Weber County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 sove ...

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 its ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,223, making it Utah's fourth-most populous county. 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 ...

and largest city is Ogden, the home of

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

. The county was named for the

Weber River The Weber River ( ) is a long river of northern Utah, United States. It begins in the northwest of the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake. The Weber River was named for American fur trapper John Henry Weber. The Weber River ...

. Weber County is part of the Ogden- Clearfield, 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 as a city or tow ...

as well as the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

- Provo-

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah M ...

, UT

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

History

The Weber Valley was visited by many trappers seeking beavers and muskrats along its streams. One of the first on record reached the area in 1824, traveling from

Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. It became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, C ...

. He reported that the Bear River flowed into a salt bay.

Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...

passed through in 1826, representing the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

. He traded in this area for several years, near present-day North Ogden.

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

explored the Weber Valley in 1843 and made maps of the area. The Fremont reports encouraged readers to seek their fortunes in the western frontier. Miles Goodyear was a fur trapper who constructed a way station on the

in 1845. In 1847 he sold it to incoming

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 ...

. James Brown purchased and changed the site's name to Brownsville (later changed to Ogden). After the Mormon pioneers began filling out into the future state of Utah, the fledgling government (as of 1849 known as

State of Deseret The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation , contemporaneously ) was a proposed state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Salt Lake City. The provisional stat ...

) began a system of government. On January 31, 1850, the legislature provided for the creation of six counties to generally cover the area, named in this order: * Weber (with Ogden as county seat) * Great Salt Lake * Utah * San Pete * Tuilla * Little Salt Lake The county boundaries were better defined by the 1852

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 ...

legislature. The borders were adjusted by subsequent acts in 1855, 1856, and 1862. The creation of

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 ...

in 1862 also administratively reduced the county's territory significantly since its 1852 description had it running to the Sierra Nevada mountains in central California. A final adjustment in 1880 concerning the various lands in 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, particu ...

area brought the county's borders to their present configuration. As of the 1852 description, the original Weber County stretched from California in the west, to the Oregon boundary on the north, to a point in the middle Davis County in the south. As Nevada and the State of Utah evolved, Weber County was trimmed so that it now occupies a stretch of the

Wasatch Front The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Provo in the south to Logan in the nort ...

, part of the eastern shores of

, and much of the rugged

Wasatch Mountains The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the G ...

Geography

The county extends from high in the

Wasatch Range The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the G ...

in the east into a portion of the

to the west, where the county's elongated point exists. The Weber and Ogden rivers and their

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...

run through its valleys.''Weber County UT'' Google Maps (accessed 31 March 2019)
/ref> The Weber County Surveyor's office divides the county into two regions, the "Lower Valley" and the "Upper Valley", divided by the ridge of the Wasatch front range south through the county. Lower Valley, adjacent to the Lake, is the county's more populous part. The Upper Valley consists mostly of the

Ogden Valley Ogden Valley (Shoshone: Ink-ah-we-in-da, “Red Pass Basin”) is a high mountain valley and ski resort community in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 6,855 at the 2010 census. Planning in the valley is managed by a special ...

, the watershed of the

Ogden River The Ogden River is a long river in Weber County. Utah, United States. Description The Ogden River's three forks (North, Central, and South) begin in the Wasatch Range in Weber County and converge at Pineview Reservoir, near Huntsville. The ...

. The county's highest elevation is Willard Peak in the

, at 9,763' (2976m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (13%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Utah by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Major highways

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...

* Interstate 84 *

U.S. Route 89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section ...

Utah State Route 37 State Route 37 (SR-37) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah, forming a 270° loop through the western part of the Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area. The route is . When the road was added to the state highway system in 1915 and numbered ...

Utah State Route 39 State Route 39 (SR-39) is a state highway in northern Utah connecting Ogden to Woodruff via Ogden Canyon and Huntsville. The highway is on 12th Street in Ogden and the Ogden River Scenic Byway through Ogden Canyon. The route is over sixty-seve ...

* Utah State Route 79 * Utah State Route 97 *

Utah State Route 108 State Route 108 (SR-108) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah that spans in Davis and Weber Counties. The road connects I-15 and Layton to Syracuse and Clinton before terminating at SR-126 in Roy. The entire route is within the Ogde ...

Utah State Route 126 State Route 126 (SR-126) is a highway completely within the Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area in northern Utah that makes a loop around Interstate 15 in its more than twenty-one mile path. The street is given the names Main Street, 1900 West ...

Utah State Route 134 Utah State Route 134 (SR-134) is a state highway in the state of Utah that connects the cities of West Haven West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the ...

Utah State Route 162 State Route 162 (SR-162) is a state highway located in San Juan County, Utah, United States. It begins at US-191 east of Bluff. It then follows the former alignment of SR-163 to Montezuma Creek. There, it intersects UT-262 at its southern te ...

* Utah State Route 158 *

Utah State Route 167 State Route 167 (SR-167) is a north–south State highway#United States, state highway in Morgan County, Utah, Morgan and Weber County, Utah, Weber counties in northern Utah, United States, that connects Weber Canyon at Interstate 84 in Uta ...

Utah State Route 203 State Route 203 (SR-203) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. Spanning , it serves as a north–south principal arterial road through eastern Ogden, Utah, Ogden, connecting US-89 (UT), US-89 (Washington Boulevard), Weber State Universit ...

* Utah State Route 204

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 c ...

- northwest *

Cache County Cache County ( ) is a county located in the Wasatch Front region of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 133,154. Its county seat and largest city is Logan. Cache County is included in Logan metropolitan area. History I ...

- north * Rich County - northeast * Morgan County - southeast * Davis County - south * Tooele County - southwest

Protected areas

* Cache National Forest (part) * Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area * Weber Memorial Park * Willard Bay Upland Game Management Area (part)

Lakes

* Beus Pond (aka Beus Reservoir) * Bluebell Spring * Box Spring * Bybee Pond (aka Lybee Reservoir) *

Causey Reservoir Causey Reservoir is a reservoir located northeast of Ogden, Utah, United States just off Utah State Route 39. Geography Causey is a surface area reservoir on the South Fork of the Ogden River. It is a feature of the Weber Basin Project, and ...

* Choke Spring * Cold Springs * Cutler Spring * Deseret Spring (aka Desert Spring) * Front Hollow Spring * Glassman Pond *

(part) * Green Pond * Huntsville Reservoir * Lime Kiln Spring * Limestone Spring * Little Monte Springs * Lower Dry Bread Pond * Meadow Creek Pond * Monastery Spring * Norma Springs * Pineview Reservoir * The Horseshoe Bend * Twenty-First Street Pond * Utaba Reservoir

Demographics

2010 census

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 serving ...

, there were 231,236 people in the county, organized into 78,784 households and 57,867 families. 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 351/sqmi (135/km²). There were 86,187 housing units at an average density of 131 per square mile (50/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.2%

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 ...

, 1.4%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 1.3% Asian, 0.8% Native American, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 6.59% 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 3.0% from two or more races. 16.7% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. In 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 c ...

, there were 196,533 people in the county, organized into 65,698 households and 49,536 families. The

was 341/sqmi (132/km²). There were 70,454 housing units at an average density of 122 per square mile (47/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.69%

, 1.40%

, 1.28% Asian, 0.77% Native American, 0.16%

, 6.59% from

, and 2.12% from two or more races. 12.65% of the population were

or Latino of any race. By 2005 80.4% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. 1.5% were African-Americans, while 0.9% were Native Americans. Asians were 1.4% of the population. Latinos were 15.2% of the county population. There were 78,748 households, of which 36.8% had children under 18 living with them, 56.7% 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 ...

living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households had an individual who was 65 years of age or older, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90, and the average family size was 3.40.

Ages

The median age was 30.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

Income and employment

As of the 2010 census, the median income for a household in the county was $62,036, and the median income for a family was $71,359. Males had a median income of $49,081 versus $34,954 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 $25,275. 12.1% of the population and 8.7% of families 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 ...

. Out of the total population, 15.4% of those under 18 and 8.5% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line. The 2000 census found the median income for a household in the county was $44,014, and the median income for a family was $49,724. Males had a median income of $36,239 versus $24,719 for females. The

for the county was $18,246. 9.30% of the population and 6.90% of families were below the

. Out of the total population, 11.10% of those under 18 and 5.50% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line. In the 2010 census, 67.0% of people over 16 were in labor, and 33.0% were not in labor. The unemployment rate was 3.2%.

Ancestry

As of 2017, the largest self-identified ancestry groups in Weber County, Utah were: * English (21.6%) * German (10.5%) * "American" (7.5%) * Irish (6.1%) * Scottish (4.1%) * Danish (3.9%) * Italian (3.6%) * Dutch (3.1%) * Swedish (3.0%) * Welsh (1.9%) * Norwegian (1.9%)

Politics and Government

Like most of Utah, Weber County voters usually vote Republican. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. The closest a Democrat has come to winning the county since then was in 1996 when

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 again ...

lost by 10.7 percent to

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his t ...

Education

Tertiary institutions and organizations of education in Weber County: *

Ogden–Weber Technical College Ogden–Weber Technical College (also referred to as OTECH, Ogden-Weber Tech or OWTC) is a public technical college in Ogden, Utah. It is one of the largest of the eight technical colleges within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE). The c ...

The two K-12 school districts in the county are

Ogden City School District Ogden City School District is the school district serving Ogden, Utah, United States. The superintendent, as of July 2021, is Luke Rasmussen. The district was established in 1849. It is an inner-city district, enriched by multicultural diversity ...

and

Weber School District Weber School District () is a public school district located in Weber County, Utah, United States. The district covers all of Weber County, except the city of Ogden (which has its own district). History The district's origins reach as far back ...

.
Text list
/ref> There is also a state-operated school,

Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) is a state education agency of Utah that educates blind and deaf children. It includes a boarding and day school in Ogden, Utah, Ogden, which has the USDB headquarters, and sites in Salt Lake City and ...

Communities

Cities

* Farr West * Harrisville * Hooper * Marriott-Slaterville * North Ogden * Ogden (county seat) * Plain City * Pleasant View * Riverdale * Roy *

South Ogden South Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States with 17,199 residents. The population was 16,532 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is Russell L. Por ...

* Uintah * Washington Terrace *

West Haven West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Towns

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

Townships

* Reese * Warren *

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

* West Weber

Census-designated places

* Eden *

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Wolf Creek Wolf Creek may refer to: Bodies of water Missouri * Wolf Creek (Beaver Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (Cane Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (Cave Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (Elkhorn Creek tributary) * Wolf Creek (South Grand River tributary) * ...

Census county division

Unincorporated communities

* Nordic Valley * Taylor

Notable residents

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an American film director and editor associated with the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. Before his career as a director Ashby edited films for Norman Jewison, notably ''The R ...

- film director *

Rodney Bagley Rodney D. Bagley (October 2, 1934-April 13, 2023) was an engineer and co-inventor of the catalytic converter. Rodney Bagley was born in Ogden, Utah, on 2 October 1934. He earned a B.S. in geological engineering in 1960, and a PhD in ceramic engin ...

- developed catalytic converter *

Gilbert Belnap Gilbert Belnap (December 22, 1821 - February 26, 1899) was a Mormon pioneer, 19th-century local level leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and an early colonizer of Ogden, Utah, Fort Lemhi, Idaho and Hooper, Utah. Biography ...

- pioneer, sheriff of Weber County 1862-1870 *

Solon Borglum Solon Hannibal de la Mothe Borglum (December 22, 1868 – January 31, 1922) was an American sculptor. He is most noted for his depiction of frontier life, and especially his experience with cowboys and native Americans. He was awarded the Croix ...

- sculptor *

Fawn M. Brodie Fawn McKay Brodie (September 15, 1915 – January 10, 1981) was an American biographer and one of the first female professors of history at UCLA, who is best known for ''Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History'' (1974), a work of psychobiography, ...

- historian *

John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms many of which are still in use around the world. He m ...

- firearms manufacturer *

Bernard DeVoto Bernard Augustine DeVoto (January 11, 1897 – November 13, 1955) was an American historian, conservationist, essayist, columnist, teacher, editor, and reviewer. He was the author of a series of Pulitzer-Prize-winning popular histories of the Ame ...

- historian * David Eccles - businessman * Lester Herrick - pioneer, sheriff of Weber County in 1860 * Jefferson Hunt - founded Huntsville * J. Willard Marriott - businessman *

Herbert B. Maw Herbert Brown Maw (March 11, 1893 – November 17, 1990) was an American politician and educator who was the eighth governor of Utah. He served as governor from 1941 to 1949. He was a Democrat and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of ...

- Utah governor *

David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...

Olene S. Walker Olene Walker (née Smith; November 15, 1930 – November 28, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Utah from 2003 to 2005, succeeding the governorship after Mike Leavitt's resignation. A member of the Republican Par ...

- Utah governor

References

External links

Ogden County Official Website

Ogden/Weber

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

Ogden/Weber Convention/Visitors Bureau

Envision Ogden
Outdoor recreation directory

from the ''Utah History Encyclopedia'' at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Weber Pathways
Public trails in Weber County.
Ogden Valley Pathways
Public trails in Weber County focused on Ogden Valley.
Weber County Library
{{Coord, 41.30, -111.92, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-UT_source:UScensus1990 1850 establishments in Utah Territory Populated places established in 1850 Wasatch Front