Gunnison is a city in the Sevier Valley in southwestern

Sanpete County Sanpete County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 28,437. Its county seat is Manti, and its largest city is Ephraim. The county was created in 1850. History The Sanpete Valley m ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, United States. The population was 3,509 at the 2020 census. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer who surveyed for the transcontinental railroad in 1853.

History

2007 gas spill

In the summer of 2007, over of gasoline leaked from a storage tank beneath the Top Stop gas station, located on the corner of South Main and East Center and owned by Wind River Petroleum. The gasoline leaked throughout the soil beneath South Main Street and eventually throughout the southwest side of town, contaminating businesses and homes. On August 10, 2007, local and state officials ordered the temporary evacuation of an entire Main Street block, heavily populated with businesses, because of the fumes from the gasoline leak. In the weeks following, Wasatch Environmental installed underground soil-ventilation systems. Several businesses, including the Top Stop, permanently closed, and some homes were evacuated. Gunnison City, along with several businesses and residents, filed suit against Wind River Petroleum over the handling of the gas leak. As of 2010, approximately $3 million ($1 million from a state cleanup fund, $2 million from Wind River Petroleum) had been spent on the cleanup, which is expected to last a decade. Gunnison City recently completed a Main Street rehabilitation project valued at over $1 million.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,394 people, 513 households, and 410 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was 451.9 people per square mile (174.4/km²). There were 549 housing units at an average density of 103.6 per square mile (40.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.35%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.84%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.51% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.58%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 3.97% from other races, and 8.00% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7.10% of the population. There were 513 households, out of which 45.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older. The average household size was 3.12, and the average family size was 3.59. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 197.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 240.6 males. The startling ratio of women to men is due to the presence of the

Central Utah Correctional Facility The Central Utah Correctional Facility (CUCF, also known as the Central Utah Correctional Facility - Gunnison Prison) is a prison in Gunnison, Utah, Gunnison, Utah, United States, that is one of two prisons managed by the Utah Department of Corre ...

, located one half mile northeast of downtown Gunnison. This state-run prison opened in 1990, has a capacity of 1500 inmates, and currently houses only male offenders. The median income for a household in the city was $33,147, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $27,207 versus $23,958 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $14,537. About 9.8% of families and 11.0% 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 ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those aged 65 or over.

Education

Gunnison is located in the

South Sanpete School District South Sanpete School District is a public school district in the U.S. state of Utah. The district provides education for students in the southern half of Sanpete County. The offices for the district are located in Manti. There are three elementa ...

,
Text list
/ref> and has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school, Gunnison Valley High School, (all of which are known as Gunnison Valley).

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Utah Cities in Sanpete County, Utah Populated places established in 1859 1859 establishments in Utah Territory