Morgan is a city in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

and the county seat of Morgan County. It is part of the Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area. It is named after Jedediah Morgan Grant, a leader in

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 ...

who served as an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

and as a member of the LDS

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

under

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 the mid-1850s. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,071 people.

History

Morgan's history dates back to around 1861, when North Morgan was settled (it was originally called Mount Joy.) The community was named for Jedediah Morgan Grant, an

for

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 ...

, who helped settle the Morgan Valley and build the first road through Weber Canyon. Eventually, in 1868, the settlements of North Morgan and South Morgan were combined to form the only incorporated city in Morgan County. When the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

built tracks through Weber Canyon in 1868-1869, it put Morgan on the map. At one point, it was said Morgan was the "only incorporated city on the Union Pacific line between

Ogden Ogden may refer to: Places Canada *Ogden, Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta *Ogden, Quebec, a small municipality in the Eastern Townships * Ogdensville, British Columbia or Ogden City, alternate names for gold rush-era Seymour Arm, British Columbia *Og ...

and

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, Nebraska." Although Morgan's business district was initially located in South Morgan, when the railroad was built, local businessmen saw an opportunity to take business closer to railroad freight and passenger stations. Commercial Street became Morgan's center of commerce, as many of Morgan's establishments were moved to the west side of the railroad. Commercial Street continues to serve as Morgan's main street and is the focal point of the Morgan Historic District. Early businesses along Commercial Street included a

ZCMI Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) was an American department store chain. It was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 9, 1868, by Brigham Young. For many years it used the slogan, "America's First Department Store." Histor ...

store,

J.C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC , doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalyst Brands portfolio alongs ...

, and the First National Bank of Morgan. The 1989 horror movie ''

Troll 2 ''Troll 2'' (or ''Goblins'') is a 1990 independent dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Claudio Fragasso under the pseudonym Drake Floyd. It stars Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Connie McFarland, and Jason Wright. The plot ...

'' was filmed mostly in and around Morgan.

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 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²), all land. It 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 cold ...

with warm summers (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb''). The city is located within Morgan Valley.

Climate

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, there were 2,635 people, 789 households, and 665 families residing in the city. 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 823.8 people per square mile (317.9/km²). There were 822 housing units at an average density of 257.0 per square mile (99.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.09%

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 ...

, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.04%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.08% Asian, 0.30% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, 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 0.95% of the population. There were 789 households, out of which 49.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.2% 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 ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.34 and the average family size was 3.74. In the city, the population was spread out, with 37.2% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $47,716, and the median income for a family was $53,125. Males had a median income of $42,143 versus $23,011 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 city was $16,260. About 2.0% of families and 3.4% 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 2.6% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links