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Magna ( ) is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in Salt Lake County,
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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The current population of the city stands at 29,251 according to the 2020 census, a 10.4% increase over 26,505 in 2010.


History


Settlement

Settlement of the area began in 1851 shortly after pioneers reached the
Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Utah, Murray, Sandy, Uta ...
. Early farmers settled in 1868 at the base of the northern
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– ...
and called their community Pleasant Green. By 1900, there were about 20 families in the area. One of the first Pleasant Green farmers was Abraham Coon, who established a livestock ranch and settlement called Coonville in a canyon mouth at about 5400 South now known as Coon Canyon. Coon Creek flows out of Coon Canyon and is one of the major Oquirrh Mountain drainages. Coon Creek flows north and west through Magna to 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, partic ...
. The Pleasant Green Cemetery located in the
Oquirrh Oquirrh is a census-designated place (CDP) in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County, Utah, located on the slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains that gave it its name. Oquirrh was once part of Kearns, Utah, Kearns, UT. Through annexation, the city of ...
foothills, at about 3500 South, was established in 1883. In 1890, in response to a law requiring all children to receive free
public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
, the first school was built in the community.


1900-1960

In the early 1900s,
copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...
activity in the Oquirrhs began transforming the Pleasant Green area from an agricultural
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
to an industrial community. D.C. Jackling established the Utah Copper Company, which later became Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1906, the company began constructing its Magna Mill. Jackling chose the name "Magna" from the Latin word meaning "great" or "superior". Beginning in 1903, Magna saw a large influx of
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
immigrants, primarily prompted by coal mine strikes in Carbon County, Utah and
Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
. This group eventually established a thriving Greektown and community. The formation of Magna's Greektown coincided with that of the forming of
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, happening only about 15 miles to the east. Boston Consolidated Copper constructed a second mill in the area in 1909. In 1911, the companies merged and the mill was renamed, Arthur Mill. Construction workers lived in a temporary settlement known as Ragtown. Several substantial homes were built in the tent city and later moved to the present community. As the mills began operating, some local farmers traded in their plows for a steady company paycheck and began moving in to work at the mills. In 1914, Renald Woolley, the Post Master of the township, petitioned to have the Pleasant Green post office changed to Magna because of confusion with other towns such as Pleasant Grove. The petition was accepted and in a meeting above his store, the locals accepted the name of Magna for the town and post office, on October 19, 1915. (see West Valley View, June 9, 1983). By 1909, the Hawthorne School (no longer standing) had been built in the eastern Magna area. In 1908, the Webster School (destroyed by fire and demolished in June 2004) was built at the west end of what is now Main Street. In 1924, the first building of the present Cyprus High School was completed. Over the years, buildings and additions have been constructed on the campus. At the time, commuting to work by automobile was not practical. Few mineworkers had cars and cross valley roads were in marginal condition. Workers lived in the town and walked to the mills. Downtown Magna included churches, saloons, fraternal halls, and stores. Several small neighborhoods, such as Greektown, Japantown, Snaketown, and Little Italy, developed around Main Street. Many early residents were immigrants, primarily from
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
, but Magna was not a mining town. In 1914, an Italian woman by the name of Anna Carrone settled here and met
coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...
Rocco Polidori. They became a couple and moved to
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and went on to found the meat company Polidori Sausage. Between 1915 and 1960, the town's fortunes fluctuated with the copper industry. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the mills shut down for a period, and workers were laid off. Around 1940, there was a resurgence as the pending war boosted copper demand. Growth continued after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and throughout the 1960s.


1960-1980

By the 1960s, the community was experiencing the first signs of a suburban transition. The Hercules Powder Co., once a small dynamite manufacturing firm had begun producing rocket motors at its Bacchus Works plant, south of the Magna community, named after 1912 founder T.W. Bacchus. The increased jobs were one factor that encouraged subdivision development in the Magna, Kearns, and West Valley City areas. In 1961, the voters in the Magna Improvement District (now the Magna Water and Sewer District) approved a bond that financed a sewage treatment plant, water storage tanks, pumps, and well development. The improvements created sufficient capacity to serve more than double the population at the time and helped open the way for development. Not only did Magna's population begin shifting southward during the 1960s, but also automobile commuting, both to work and shopping, became common. As business activity moved to other areas, Main Street slowly began to deteriorate. Presently, some of the commercial space there is vacant. During the 1970s, as part of a general west valley suburbanization trend, the community experienced more dramatic growth. Inexpensive land south and east of the historic town center began being developed into moderately priced single-family homes. The new neighborhoods tended to attract middle-income
working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
couples with younger families. While the community had grown from approximately 8,900 in 1960 to 10,000 in 1970, the population had increased to over 23,000 by 2000. This increase is about double the countywide growth rate.


1980-present

The process for Magna to become a township took over 10 years. Growth and development continue to define Magna. The West Bench plan for the redevelopment of mining land should have a major impact on the future of Magna. Kennecott Land plans major development in the areas immediately surrounding Magna. The area west of Magna along
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...
is currently slated to become one of 2 major "urban centers" for Kennecott Land's west bench development plan. The Historic Main Street underwent a major remodel in 2006. Main Street has also become a popular location for filmmakers. including the Disney corporation, and films such as
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
's TV movie, '' Dadnapped'', and some of the '' Halloweentown'' movies filmed on Magna Main Street. A two-part episode (and
series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...
) of the TV series ''
Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...
'', "I'll Walk with You". The popular TV series '' Granite Flats'' also uses some of the Magna locations in part of the series. Disney's series 'Andi Mack' is also filmed in Magna. On March 18, 2020, Magna was the site of the epicenter for the 5.7 magnitude earthquake 2020 Salt Lake City Earthquake. The quake was followed by more than 850 aftershocks. The temblor struck at approximately 7:10 am, and was felt strongly across the Wasatch Front. Damage was light, although several historic buildings with unreinforced brick walls suffered damage. On May 1, 2024, Magna was officially promoted from a metro township to a city, as a result of Utah's House Bill 35, passed in February of that year.


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. The community lies just to the northeast of 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– ...
and is directly south of 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, partic ...
.


Demographics

According to estimates from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute of the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, as of 2015, there were 27,451 people in Magna. The racial makeup of the county was 69.76% non-Hispanic
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 ...
, 0.30%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
, 0.48% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.37%
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 ...
, and 1.95% from two or more races. 25.64% of the population were
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.


Education

Magna lies within the Granite School District and is home to 5 elementary schools, Copper Hills, Elk Run, Lake Ridge, Magna, and Pleasant Green. It also has Matheson Junior High, and Cyprus High School, whose sports teams compete in 5A-level competition (1A being the lowest and 6A the highest). The former Brockbank Junior High was closed in 2016 and combined with the Cyprus High campus.


Economy

Northrop Grumman has a solid rocket motor manufacturing plant in Magna.https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-invests-in-new-solid-rocket-motor-manufacturing-facilities-in-magna-utah


Transportation

Magna lies on the grid system of the Salt Lake Valley, between 7200 and 9200 West and 2100 and 4100 South. SR-201 runs along the northern border as an expressway and intersects with
I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...
to the west. West 3500 South ( SR-171) is the major east–west local road, while South 8400 West ( SR-111) is the major north–south road. The
Utah Transit Authority The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Utah, Ogden, Park City, U ...
(UTA) operates bus route 35 (3500 South) within the community, which enters from West Valley City. The bus route goes from UTA's Millcreek TRAX station on West 3300 South/3500 South all the way to 8400 West in Magna, between which it passes by the beginning of the TRAX Green Line (which connects with the Salt Lake City International Airport, via
Downtown Salt Lake City Downtown (also called City Center) is the oldest district in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The grid plan, grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple. Location Downtown S ...
the West Valley Central station by the Valley Fair Mall. Although the 3500 South bus route stops at South 8400 West in Magna, the bus also loops around other places in Magna, including the majority of Magna Main Street. The 3500 South route runs every 15 minutes on the weekdays, as opposed to a majority of the UTA bus routes which run every half-hour to an hour.


Mass media

''The Magna Times'' was a local weekly
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...
community newspaper that is based and published in Magna. In 2009, it had a circulation of Arbor 4,000 copies.


Culture

Magna is home to The Empress Theatre. Due to its historical significance, the theatre was added to the National Register for Historic Places on May 9, 1985
National Register #85000962
. Downtown Magna was used as a central filming location for the hit Disney Channel series ''
Andi Mack ''Andi Mack'' is an American family comedy-drama television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on April 7, 2017. It ran for three seasons and 57 episodes, concluding on July 26, 2019. The series stars Peyton Elizab ...
''. "The Spoon" Diner, a popular location for Andi and her friends to eat at, was actually made specifically for the show.


Notable people

* Gary Andersen, head football coach,
Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...
* Parley Parker Christensen, Utah and California politician, Esperantist. Teacher in Murray. * Nathaniel Coleman, 2020 Olympic silver-medalist in men's combined sport climbing. * Emily S. Richards, national suffrage leader.cite news, Last=Delliskave, first=Shaun, Date=Jan 22, 2020, title=Murray suffragettes who helped earn women the right to vote , newspaper=Murray City Journal, url=https://www.murrayjournal.com/2020/01/22/295068/murray-suffragettes-who-helped-earn-women-the-right-to-vote


See also

*
List of municipalities in Utah Utah is a U.S. state, state located in the Western United States. , there are 253 Municipal corporation, municipalities in the U.S. state of Utah. A municipality is called a Town#Utah, town if the population is under 1,000 people, and a City#U ...
*
Clair Huffaker Clair Huffaker (September 26, 1926 – April 3, 1990) was an American screenwriter and author of westerns and other fiction, many of which were turned into films. Biography Born in Magna, Utah, Huffaker wrote of his childhood in ''One Time ...
* Kennecott Utah Copper


References


Sources

* * * The Magna Community Master Plan, Salt Lake County Public Works Department Planning Division, February 1989. * Magna Town Council


Further reading

* (1994
"Copper Mining"
article in th
''Utah History Encyclopedia''.
The article was written by Philip F. Notarianni and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived fro
the original
on November 3, 2022, and retrieved on October 2, 2024.


External links

*
Magna Chamber of Commerce

Magna Town Council

Art in Magna
{{authority control 2001 establishments in Utah Wasatch Front Cities in Salt Lake County, Utah Former census-designated places in Utah Salt Lake City metropolitan area Mining communities in Utah Cities in Utah