Monticello ( ) is a city located in San Juan County,

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 its ...

, United States and is the

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 ...

. It is the second most populous city in San Juan County, with a population of 1,972 at the 2010 census. The Monticello area was settled in July 1887 by pioneers from

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 Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. Monticello, named in honor of Thomas Jefferson's estate,"Monticello,"
Utah Place Names. Van Cott, John W. Salt Lake City, Utah : University of Utah. University of Utah Press, 1990. became the county seat in 1895 and was incorporated as a city in 1910. Monticello, along with much of San Juan County, experienced an increase in population and economic activity during the

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

boom from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Several uranium and

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pass ...

mines were opened in the area, and a uranium processing mill was operated in Monticello by the Federal Government from 1948 to 1960."Monticello Mill Tailings," Superfund Program
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. Following the uranium boom, a massive cleanup project was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 to 2004 to remove

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

material from lands and buildings and to restore the land formerly occupied by the mill. An 18-hole golf course, The Hideout, was built near the reclaimed site of the uranium mill using DOE cleanup funding in 2000."The Hideout Golf Club,"
Forrest Richardson & Assoc. Golf Course Architects. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. The Hideout has been ranked the No. 2 Golf Course in Utah"America's Best Courses for Utah,"
Golfweek Magazine, 2005. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. and the No. 23 Municipal Golf Course in the U.S."Golfweek's Best Municipal Courses,"
Golfweek Magazine, May 2009. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. In 1998, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Monticello Utah Temple, the first in a series of mini temples and the 53rd temple for the church. Monticello rests at the base of the Abajo Mountains on the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area o ...

History

The Old Spanish Trail trade route passed through the area of Monticello from 1829 into the 1850s. Monticello was one of the many cities established 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 ...

in the

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 state ...

, which became the State of

. Farming, ranching, and uranium mining have all played an important role in the economy and history of the town.

Settlement

Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began the first full-scale settling of what is now known as San Juan County, Utah. Few white residents had settled along the San Juan River before the arrival of the

from the San Juan Expedition. After passing through Hole-In-The-Rock, the pioneers arrived in the San Juan County area and settled in Bluff on 6 April 1880. In that year, on a journey to northern Utah from the San Juan River settlements, Apostles Erastus Snow and Brigham Young, Jr. passed through the current site of Monticello. They were quite impressed by it, and this encounter was one of the key factors behind LDS settlement there a few years later.Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Salt Lake City: Deseret news Press, 1941) p. 528 After struggling to farm along the unpredictable San Juan River, leaders began to look to settle the higher country at the base of the Abajo Mountains, also known as the Blue Mountains, where several streams and springs descended from the mountain. Piute Springs, Soldier's Spring, and Montezuma Creek were a few of the water sources in the area named by passersby. In March 1886, Francis A. Hammond, the LDS

Stake President A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

(the leading LDS regional authority) of San Juan County, sent scouts from Bluff to identify possible locations for settlements near the water sources of the Blue Mountains. The scouts found that a few people had already begun to utilize the land. The first white man to build a cabin in the Monticello area was likely cattleman Patrick O'Donnell in 1879. The North and South Forks of Montezuma Canyon, through which Montezuma Creek flows, were being utilized when the scouts arrived. The Kansas and New Mexico Cattle and Land Company, operated by Edmund and Harold Carlisle, was located a few miles north of what is now Monticello, and the L.C. outfit was headquartered in the South Fork of Montezuma Canyon. Notwithstanding the fact that others were utilizing the land, Hammond sent the families of George A. Adams, Frederick I. Jones, Parley R. Butt and Charles E. Walton from Bluff to establish a new settlement at what is now Monticello.Historical marker placed at Verdure, UT
by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 8/16/1995. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. They first set up camp at Verdure near the South Fork of Montezuma Creek on March 11, 1887, six miles (10 km) south of what is now Monticello. By the first part of July 1887, the men had begun to plant crops, survey an irrigation ditch, and layout a townsite in the present-day Monticello area. Conflicts soon began with the Carlisle cowboys and Ute Indians over water and land rights, resulting in warning shots, heated disputes, and legal battles. Learning from lawyers that the Carlisles had very little legal claim to any of the region, the Mormons claimed all the water from the South Fork and three-fourths of the water from the North Fork. In the spring of 1888, the Adams and Butt families remained in Verdure while the rest of the settlers moved to North Montezuma and began construction of the town. Early names for the settlement were North Montezuma Creek, Piute Springs, and Hammond, after the stake president. In a formal meeting in 1888, three names were under consideration: North Montezuma, Hammond, and the biblical name, Antioch. None of the names were approved by the younger members of the community. When Hammond recommended Monticello, in honor of Thomas Jefferson's estate, everyone approved and it was accepted.

1900 to 1940

In 1903 the Utah State Agricultural College in Logan established an experimental station in Verdure where various dry-farming techniques were tested for thirteen years. This information spurred the growth of the farming industry in the area. In 1909, the

Enlarged Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

was passed, which provided of non-irrigable land for a small price. New farms began to cover the sagebrush lands north and east of Monticello. Dry farming was a major occupation in the area up through the 1930s and is a vital part of the local economy today. The first phone lines were installed in the community in 1906, tying into Colorado circuits. The Blue Mountain Irrigation Company organized construction of a combined water and power system in 1917. The San Juan Record, the county newspaper, was established in Monticello by

Oscar Walter McConkie Oscar Walter McConkie (May 9, 1887 – April 9, 1966) was a Utah State Senator and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the father of Bruce R. McConkie, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of ...

in 1915, where it remains to this day.

Uranium mining

The Vanadium Corporation of America (VCA) began construction of a

mill in Monticello in 1941 in response to the increased demand for radioactive material brought about by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

."Public Health Assessment: Monticello Mill Tailings (DOE) and Monticello Radioactively Contaminated Properties,"
Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. In 1943, VCA began producing a uranium-vanadium sludge for the Manhattan Engineer District. It employed 200 workers until it closed in 1946. In 1948, the U.S. Federal Government purchased the mill and reopened it in 1949 as a converted uranium and vanadium processing plant. Monticello and the San Juan County area experienced significant growth during the uranium boom of the 1950s. The uranium mines in San Juan County were among the richest in the nation. The Happy Jack Mine, located in White Canyon, San Juan County, was founded by Monticello natives Fletch Bronson and Joe Cooper. The Happy Jack Mine was the second richest deposit of high-grade uranium ore in the nation, the first being the MiVida Mine, also in San Juan County."The Bronsons, Joe Cooper and the Fabled Happy Jack," The San Juan Record
Oct 14, 2009. Accessed 28 Oct. 2009. During these years the mill at Monticello processed large amounts of ore taken from the canyons of southeastern Utah. The population of Monticello more than doubled during this time as a result of the activity at the processing plant and the mining activity in the region. County assessed valuation jumped from $1 million in the 1940s to $132 million in 1959. Oil and mining accounted for 94 percent of the property tax in San Juan County during those years, and the San Juan School District became the state's highest paying district. Demand for uranium subsided in the early 1960s. On January 1, 1960, the mill was closed permanently by the Atomic Energy Commission. The mill tailings were stabilized by 1962, and the mill was dismantled in 1964. A massive cleanup project was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 to 2004 to remove radioactive material from lands and buildings and to restore the land formerly occupied by the mill. All radioactive material was removed and placed in a controlled repository near Monticello. Funding was provided to restore the former mill site and roughly of surrounding land to a usable condition. In a deal with the Federal Government, the City of Monticello reseeded and restored the reclaimed land; upon completion, the city received roughly $7 million from the government. With the remaining cleanup funds, the city decided to expand the existing 9-hole golf course into an 18-hole course. The course site is adjacent to the mill site. Longtime resident Rex Jensen donated land to the city to be used for expanding the course towards the mountain. The course was designed by Forrest Richardson & Assoc. Golf Course Architects and construction was completed in 2001. Many Monticello residents claim that the exposure to the

mill tailings caused

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in residents and mill workers."Monticello, San Juan County, Utah," Decommissioning Projects, UMTRA Title 1
WISE Uranium Project
Efforts have been made and are ongoing to secure compensation for the illness or death of family members exposed to the mill tailings. In 2009, legislation was passed to provide free cancer screening to residents who lived in Monticello between 1941 and 2000.

Geography and climate

Monticello is located in the

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

area of the

. 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 th ...

, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), all land, making it the largest city in the county in terms of area. Monticello is located at the base of the Abajo Mountains, or the Blue Mountains, which are part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. The elevation of Monticello is . From Monticello, a tree formation on the Blue Mountains can be seen, which resembles a horse's head and neck, which can be seen from any point in town. Monticello is 40 miles from the Needles District of

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their ...

and is 59 miles from

Arches National Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, ...

, located near

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territ ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Monticello has 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 freez ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,958 people, 606 households, and 467 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 757.1 people per square mile (291.9/km²). There were 717 housing units at an average density of 277.2 per square mile (106.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.09%

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

, 0.10%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 6.44% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.15%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 7.00% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 13.69% of the population. There were 606 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.0% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.65. In the city, the population was spread out, with 36.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,929, and the median income for a family was $42,115. Males had a median income of $31,000 versus $21,875 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 $14,033. About 6.7% of families and 8.2% 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 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

As the seat of San Juan County, Monticello is home to the San Juan County Fair and Fairgrounds. The annual fair usually occurs during August. A 24 July Parade and Celebration are also held annually in MonticelloCity of Monticello
/ref> to commemorate Pioneer Day, a Utah holiday commemorating the arrival of Mormon settlers to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total ...

. Blue Mountain Entertainment is a local arts organization which provides funding to bring cultural performances to Monticello throughout the year. The City of Monticello annually hosts the Blue Mountain Triathlon. The race begins with of cross country skiing on the Blue Mountain, followed by an bike ride, and ending with a run past Newspaper Rock. On October 4, 1997,

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced that the church would begin to build a new series of "miniature temples." The first of such temples was built in Monticello. Groundbreaking began on November 17, 1997. An open house was held from July 15 to July 18, 1998, and the Monticello Utah Temple was dedicated July 26, 1998. The temple was subsequently expanded and rededicated on November 17, 2002. The Monticello Temple was the 53rd

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

completed by the church.

Education

The

San Juan School District San Juan School District (SJSD) is a school district headquartered in Blanding, Utah, United States. The district has twelve schools. 3,193 students were enrolled. History As of 2017 teachers in communities of the southern part of the scho ...

operates two public schools. The Monticello Elementary School hosts children from grades K-6, while grades 7-12 attend Monticello High School. The San Juan County Library is located in Monticello. Monticello was selected as the site for an extension of the

George Wythe University George Wythe University (GWU) was an unaccredited, non-profit university in Salt Lake City, Utah. GWU's curriculum borrowed from the Great Books of the Western World published in 1952 by Britannica and it claimed that its methodology was based ...

; groundbreaking for the new facility took place in August 2008 but the project was never completed.

Recreation

Monticello is home of The Hideout Golf Club, an 18-hole golf course constructed near the reclaimed site of the uranium mill. The Hideout has been ranked the no. 2 golf course in Utah and the No. 23 Municipal Golf Course in the U.S. The Abajo Mountains and surrounding areas offer hiking and hunting. Fishing is available at Foy Lake, Monticello Lake, and Lloyds Lake, all on the Blue Mountains.Utah Recreation
/ref>

References

External links

Monticello Utah
Official City Website
San Juan County School District
Public Schools
George Wythe College
George Wythe College, Monticello's liberal arts college
BLM Monticello Field Office
Public Lands Management {{Authority control Cities in Utah Cities in San Juan County, Utah County seats in Utah Populated places established in 1887 Superfund sites in Utah Old Spanish Trail (trade route)