Beaver, Utah

Beaver, Utah
Welcome sign
Location of Utah in the United States
Coordinates: 38°16′35″N 112°38′20″W / 38.27639°N 112.63889°W / 38.27639; -112.63889Coordinates: 38°16′35″N 112°38′20″W / 38.27639°N 112.63889°W / 38.27639; -112.63889
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Beaver
Settled	1856
Incorporated	January 10, 1867
Named for	Beaver River
Area
• Total	4.6 sq mi (11.9 km2)
• Land	4.6 sq mi (11.9 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation[1]	5,902 ft (1,799 m)
• Density	535.5/sq mi (206.9/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	84713
Area code(s)	435
FIPS code	49-04060[2]
GNIS feature ID	1438510[1]

Beaver is a city in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,454 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Beaver County.^[3]

Settled by Mormon pioneers in 1856, Beaver was one of a string of Mormon settlements extending the length of Utah. These settlements were, by design, a day's ride on horseback apart, explaining the regularity of today's spacing: either 30 miles (48 km) apart, or 60 miles (97 km) apart where intervening settlements failed or were absorbed.

Beaver is the birthplace of two well-known persons: Philo T. Farnsworth and Butch Cassidy. Philo T. Farnsworth was the inventor of several critical electronic devices that made television possible, including the cathode ray tube. He was also the first to create table-top nuclear-fusion.^[4] Butch Cassidy was a notorious western outlaw.

Beaver also has the distinction of being the first town in Utah to be electrified. A hydroelectric 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.

In 2006, Beaver won a contest for best rural water taste in the United States.^[5] In 2010, Beaver took top honors in world for best tasting water. These accomplishments are proudly displayed on billboards along I-15.

History

Mt. Baldy viewed from Beaver, photographed by William Bell during the 1872 Wheeler Survey

Beaver County has a number of identified prehistoric sites, dating to the Archaic and Sevier Fremont periods. A prehistoric obsidian quarry site has been identified in the nearby Mineral Mountains. Southern Paiutes inhabited the region at the time of the first European explorers, the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante Expedition.

Beaver was first created in 1856 From Iron and Millard Counties. Twelve men with families were sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) to settle Beaver by an LDS leader named George A. Smith (Not to be confused with his grandson George Albert Smith). It was decided to organize a company and start a settlement on the beaver river. Those selected to pioneer this work included Wilson Gates Nowers, Simeon F. Howd, James P. Anderson, Horace Alexander, Charles Carter, Barney Carter, Joseph Goff, James Low, John Knowles, John M. Davis, Beason Lewis, James Duke, John Henderson. Before Utah was ever an official state, Beaver was established as a county in 1886 by the Legislature of the Territory of Utah.

Fort Cameron was established two miles from Beaver in 1873 by US troops because of the Mountain Meadow Massacre and Indian raid of the surrounding settlements. Because of its distance and jurisdictional struggles, the Second Judicial Court of the Utah Territory was placed in Beaver from 1870 until 1896 when Utah became a state. Also included in this courts' jurisdiction was Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield, and Piute Counties. A few cities worth mentioning in the development of Beaver County are Beaver and Minersville and Milford known for their agriculture, mining and livestock endeavors which directly added to the County's Development.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered Beaver Valley from Parowan, Utah to the south. A council meeting was called by George A. Smith in February 1856 in which Simeon F. Howd was made presiding elder and Edward W. Thompson, clerk. In 1858 a great population of people from San Bernardino, CA arrived to settle.^[6] In December of 1859, WW Willis and P.K. Smith were authorized to build a saw mill and grist Mill on the north creek along with control of all water on the mill site.^[7] By 1869 Beaver had enough Mormon settlers, primarily engaged in livestock grazing, to organize a stake. The first stake president was John Murdock.^[8] During the 1870s, settlers made an effort to establish a woolen mill, a tannery and a dairy industry. Fort Cameron was established by the U.S. Army in 1873. Mining and the 1880 arrival of the Utah Southern Railroad also increased development in the area. However, by World War I, Fort Cameron was abandoned and the mining industry declined.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12 km²), all of it land.

To the east of Beaver lie the Tushar Mountains. The peaks in these mountains rise to over 12,000 feet (3,660 m).

Beaver is well known in central Utah, as Interstate 15 (the main artery for the entire state) flows through the city.

An important Beaver landmark is the hillside letter B, which is visible from the freeway (38°15′52.26″N 112°34′57.2″W / 38.2645167°N 112.582556°W / 38.2645167; -112.582556 (B for Beaver)).

Demographics

As of 2010, the total population of Beaver is 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^[2] of 2000, there were 2,454 people, 856 households, and 653 families residing in the city. The population density was 535.5 people per square mile (206.9/km²). There were 1,021 housing units at an average density of 222.8 per square mile (86.1/km²). The racial makeup 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. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.05% of the population.

There were 856 households out of which 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 non-families. 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 the median income for a family was $37,933. Males had a median income of $29,485 versus $17,159 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,412. About 6.7% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beaver, Utah.

• Beaver City's official Web site

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	Minersville		Fishlake National Forest / Marysvale Junction
	Beaver
	Paragonah	Panguitch	Circleville

v t e Municipalities and communities of Beaver County, Utah, United States County seat: Beaver Cities Beaver Milford Town Minersville Unincorporated communities Adamsville Greenville Ghost towns Frisco Newhouse Sulphurdale