Tooele County, Utah

Tooele County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 40,735 and by was estimated at 51,311. Its and largest city is.

History
Evidence of several indigenous s have been found in Tooele County, but only the western -speaking tribe claim the desolate lands as their ancestral home. The Goshute's traditional territory includes most of modern Tooele County.

In, the first whites, s led by established permanent settlement in the area. Building a, the settlement was called "E.T. City" after Benson. The territorial legislature first designated Tooele County&mdash;initially called "Tuilla"&mdash;in January with significantly different boundaries. It is thought that the name derives from an chief, but controversy exists about whether such chief lived. Alternate explanations hypothesize that the name comes from "tu-wanda", the Goshute word for "", or from "tule", a word of  origins meaning "". Tooele was one of the six original counties in, which would become.

By, , Batesville, and Pine Canyon (later named Lincoln) were settled.

In the town of Richville was designated, but it soon became clear that  was much larger. In the territorial legislature allowed the county to select a new seat, and Tooele was selected unanimously.

Tension with native Goshutes plagued settlement in early Tooele County. In response to thefts, a contingent of at least 50 men pursued Goshutes and attacked their camp in, killing nine. The settlers suffered no casualties. Similar attacks occurred throughout the with natives typically being on the losing side. In Robert B. Jarvis, a  representative, convinced some of the ic bands to congregate at a  reservation called Deep Creek. The results looked promising, but Jarvis resigned in and support for the project disappeared, causing the farm to be abandoned. Jarvis' replacement, Benjamin Davies, noted the Goshutes had lost faith in the federal government, and recommended limiting further encroachments on Goshute land, but his suggestions were largely ignored.

Twenty-two overland outposts were built in Goshute territory, often on the sites of rare natural springs. Goshute attacks on mail outposts escalated in, resulting in dozens of deaths in alternating waves of raids. At the outbreak of the, federal troops left the area leaving defense in the hands of the until General  arrived in  from  in.

Connor acted ruthlessly toward the natives. He killed over 300 Shoshone in Southern in. Connor's men attacked Native American camps, sometimes indiscriminately, but through 1863 stage coach companies had lost 16 men and over 150 s to depredations. A peace treaty was signed in 1863 which included an of goods and US$1000 in compensation of killed game in exchange for an end to the hostilities and overland routes. The treaty did not cede Goshute control of land, but a follow-up agreement made in June did.

General Connor, who was, also encouraged his troops to prospect for minerals. Connor believed that would bring non-Mormons to. After his men discovered, , , and deposits in Tooele County in  he was proven right. The Rush Valley Mining District was established by soldiers in the western and more than 100 claims were staked in the first year. Two new mining towns, and Mercur ballooned to over 6000 people each in the, exceeding the population of  and all the Mormon settlements.

Republic of Tooele
From to, non-Mormon politicians from the  gained control of Tooele County, the first time any non-Mormons had success in Utah politics. Whimsically, they called the county the Republic of Tooele.

The election marked the first success of the Liberal Party, which was organized in. The party viewed the large non-Mormon mining population in the county as a natural environment for electoral success and campaigned fiercely in Tooele's mining districts leading up to the June election. The non-Mormon appointed of Utah Territory,, personally campaigned for the Liberals in Tooele County.

The incumbent Mormon observed several Tooele polling places on election day and lodged complaints of fraud after the Liberal Party triumphed by about 300 votes out of 2200. The People's Party alleged that Liberal Party supporters had voted more than once, that many of them had not been residents for the required six months, and that they were not taxpayers &mdash; according to territorial law, only taxpayers could vote in elections. The People's Party called attention to the fact that about 2200 votes were cast in the election although only 1500 Tooele County payers were on record. Incumbents refused to yield control of the Tooele County recorder's office and the Tooele County Courthouse because of the alleged fraud.

Governor Woods predictably dismissed the complaints and certified the Liberal victory. Third district court Judge James B. McKean ruled that no evidence showing illegal activity had been presented. McKean construed as within the meaning of being a taxpayer. Since no evidence was provided that there were over 300 s or repeat votes in the election, McKean sustained the tally and authorized deputy install the Liberal candidates.

The recorder's office was seized when it was momentarily abandoned, but a contingent of supporters and incumbents held the county courthouse night and day. The marshals and Liberal Party candidates, outnumbered, attempted to negotiate with the armed and barricaded Mormons. Aware that any show of aggression could spark a battle, the parties were nonetheless unable to come to an agreement to hand over power.

Judge McKean issued an even more strongly worded injunction, and advised his followers they had an obligation to obey the federal courts. The county courthouse was abandoned, thus beginning about five years of Liberal Party rule. However, the legislature, which had the last say on the qualifications of its members, refused to seat the Liberal Party representative from Tooele County.

The Liberals won an unopposed election.

In, the territorial legislature passed bills requiring and requiring  for local elections &mdash; women had been voting in state elections since. The Liberal Party, typically supported by male miners casually interested in politics, opposed both measures. In the Liberal majority in Tooele County disappeared, and the People's Party regained control in  after more than six months of Liberal procedural delays.

The Republic of Tooele era was characterized by subsequent politicians as one of excessive spending. The county was left with about $16,000 debt, significantly more than it started with.

Modern Tooele
Mining continued to play an important part in Tooele County into the 20th century, but the County benefited from two major military bases. , now closed, was the training base of the crew which dropped the first  in. The, built in , formerly housed the largest store of and s, forty-five percent of the nation's, in the United States, at the. Since August 1996, the store is now being reduced by destruction in a controversial weapons incinerator, at the. 

On September 8, 2004 the spacecraft crashed into the desert floor of the  in Tooele County.

Geography
Covering vast amounts of the desert west of, Tooele county is the second largest county in  and among the driest.

According to the, the county has a total area of 18,874 (7,287 ). 17,950 km² (6,930 sq mi) of it is land and 924 km² (357 sq mi) of it (4.90%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - (north)
 * - (northeast touch)
 * - (east 1)
 * - (east 2)
 * - (east 3)
 * - (south)
 * - (southwest)
 * - (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 40,735 people, 12,677 households, and 10,128 families residing in the county. The was 2/km² (6/sq mi). There were 13,812 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (2/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.19%, 1.28% or , 1.70% , 0.60% , 0.18% , 4.50% from , and 2.55% from two or more races. 10.34% of the population were or  of any race. The top 5 Ethnic groups in Tooele County are:


 * -25%
 * -11%
 * -6%
 * -6%
 * 5%

There were 12,677 households out of which 47.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.00% were living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.10% were non-families. 16.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.51.

In the county, the population was spread out with 35.00% under the age of 18, 11.50% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,773, and the median income for a family was $50,438. Males had a median income of $37,861 versus $24,179 for females. The for the county was $16,321. About 5.20% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the, including 7.70% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Unincorporated communities
Lake Point, Utah

Official Links

 * Tooele County Community Website
 * Tooele County
 * Tooele County School District
 * Tooele County Chamber of Commerce

History resources

 * Utah History To-Go &mdash; The Goshute Indians of Utah
 * Utah History Encyclopedia &mdash; Tooele County