Tooele County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, the population was 58,218. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and largest city is

Tooele 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 ...

. The county was created in 1850 and organized the following year. Tooele County 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 ...

, UT

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 ...

. A 2008

CNNMoney.com CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's ''Fortune'' and ''Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of Tim ...

article identified Tooele as the

U.S. county In the United States, a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, wh ...

experiencing the greatest job growth since 2000. The western half is mostly covered by the

Great Salt Lake Desert The Great Salt Lake Desert (colloquially referred to as the West Desert) is a large dry lake in northern Utah, United States, between the Great Salt Lake and the Nevada border. It is a subregion of the larger Great Basin Desert, and noted for wh ...

and includes the city of

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

(the immediate neighbor of

West Wendover, Nevada West Wendover is a small city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 4,410 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Elko micropolitan area. West Wendover is located on the eastern border of Nevada and the western edge of the Gr ...

) and

Ibapah Ibapah ( ) is a small unincorporated community in far western Tooele County, Utah, United States, near the Nevada state line. Description The settlement is located near the Deep Creek Mountains. The site was originally established in 1859 by ...

. Within the central section lies Skull Valley, between the

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

and the Stansbury Mountains. It contains a few small towns as well as the

Dugway Proving Ground Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a U.S. Army facility established in 1942 to test biological and chemical weapons, located about southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, and south of the Utah Test and Training Range. Location Dugway P ...

. The population centers are on the eastern edge in the Tooele Valley, between the Stansbury and

Oquirrh Oquirrh is a census-designated place (CDP) in Salt Lake County, Utah, located on the slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains that gave it its name. Oquirrh was once part of Kearns, UT. Through annexation, the city of West Jordan cut Oquirrh off from Kearn ...

Mountains. This area contains the cities of

and Grantsville and well as the unincorporated towns of Stansbury Park, Lake Point, and Erda.

Tooele Army Depot Tooele Army Depot (TEAD) is a United States Army Joint Munitions Command post in Tooele County, Utah. It serves as a storage site for war reserve and training ammunition. The depot stores, issues, receives, renovates, modifies, maintains and demi ...

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 Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

, and

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 ...

are located. Additional small towns,

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ...

and Mercur, are located in two canyons on the south western side of the Oquirrh Mountains.

History

Evidence of several indigenous Native American groups has been found in Tooele County, but only the western

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

-speaking

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 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 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 ...

settled in the neighboring

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 ...

. 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 A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

, 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 Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

", or from "''tule''", a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word of

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

origins meaning "

bulrush Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **'' Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' *Typhacea ...

". 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. In 1855 the town of Richville was designated

, but it soon became clear that

was much larger. In 1861 the territorial legislature allowed the county to select a new seat, and Tooele was selected. In 1859 Robert B. Jarvis, a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs representative, convinced some of the

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic bands to congregate at a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

reservation called Deep Creek. The results looked promising, but Jarvis' resignation in 1860 led support to disappear and the farm to be abandoned. Jarvis' replacement, Benjamin Davies, noted the Goshutes had lost faith in the federal government, and recommended limiting further encroachments on Goshute land, but his suggestions were largely ignored. Twenty-two overland

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

outposts were built in Goshute territory, often on the sites of rare natural springs. Goshute attacks on mail outposts escalated in 1860, resulting in dozens of deaths in alternating waves of raids. At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, federal troops left the area leaving defense in the hands of the

Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...

until General

Patrick E. Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans during the ...

arrived in

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1862. Connor acted ruthlessly toward the natives. He killed over 300 Shoshone in Southern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

in 1863. Connor's men attacked Native American camps, sometimes indiscriminately, but through 1863 stage coach companies had lost 16 men and over 150

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s to depredations. A peace treaty was signed in 1863 which included an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...

of goods and

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1000 in compensation of killed game in exchange for an end to the hostilities, and use of routes through the natives' territories. The treaty did not cede Goshute control of land, but a follow-up agreement made in June 1865 did. General Connor, who was

anti-Mormon Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed against the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term is often used to describe people or literat ...

, also encouraged his troops to prospect for minerals. Connor believed that

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

would bring non-Mormons to

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

. After his men discovered

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

deposits in Tooele County in 1864 he was proven right. The Rush Valley Mining District was established by soldiers in the western

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 more than 100 claims were staked in the first year. Two new mining towns,

and Lewiston ballooned to over 6000 people each in the 1870s, exceeding the population of Tooele and all the Mormon settlements in the area. Tooele County as originally defined extended into present-day

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. The county's borders were adjusted in 1852, in 1854, in 1856, in 1861, and in 1862. When

Nevada Territory The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Nevada T ...

was created in 1862, the county's borders were impacted, and when the Territory became a state (1864), Tooele County was formally divested of all its Nevada area. Two more boundary adjustments were made in 1870 and 1880, after which it has retained its boundaries to the present.

Republic of Tooele

From 1874 to 1879, non-Mormon politicians from the Liberal Party of Utah gained control of Tooele County, the first time any non-Mormons had success in Utah politics. Whimsically, they called the county the Republic of Tooele. The 1874 election marked the first success of the

Liberal Party, which was organized in 1870. The party viewed the large non-Mormon mining population in the county as a natural environment for electoral success and campaigned fiercely in Tooele's mining districts leading up to the June 1874 election. The non-Mormon appointed governor of Utah Territory, George L. Woods, campaigned for the Liberals in Tooele County. Tooele County Courthouse and City Hall

The incumbent Mormon People's Party observed several Tooele polling places on election day and lodged complaints of fraud after the Liberal Party triumphed by about 300 votes out of 2,200. The People's Party alleged Liberal Party supporters had voted more than once, that many had not been residents for the required six months, and they were not taxpayers—according to territorial law, only taxpayers could vote in elections. The People's Party called attention to the 2,200 votes cast in the election although only 1,500 Tooele County

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...

payers were on record. Incumbents refused to yield control of the Tooele County recorder's office and the Tooele County Courthouse because of the alleged fraud. Governor Woods dismissed the complaints and certified the Liberal victory. Third District Court Judge James B. McKean ruled that no evidence showing illegal activity had been presented. McKean construed

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

as within the meaning of being a taxpayer. Since no evidence was provided there were over 300

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...

s or repeat votes in the election, McKean sustained the tally and authorized deputy

U.S. Marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

to install the Liberal candidates. The recorder's office was seized when it was momentarily abandoned, but a contingent of People's Party supporters and incumbents held the county courthouse night and day. The marshals and Liberal Party candidates, outnumbered, attempted to negotiate with the armed and barricaded Mormons. Aware that a show of aggression could spark a battle, the parties were nonetheless unable to come to an agreement to hand over power. Judge McKean issued an even more strongly worded injunction, and

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

advised his followers that they had an obligation to obey the federal courts. The county courthouse was abandoned, thus beginning about five years of Liberal Party rule. However, the Utah territorial legislature, which had the last say on the qualifications of its members, refused to seat the Liberal Party representative from Tooele County. The Liberals won an unopposed 1876 election. In 1876, the territorial legislature passed bills requiring

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

and requiring

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

for local elections—women had been voting in territorial elections since 1870. The Liberal Party, typically supported by male miners casually interested in politics, opposed both measures. In 1878 the Liberal majority in Tooele County disappeared, and the People's Party regained control in 1879 after more than six months of Liberal procedural delays. The Republic of Tooele era was characterized by subsequent politicians as one of excessive spending. The county was left with about $16,000 debt, significantly more than it started with.

Modern Tooele

Mining continued to play an important part in Tooele County into the 20th century, but the county benefited from two major military bases located in the western portion of the county.

Wendover Air Force Base Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II, it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B- ...

, now closed, was the training base of the

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it be ...

crew, which dropped the first

atomic weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

in 1945. The

, built in 1942, formerly housed the largest store of

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

and

biological weapon A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterroris ...

s, 45 percent of the nation's, in the United States, at the

Deseret Chemical Depot The Deseret Chemical Depot () was a U.S. Army chemical weapon storage area located in Utah, 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Salt Lake City. It is related to the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. History The area was used to store c ...

. Starting August 1996, the store was reduced by destruction in a controversial weapons incinerator, at the

Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF, also called Tooele Chemical Demilitarization Facility) or TOCDF, is a U.S. Army facility located at Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele County, Utah that was used for dismantling chemical weapons. ...

; the last such weapon was destroyed in January 2012. Since the 1980s, much of Tooele County's economic prospects have centered around private

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, co ...

disposal facilities. Between 1988 and 1993, hazardous waste landfills and incinerators have been installed at

Clive Clive is a name. People and fictional characters with the name include: People Given name * Clive Allen (born 1961), English football player * Clive Anderson (born 1952), British television, radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister * ...

and

Aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including prec ...

.J. Matthew Shumway and Richard H. Jackson, "Place Making, Hazardous Waste, and the Development of Tooele County, Utah". ''The Geographical Review'', 98 (2008), pp. 433-455. This, coupled with

uranium mine Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...

tailings from

Salt Lake County Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The coun ...

which were disposed in Tooele County in the 1980s, the presence of the Deseret Chemical Depot, and a high-polluting magnesium facility in Rowley, have contributed to a general perception of Tooele County as a "

sacrifice zone A sacrifice zone or sacrifice area (often termed a national sacrifice zone or national sacrifice area) is a geographic area that has been permanently impaired by heavy environmental alterations or economic disinvestment, often through locally unwant ...

" for unwanted wastes. News coverage for the county is provided by the ''

Tooele Transcript-Bulletin The ''Tooele Transcript-Bulletin'' is a twice-weekly (Tuesday and Thursday) newspaper serving Tooele County, Utah and environs. The paper, originally called the ''Tooele Transcript'', was purchased by James Dunn, a Scottish farmer and poet, in 1898 ...

'' newspaper. On September 8, 2004, the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

spacecraft crashed into the desert floor of the

in Tooele County. The county's western portion is home to the

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

, traversed by

Interstate 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 the

Wendover Cut-off The Wendover Cut-off, also called the Wendover Road or Wendover Route, is a two-lane highway in the western part of Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. Stretching from Wendover to Knolls across the Bonneville Salt Flats, a part of the Grea ...

, the former routing of the

Victory Highway The Victory Highway was an auto trail across the United States between New York City and San Francisco, roughly equivalent to the present U.S. Route 40. It was created by the Victory Highway Association, which was organized in 1921 to locate and m ...

Geography

Tooele County lies on the west side of Utah. Its west border abuts the east border of the state of

. Its northeast border abuts 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 ...

. Three significant mountain ranges run north–south through the county. Its east boundary line is delineated by the crestline of the

, which separate the Tooele Valley from the Salt Lake Valley. The Stansbury Mountains parallel the Oquirrhs in the eastern part of the county, and the Cedar Mountains also run parallel to the other two through the east-central part of the county. There are also isolated prominences across the county, especially at its SW corner. The county terrain is largely arid and unused for agriculture unless irrigation water is available.''Tooele County UT'' Google Maps (accessed 25 March 2019)
/ref> The county generally slopes to the north. Its highest elevation is Deseret Peak in the Stansburys, at 11,031' (3362m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.7%) is water. Covering vast amounts of the

desert west of

, Tooele County is the second largest county in

and among the driest. The

Skull Valley Indian Reservation The Skull Valley Indian Reservation (Gosiute dialect: Wepayuttax) is located in Tooele County, Utah, United States, approximately southwest of Salt Lake City. It is inhabited by the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah, a federally reco ...

lies in Skull Valley, between the Cedar and Stansbury mountain ranges.

Major highways

Utah State Route 36 State Route 36 (SR-36) is a highway in northern Utah connecting US-6 in northern Juab County to I-80 in northern Tooele County. Route description From its southern terminus west of Eureka, SR-36 heads northwest until Vernon, where it turns no ...

Utah State Route 73 State Route 73 (SR-73) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah, connecting the Rush, Cedar, and Utah Valleys. It is a discontinuous route in two segments; one long segment connecting SR-36 to Saratoga Springs, and one short segment within ...

Utah State Route 112 State Route 112 (SR-112) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. It is approximately long and connects Tooele and Grantsville in Tooele County. It also provides access to the Tooele Army Depot. Route description From its western terminus ...

Utah State Route 138 State Route 138 is a highway, completely within Tooele County in northern Utah that connects Grantsville to Erda and Stansbury Park. The route runs twenty miles (32 km) and is the old routing of U.S. Route 50 Alternate and ...

Utah State Route 179 State Route 179, also known as the Midvalley Highway, is a highway in the U.S. state of Utah. It runs through the northern part of the Tooele Valley, located in eastern Tooele County. Route description The Midvalley Highway is proposed to begin ...

* Utah State Route 196 *

Utah State Route 199 State Route 199 (SR-199) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. Spanning , it connects SR-196 and the Dugway Proving Ground with SR-36 between Rush Valley and the Deseret Chemical Depot. Route description State Route 199 begins at the ...

Adjacent counties

Box Elder County Box Elder County is a county at the northwestern corner of Utah, United States. As of 2018, the estimated population is 54,950. Its county seat and largest city is Brigham City. The county was named for the box elder trees that abound in the co ...

- north * Weber County - northeast (across Great Salt Lake) *

Davis County Davis County is or was the name of the following counties in the United States: *Davis County, Iowa, named in honor of Garrett Davis, a Congressman from Kentucky *Davis County, Utah, named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion *Cass ...

- east (across Great Salt Lake) *

- east *

Utah County Utah County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the state's third-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the ...

- east *

Juab County Juab County ( ) is a county in western Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,246. Its county seat and largest city is Nephi. Juab County is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical ...

- south *

White Pine County, Nevada White Pine County is a largely rural, mountain county along the central eastern boundary of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,030. Its county seat is Ely. The name "(Rocky Mountain) white pine" is an old ...

-southwest *

Elko County, Nevada Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth ...

- west

Protected areas

* Salt Springs Waterfowl Management Area * Timpie Springs Waterfowl Management Area * Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (part) **

Wasatch National Forest Wasatch National Forest was established as the Wasatch Forest Reserve by the U.S. Forest Service in Utah on August 16, 1906 with to the east of Salt Lake City and Provo. It became a National Forest on March 4, 1907. On July 1, 1908 Grantsv ...

(part) * Deseret Peak Wilderness Area

Lakes

* Atherley Reservoir * Big Spring (near

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

) * Big Spring (Skull Valley) * Big Spring (near Timpie Springs) * Black Spring * Blue Lake (Salt Springs Waterfowl Management Area) * Blue Lakes (in and near Grantsville) * Chadman Spring * Cold Spring * Deep Creek Reservoir * Dry Lake (Dugway Proving Ground) * Dry Lake (East Tintic Mountains) * Grantsville Reservoir * Greasewood Pond *

(partially) * Horseshoe Springs * Jacobs Hole * JB Reservoir * Jenning Springs * Kanaka Lake * Last Chance Lakes * Mill Pond * Muskrat Spring * North Table Mountain Reservoir * North Willow Lake * Oswald Reservoir * Redden Springs * Rock Bottom Pond * Rocky Spring * Rush Lake * Salt Springs * Scribner Spring * Settlement Canyon Reservoir * Simpson Springs * South Willow Lake * Staley Reservoir * Stansbury Lake * SunTen Lake I * SunTen Lake II * Swimming Hole * Timpie Springs * Valley Reservoir * Vernon Reservoir * Warm Spring (near

) * Warm Springs (near Grantsville) * Willow Patch Springs * Wilson Health Springs

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, there were 40,735 people, 12,677 households, and 10,128 families in the county. 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 5.87/sqmi (2.27/km²). There were 13,812 housing units at an average density of 1.99/sqmi (0.77/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.19%

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 ...

, 1.28%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

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 ...

, 1.70% Native American, 0.60%

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 ...

, 0.18%

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 ...

, 4.50% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.55% 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 ...

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 10.34% of the population. There were 12,677 households, out of which 47.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.00% 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, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.10% were non-families. 16.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.51. The county population contained 35.00% under the age of 18, 11.50% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $45,773, and the median income for a family was $50,438. Males had a median income of $37,861 versus $24,179 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $16,321. About 5.20% of families and 6.70% 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 ...

, including 7.70% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Environmental concerns

Heavy industry and the resulting pollution of the air, soil, and groundwater has affected the region in several ways. The US Environmental Protection Agency has reported that Tooele-based

US Magnesium Renco Group is an American New York City-based holding company controlled by Ira Rennert that invests in other companies across a range of industries. History In August 2004, it was announced that Ronald Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holding ...

discharges dangerous toxins and cancerous byproducts. In 2008, the US Government considered listing the area as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site. Tooele County was listed in 1989 as having the worst air in Utah, according to Federal agencies and environmental groups. The Tooele County Health Department notes that the chemical output of the heavy industry can be particularly dangerous in the winter, because the region's climate and setting create winter inversions, suspending the toxins in the air, and posing "serious health concerns". Due to the history of toxic waste disposal in the area, Tooele County and Utah residents have opposed plans to dispose of nuclear waste in the county boundaries. A high level nuclear waste site proposed to be built at the Goshute Tribe Reservation in Skull Valley faced opposition until the plan slowly fizzled out. Projects to dispose of depleted uranium at Energy Solution's Clive facility continue to cause controversy.

Politics and Government

From

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

through 1968, Tooele County tended Democratic, selecting the Democratic nominee in every election save 1956 (but being blue enough to vote for Stevenson in 1952). From

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

on, however, it has become powerfully Republican, voting Democratic only once in this period thus far, for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

(with a low plurality and by a narrow margin).

Communities

Cities

* Erda * Grantsville *

(county seat) *

Towns

* Stockton * Vernon

Census-designated places

* Dugway *

* Stansbury Park

Townships

* Pine Canyon (aka Lincoln)

Unincorporated communities

Delle Delle () is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in northeastern France. Delle is the last French town on the railway line from Belfort to Berne, in Switzerland. The railway station in Delle is served by ...

Gold Hill Gold Hill may refer to: Canada * Gold Hill, British Columbia United Kingdom * Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset, a steep street used in Hovis commercial United States ;Alabama * Gold Hill, Alabama ;California * Gold Hill, El Dorado County, C ...

* Lake Point * Lofgreen * South Rim *

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

Ghost towns

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

* Arinosa * Barro * Bauer * Benmore * Burmester *

Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...

* Iosepa * Jacob City * Knolls * Low * Mercur * Pehrson * Rowley * Salduro *

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

* Slagtown * Sunshine * Topliff * West Dip

References

External links

*
Tooele County School District

Tooele County Chamber of Commerce
{{Coord, 40.45, -113.18, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-UT_source:UScensus1990 1851 establishments in Utah Territory Populated places established in 1851 Salt Lake City metropolitan area The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah