Wales is a town in Sanpete 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 population was 338 at the 2020 census. The town is governed by a mayor and several council members. As of December 2008, Wales had no stores, gas stations, or stoplights. It does have a park, fire station, library and cemetery.

Description

The small mining town of Wales was named for the country of the immigrants sent there by

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 h ...

in 1854 to mine the "rock that burns". A Native American named Tabison, a prominent

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

, had shown Young, then president of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, a small sample. Young recognized it as coal and asked if his group knew how to mine it. Some Welsh immigrants, including John Evans Rees and his cousin John Price, who had experience with coal mining in the U.K., volunteered and were sent to the west side hills to set up mines. The community's original name was Coal Bed, but was changed to Wales in 1857. There once was a railroad depot, an essential and busy mining center. The mines and trains were abandoned when more productive mines were discovered in Scofield. Many of the present residents are descendants of the original miners. Wales lies on the west side of the Sanpete Valley, at the foot of the San Pitch Mountains.

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 town has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.8 km²), 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, 219 people, 64 households, and 54 families residing in the town. 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 731.4 people per square mile (281.9/km2). There were 84 housing units at an average density of 280.5 per square mile (108.1/km2). The town's racial makeup was 97.26%

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 ...

, 0.46%

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 ...

, 1.83% from other races, and 0.46% 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 7.31% of the population. There were 64 households, out of which 43.8% had children under 18 living with them, 78.1% 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, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.1% were non-families. 12.5% of all households comprised individuals, and 6.3% had someone who was 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 3.42, and the average family size was 3.73. The town's population was spread out, with 34.2% under 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $35,313, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $16,250 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 town was $9,885. About 3.7% of families and 6.0% 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 8.8% of those under eighteen and 19.0% of those 65 or over.

Education

It is in the North Sanpete School District.
Text list
/ref> The district operates North Sanpete High School.

References

External links