| Escalante, Utah | |
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| — City — | |
| This structure in Escalante was built in the 1800s. | |
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Escalante, Utah
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Garfield |
| Founded | 1874 |
| Founder | Philo Allen, Sr. |
| Named for | Silvestre Vélez de Escalante |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2) |
| • Land | 2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 5,820 ft (1,774 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 818 |
| • Density | 278.2/sq mi (107.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 84726 |
| Area code(s) | 435 |
| FIPS code | 49-23750[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1440956[2] |
Escalante (pronounced /ɛskəˈlɑːnteɪ/; locally /ˈɛskɛlæni/ or /ˈɛskəlænt/) is a city in Garfield County, Utah, United States, along Utah Scenic Byway 12. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 818.
The town was named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and the first European explorer in the region. In 1776, Escalante and his Spanish superior Francisco Atanasio Domínguez left from Santa Fe, New Mexico on an attempt to reach Monterey, California (EarthMetrics,1989). During this journey, usually referred to as the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition, Escalante and his companions passed by the Grand Canyon and were among the first white men to enter Utah.
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Members of the Southern Utah militia, under the leadership of Captain James Andrus, passed through the Escalante area during the Black Hawk Indian War of the mid-1860s. They recorded finding wild potatoes growing in the area and named a valley just east of the Escalante Mountains "Potato Valley". In 1872, a group of settlers from Panguitch investigated the area, meeting members of the John Wesley Powell expedition. Powell's group recommended any new community be named Escalante in honor of the explorer, even though the 1776 expedition never reached the remote valley. The community of Escalante was finally settled in 1875. The even more isolated community of Boulder to the north was established as a ranching community in 1889.
Escalante is located at (37.769482, -111.601382)[3] and is surrounded by part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.6 km²), none of which is covered with water.
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 623 |
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| 1890 | 667 | 7.1% | |
| 1900 | 723 | 8.4% | |
| 1910 | 846 | 17.0% | |
| 1920 | 1,032 | 22.0% | |
| 1930 | 1,016 | −1.6% | |
| 1940 | 1,161 | 14.3% | |
| 1950 | 773 | −33.4% | |
| 1960 | 702 | −9.2% | |
| 1970 | 638 | −9.1% | |
| 1980 | 652 | 2.2% | |
| 1990 | 818 | 25.5% | |
| 2000 | 818 | 0% | |
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 818 people, 304 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density was 278.2 people per square mile (107.4/km²). There were 404 housing units at an average density of 137.4 per square mile (53.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.89% White, 2.32% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.03% of the population.
There were 304 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.2% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.2% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,143, and the median income for a family was $35,500. Males had a median income of $30,385 versus $19,028 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,501. About 7.3% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
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