Ibapah, Utah

Ibapah
—  Unincorporated community  —
The roadway through Ibapah, September 2007
Ibapah
Location within the state of Utah
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Utah
County Tooele
Settled 1859
Named for Goshute Ai-bim-pa "White Clay Water"
Elevation[1] 5,282 ft (1,610 m)
Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 84034
Area code(s) 435
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID 1437592[1]

Ibapah ( /ˈbəpɑː/) is a small unincorporated community in far western Tooele County, Utah, United States, near the Nevada state line. The town is located near the Deep Creek Mountains. The site was originally established in 1859 by Mormon missionaries sent to teach the local Native Americans farming methods. A Pony Express station operated here in 1860 and 1861, and the town was on an early alignment of the Lincoln Highway. A post office operated here from 1883 to 1980. Ibapah is currently inhabited mostly by the Goshute Indian tribe, with scattered farmlands and a trading post belonging to more recent settlers.

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1860 6
1880 174
1890 117 −32.8%
1900 353 201.7%
1910 256 −27.5%
1920 120 −53.1%
1930 152 26.7%
1940 133 −12.5%
1950 70 −47.4%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau[2]

Originally named Deep Creek for a creek of the same name in the area, the name was later changed to Ibapah, an anglicized form of the Goshute word Ai-bim-pa which means "White Clay Water".[3]

The town is isolated and is usually reached by going out of Utah into Nevada and back into Utah. The climate is typical of that of a high elevation Great Basin location.

References

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ibapah, Utah. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  2. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/. Retrieved October 20, 2011. 
  3. ^ Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press. p. 197. ISBN 0-87480-345-4.