Sevier County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 21,522. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is Richfield. Pando, a clonal quaking

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

stand, that, according to some sources, is the oldest (80,000 years) and largest (106 acres, 13 million pounds) organism on Earth, is located in this county.

History

Evidence of indigenous peoples residing in Sevier County up to 5,000 BP has been unearthed. The Fremont culture of Native Americans occupied the area from about 2000 to 700 BP. The Clear Creek site contains native

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s from that period. In Utah, the Numic- (or Shoshonean) speaking peoples of the Uto-Aztecan language family evolved into four distinct groups in the historical period: the

Northern Shoshone Northern Shoshone are Shoshone of the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho and the northeast of the Great Basin where Idaho, Wyoming and Utah meet. They are culturally affiliated with the Bannock people and are in the Indigenous people of the Grea ...

, Goshute or Western Shoshone, Southern Paiute, and

Ute people Ute () are an Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin, Indigenous people of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau in present-day Utah, western Colorado, and northern New Mexico.Pritkzer''A Native American Encyclopedia'' p. 242 Historically, their t ...

s. This territory's central and eastern sections were occupied primarily by various bands of the Ute. The first modern sighting of the Sevier River was most likely by the Catholic fathers Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Domínguez, on their expedition to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1776. The Old Spanish Trail was the route they mapped. Over the next century, this trail carried

fur trapper A fur is a Softness, soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching t ...

s, hunters, government officials, traders, and settlers. Settlement of this area began when Richfield was first settled. Mormon settlers (

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

) arrived on June 15, 1864, most of whom had emigrated from Scandinavian countries. Because of the growth in this small community, the people soon petitioned

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 st ...

officials about a separate county. On January 16, 1865, the Utah Territory legislature created the county, with the area annexed from Sanpete County. It was named for the Sevier River. The county seat was Big Spring (later named Richfield). The county borders were adjusted in 1866, 1880, 1890, and in 1921. A clarification of boundary lines corresponding to government survey lines was completed in 1931, marking the present configuration of Sevier County. Although the county was in place by 1865, much of Sevier County was abandoned in the Black Hawk War in 1867. Attempts to resettle the area were not successful until 1870. By 1874, 753 residents lived in the area.

Geography

Sevier County terrain consists of semi-arid but arable rolling areas punctuated by northeast–southwest mountain ridges, usually forested.''Sevier County UT'' Google Maps (accessed 29 March 2019)
/ref> The highest point is Fish Lake Hightop in the Central Utah Plateau, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Sanpete County – north * Emery County – east * Wayne County – southeast * Piute County – south * Beaver County – southwest * Millard County – west

Protected areas

Capitol Reef National Park Capitol Reef National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in south-central Utah. The park is approximately long on its northsouth axis and just wide on average. The park was established in ...

(part) *

Fishlake National Forest Fishlake National Forest is a United States National Forest, U.S. National Forest located in south central Utah. The namesake for the forest is Fish Lake (Utah), Fish Lake, the largest freshwater mountain lake in the state. Wildlife Animals tha ...

(part) * Fremont Indian State Park and Museum * Koosharem Reservoir Recreation Site * Manti-La Sal National Forest (part) * Sand Ledges Recreation Area * Willow Creek Wildlife Management Area

Lakes

* Abes Reservoir * Acord Lakes * Annabella Reservoir * Bear Valley Reservoir * Big Lake * Boobe Hole Reservoir * Broadhead Lakes * Cold Spring (near Twin Ponds) * Coots Slough * Crater Lakes * Davis Hollow Reservoir * Deep Lake * Duck Lake * Emerald Lakes * Farnsworth Reservoir * Farrell Pond * Fish Lake * Floating Island Lake * Forsyth Reservoir * Gardner Hollow Reservoirs * Gates Lake * Hamilton Reservoir * Harves River Reservoir * Hepplers Ponds * Hunts Lakes * Indian Springs * Jeffery Reservoir * Jensen Spring * Johnson Valley Reservoir * Killian Spring * Koosharem Reservoir * Lake Louise * Lost Creek Reservoir * Lower Hunts Lake * Magelby Reservoir * Meeks Lake * Mill Meadow Reservoir (part) * Morrell Pond * Mud Lake * Oles Pond * Ox Spring * Paradise Valley Lake * Redmond Lake * Rex Reservoir * Rim Seep * Rocky Ford Reservoir * Saleratus Reservoir * Salina Reservoir * Sargent Lake * Scrub Flat Reservoir * Sheep Valley Reservoir * Silas Spring * Skutumpah Reservoir * Slide Lake * Snow Fence Pond * Snow Lake * Solomon Reservoir * Spring Reservoir * The Potholes * Three Creeks Reservoir * Three Lakes (two of the three) * Tidwell Pond * Twin Lake * Twin Ponds * Washburn Reservoir * Willies Flat Reservoir * Willow Creek Reservoir * Willow Lake * Wood Hollow Reservoir

Demographics

2020 census

According to the 2020 United States census and 2020 American Community Survey, there were 21,522 people in Sevier County with a

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 ...

of 11.3 people per square mile (4.3/km²). Among non- Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 19,396 (90.1%)

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 ...

, 65 (0.3%)

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 ...

, 313 (1.5%) Native American, 40 (0.2%) Asian, 49 (0.2%)

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 ...

, 49 (0.2%) from other races, and 557 (2.6%) from two or more races. 1,053 (4.9%) people were Hispanic or Latino. There were 10,870 (50.51%) males and 10,652 (49.49%) females, and the population distribution by age was 6,449 (30.0%) under the age of 18, 11,325 (52.6%) from 18 to 64, and 3,748 (17.4%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 36.3 years. There were 7,464 households in Sevier County with an average size of 2.88 of which 5,555 (74.4%) were families and 1,909 (25.6%) were non-families. Among all families, 4,491 (60.2%) 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 ...

, 362 (4.8%) were male householders with no spouse, and 702 (9.4%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 1,640 (22.0%) were a single person living alone and 269 (3.6%) were two or more people living together. 2,777 (37.2%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 5,752 (77.1%) of households were owner-occupied while 1,712 (22.9%) were renter-occupied. The median income for a Sevier County household was $55,361 and the median family income was $62,058, with a per-capita income of $24,041. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $50,183 and for females $36,000. 14.3% of the population and 12.3% 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 ...

. In terms of education attainment, out of the 13,469 people in Sevier County 25 years or older, 1,206 (9.0%) had not completed high school, 4,206 (31.2%) had a

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

or equivalency, 5,242 (38.9%) had some college or

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

, 1,931 (14.3%) had a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, and 884 (6.6%) had a graduate or

professional degree A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...

Features

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

runs through the county. As Richfield is about halfway between the major cities of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Denver, Colorado 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 ...

, it has built a hospitality industry, with motels and restaurants serving travelers. Fremont Indian State Park is found in the Clear Creek Canyon, adjacent to I-70. It is noted for its archaeological remains from the ancient Native American Fremont culture. Its museum displays found artifacts.

Politics

Sevier County is traditionally Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

Communities

Cities

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

* Monroe * Richfield (county seat) * Salina

Towns

Annabella Annabella, Anabella, or Anabela is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Annabella of Scotland (c. 1433–1509), daughter of King James I *Annabella (actress) (1907–1996), stage name of French actress Suzanne Georgette C ...

* Central Valley * Elsinore * Glenwood *

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

* Koosharem * Redmond *

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

Unincorporated communities

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

* Burrville *

Cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

Gooseberry Gooseberry ( or (American and northern British) or (southern British)) is a common name for many species of ''Ribes'' (which also includes Ribes, currants), as well as a large number of plants of similar appearance, and also several unrela ...

* Nibley * Sevier *

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Former communities

* Prattville * Vermillion (absorbed into

)

Education

All of the county is in the Sevier School District.
Text list
/ref>

References

External links

* {{authority control 1865 establishments in Utah Territory Populated places established in 1865