Beaver, Utah
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Beaver is a city in, and
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 st ...
of, Beaver County in southwestern
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 it ...
, United States. The population was 3,112 at the 2010 census.


History

Indigenous peoples lived in this area for thousands of years, as shown by archeological evidence. A number of identified prehistoric sites have been found in Beaver County, dating to the Archaic and Sevier Fremont periods. A prehistoric
obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
quarry site has been identified in the nearby Mineral Mountains. The historic
Southern Paiute The Southern Paiute people are a tribe of Native Americans who have lived in the Colorado River basin of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, and southern Utah. Bands of Southern Paiute live in scattered locations throughout this territory and ha ...
inhabited the region well before encountering the first European explorers. The 1776 Dominguez–Escalante Expedition is the first known European exploration in this area. In 1847–1848, Mormons from the United States developed a trade route through the Beaver River valley between their new settlements at
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
in the Utah Territory and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, which was still part of
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The original route crossed the river three miles downstream from Beaver at the site that later was developed as Greenville. This route became known during the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
as the Southern Route of the
California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
. Later called the
Mormon Road Mormon Road, also known to the 49ers as the Southern Route, of the California Trail in the Western United States, was a seasonal wagon road pioneered by a Mormon party from Salt Lake City, Utah led by Jefferson Hunt, that followed the route of S ...
or California Road, it passed over the Black Mountains between the crossing and Muley Point. Following the United States' victory in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
(1846–1848), it took over California and the Southwest. In 1855, as part of improvements, the Mormon Road over the Black Mountains was realigned eastward. It was routed from the site that developed as Beaver to Muley Point through more wagon-friendly terrain in
Nevershine Hollow Nevershine Hollow is a valley east of the South Hills, in Beaver County, Utah. The mouth of the valley is at an elevation of . Its head is at an elevation of 6,500 feet at , north of Beaver Ridge. History Nevershine Hollow was on the new 1855 cut ...
and over Beaver Ridge into the canyon of
Fremont Wash Fremont Wash sometimes called Fremont Canyon in its upper reach, is a stream and a valley in the north end of Parowan Valley, in Iron County, Utah. Its mouth lies at its confluence with Little Salt Lake at an elevation of 5,686 feet / 1,733 meter ...
, rejoining the original road above Muley Point. This road became a winter commercial wagon road, known in California as the Los Angeles – Salt Lake Road, and in Mormon settlements in
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 it ...
and
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
(now southern Nevada) as the California Road. Beaver was settled in 1856 by
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 S ...
traveling this road; it was one of a string of Mormon settlements along the road through Utah. By design, these settlements were located a day's ride on horseback apart, which explains the regularity of their spacing. They were generally apart. Where intervening settlements failed or were absorbed, they became apart. Beaver was developed between the settlements in the Pahvant Valley and those in the
Parowan Valley Parowan Valley, originally known as the Little Salt Lake Valley, is a basin in Iron County, Utah, United States. Description Its lowest point is at in the Little Salt Lake. Fremont Wash, Red Creek, Parowan Creek and other tributaries all ...
. In 1873 the US Army established Fort Cameron, two miles from Beaver, because of Indian raids on the area Mormon settlements. To serve this isolated area, the territorial government placed the Second Judicial Court of the Utah Territory in Beaver from 1870 until 1896, when Utah became a state. Also included in this court's jurisdiction were Iron,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, Kane,
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...
, and Piute counties. In 1856, Mormons migrated to the Beaver Valley from
Parowan Parowan ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census, and in 2018 the estimated population was 3,100. Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A ...
to the south. George A. Smith called a council meeting in February 1856, and the men elected Simeon F. Howd as presiding elder and Edward W. Thompson, clerk. In 1858, numerous migrants from
San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
, settled here. In December 1859, W. W. Willis and P. K. Smith were authorized by the council to build a sawmill and gristmill on North Creek, and given control of all water on the mill site. By 1869, the Mormon settlers in Beaver were numerous enough to organize a stake. The first stake president was
John Murdock John Murdock may refer to: *John R. Murdock (politician) John Robert Murdock (April 20, 1885 – February 14, 1972) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Arizona. Born in homestead near Lewistown, Missouri, Mu ...
. During the 1870s, settlers made an effort to establish a woolen mill, a tannery, and a dairy industry. Most were engaged in stock raising. Beaver was the first town in Utah to be electrified. A
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
generation plant was constructed on the Beaver River early in the 20th century. The plant continues to provide a large part of Beaver's power requirements today. Although, contrary to popular belief, it is not locally referred to as "
Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way t ...
!" In 2006, Beaver won a contest for best tasting rural water in the United States. In 2010, Beaver took top honors in the world for best tasting water. Its welcome billboards along I-15 highlight the water quality.


Geography

Beaver is located in eastern Beaver County, along
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...
, the main artery for the state. To the east of Beaver lie the
Tushar Mountains The Tushar Mountains are the third-highest mountain range in Utah after the Uinta Mountains and the La Sal Range. Located in the Fishlake National Forest, Delano Peak, 12,174 ft (3,711 m) NAVD 88, is the highest point in both Beaver and P ...
. The peaks in these mountains rise to over . The Beaver River flows out of the mountains and through the city of Beaver, passing south of downtown before continuing west towards Minersville and the
Escalante Desert The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin region and arid desert ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in southwestern Utah. Geography The Escalante Desert is northwest of Cedar City in Iron County, Utah, and ext ...
basin. The Mineral Mountains rise to the west of Beaver, and the South Hills are to the south. Interstate 15 runs along the western edge of Beaver, with access from exits 109 and 112. I-15 leads north to the western end of
Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...
at
Cove Fort Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley (the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley) at the request of Brigham Young. One of its distinctive ...
, to Fillmore, and to
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
and south to
Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...
, to St George, and to
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
Utah State Route 153 State Route 153 (SR-153) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah. Just over half of the western portion of the highway has been designated the Beaver Canyon Scenic Byway as part of the Utah Scenic Byways and National Forest Scenic Byways p ...
heads east from Beaver across the Tushar Mountains to
Junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
, and
Utah State Route 21 State Route 21 (SR-21) is a state highway in western Utah, running for in Millard and Beaver Counties from the Nevada state line near Garrison to Beaver. Route description SR-21 begins at the Nevada state line as a continuation of Nevada St ...
runs west through the Beaver River Valley to Minersville. The
American Discovery Trail The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tra ...
runs through Beaver. An important Beaver landmark is the
hillside letter Hillside letters or mountain monograms are a form of geoglyph (more specifically hill figures) common in the Western United States, consisting of large single letters, abbreviations, or messages emblazoned on hillsides, typically created and main ...
B, which is visible from the freeway (). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.


Climate

Beaver has a typical Intermountain Region cool semi-arid climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSk''), bordering on a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfb''), with summers characterized by hot days and chilly nights, and cold winters with moderate snowfall. During the summer, days are hot and usually dry, though on occasions, as in July 1936 – the wettest month on record with –
monsoonal A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
weather can bring heavy thunderstorms from the Gulf of California. Owing to the absence of cloudiness caused by the Great Salt Lake, nights are much cooler than in Salt Lake City or Ogden during this season. The hottest recorded temperature in Beaver is , which has occurred twice on June 21, 1913 and July 26, 1931, and 23.3 days will on average top , although the hottest monthly mean minimum is only in July 1968. Winters are cold, though not severe, and generally dry, with the city's intermountain valley location making it sufficiently dry that only of snowfall can be expected each winter. Typically temperatures fall below freezing on all but six nights during winter and on 193.7 nights during an entire year; however maxima will top freezing on all but 14.3 afternoons. Temperatures below occur on 9.8 nights per winter, and the coldest temperature on record is on February 9, 1933 during an exceptionally cold western winter. The most snowfall has been at least between July 1948 and June 1949, and the most in a month during the notoriously cold January 1949 which averaged a record low with mean minimum as low as ; by way of contrast, no measurable snow fell during the mild, dry winter of 1962–63. The wettest calendar year has been 1936 with and the driest 1956 with ; the most in one day being on September 20, 1911.


Government


Local Government

Beaver uses a city council with five council members and a mayor. The city also has a city manager who runs day-to-day business affairs. The current city mayor, council members, and city manager are: * Mayor: Matt Robinson * Council Members: Lance Cox, Tyler Schena, Alison Webb, Hal Murdock, Robin Bradshaw * City manager: Jason Brown.


Demographics

As of 2010, the total population of Beaver was 3,112, which is 26.81% more than it was in 2000. The population growth rate is higher than the state average rate of 23.77% and is much higher than the national average rate of 9.71%. The Beaver population density is 479.56 people per square mile, which is much higher than the state average density of 32.56 people per square mile and is much higher than the national average density of 81.32 people per square mile. The most prevalent race in Beaver is white, which represent 88.37% of the total population. The average Beaver education level is lower than the state average and is lower than the national average. As of the census of 2000, 2,454 people, 856 households, and 653 families resided in the city. The population density was 535.5 people per square mile (206.9/km). The 1,021 housing units averaged 222.8 per square mile (86.1/km). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 94.74% White, 0.53% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 3.06% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 5.05% of the population. Of the 856 households, 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were not families. About 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84, and the average family size was 3.33. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 32.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,646, and for a family was $37,933. Males had a median income of $29,485 versus $17,159 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 city was $14,412. About 6.7% of families and 8.6% 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 t ...
, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Butch Cassidy, born in Beaver, became a notorious outlaw in the American West. * Betty Compson, was born in Beaver March 3, 1897. She was an early motion picture star of such films as ''The Pony Express'' (1925). *
Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer. He made many crucial contributions to the early development of all-electronic television. He is best known for his 1927 invention of t ...
, inventor of several critical electronic devices that made television possible and of the Farnsworth–Hirsch
fusor A fusor is a device that uses an electric field to heat ions to nuclear fusion conditions. The machine induces a voltage between two metal cages, inside a vacuum. Positive ions fall down this voltage drop, building up speed. If they collide in ...
, a small nuclear fusion device.Burns, R. W. (1998), ''Television: An international history of the formative years''. IET History of Technology Series, 22. London
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
p. 370. .
*
Ida Hunt Udall Ida Frances Hunt Udall (March 8, 1858 – April 26, 1915) was an American diarist, homesteader, and teacher in Utah Territory, territorial Utah and Arizona Territory, Arizona. A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ...
, born March 8, 1858 in Iron County, spent most of her childhood and adolescence in Beaver. In adulthood she became a diarist and homesteader.


See also

*
List of cities and towns in Utah A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Beaver County, Utah Cities in Utah County seats in Utah Populated places established in 1856 Mormon Road