountains is a mountain range that runs north-south for approximately 30 miles (50 km) to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range runs from northwestern Utah County–centr ...
and the
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...
, and on the west side the
Stansbury Mountains.
SR-138 passes through the city, heading northwest to intersect with
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
and east to
Stansbury Park.
The climate is hot during the summer and cold and snowy during the winter. Although Grantsville can be affected by
lake-effect snow
Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...
from the Great Salt Lake, most of the time, it is too far southwest.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.22%) is water.
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, there were 12,617 people, and 3,855 households in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 335.65 people per square mile (129.59/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.2%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.2%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.6%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.2%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 2.1% some other race, and 5.5% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 7.3% of the population.
Recorded in the 2020
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
:
There were 3,855 household units, out of which 68.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 9.0% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 14.4% had a female householder with no spouse. 7.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average family size was 3.69. The median age was 27.9 years. 8.1% of the population was 65 years and older. 6.8% of the population was veterans.
The median income for a household in the city was $84,293. 5.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
.
24.9% of the population has a Bachelor's Degree or higher. The School Enrolled Population Enrolled in Kindergarten to 12th Grade is 79.0%.
Employment: 72.8% of employees are private company workers, 16.8% government workers, 5.9% private not-for-profit workers, 3.4% self-employed in not owned business, and 1.1% self-employed in own business.
Education
Grantsville is in the Tooele County School District and has three elementary schools (Grantsville, Twenty Wells, and Willow), Grantsville Junior High School, and Grantsville High School. There are also a few preschools.
Due to a fire on July 13, 2009, Grantsville Elementary School was forced to close until a new elementary school was built. The new school opened for the 2011–2012 school year.
Events
The Old Folks Sociable is the traditional social event of the year. The Old Folks Sociable idea started in 1875 when professional photographer Charles Savage and LDS Church Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter inaugurated "Old Folks Day" to honor fathers and mothers. The first Old Folks Sociable held in Grantsville was on January 6, 1884. This annual event is believed to have been canceled only twice in its 125-year history.
The Old Folks Sociable honors all residents and former residents who are 75 years older. Grantsville High School, home to the Old Folks Sociable, becomes a gathering place for high school class reunions and family reunions. The Sociable is also a celebration of Grantsville's heritage. For residents and former residents, it is a walk down memory lane. Events include a 5K run, a car show, a program, a reception for honored guests, a dinner, and a dance. All residents and former (eighteen years and older) are invited to attend. The Old Folks Sociable is held each year during the month of March.
["Glimpses of Grantsville," ''Tooele Transcript Bulletin'' (Utah), March 27, 2008.]
Notable people
*
Parley P. Christensen
Parley Parker Christensen (July 19, 1869 – February 10, 1954) was an American attorney and politician who was a Utah House of Representatives, Utah state representative, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the Farmer–Labor Party's presiden ...
, American attorney and politician who was a Utah state representative, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential nominee during the 1920 presidential election
*
Joshua Reuben Clark Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Mexico
*
William Jefferies Jr., English Mormon pioneer and early settler of the American frontier
*
Jack Johnson (tackle)
John Denoil Johnson (November 28, 1909 – October 27, 1978) was a professional American football player who played offensive tackle for seven seasons for the Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1970.
He was ...
, professional American football player
*
Merrill Nelson
Merrill F. Nelson (born July 16, 1955 in Tooele, Utah) is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives representing District 68. Merrill announced he was not seeking re-election in 2022.
Early life ...
, American politician
*
Lula Greene Richards
Louisa Lula Greene Richards (April 8, 1849 – September 9, 1944) was a poet and was the first female periodical editor in Utah Territory. Richards's work was published under a variety of names, including Louisa L. Greene, Louise L. Green, Lula ...
, a poet and the first female periodical editor in Utah Territory
*
Marianne C. Sharp, first counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1945-1974
*
Colin Haynie, mass murderer
References
External links
Grantsville City Website
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1848
Cities in Utah
Cities in Tooele County, Utah
Salt Lake City metropolitan area
1848 establishments in the United States