Salt Lake County Utah Genealogy and History

County Seat: Salt Lake City

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Salt Lake County, Utah genealogy and family history page is a place where you can come in and research your genealogy and family history. We also do our best to provide a history of the area, to provide you with an overview of the time in which your ancestors lived.

We regret that we are unable to do personal research for you. All genealogical and family history records we come across are being added to this website. Please keep checking back.

History

This area was occupied for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples.

The future Salt Lake County area was settled by European Americans in 1847 when Mormon pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fled religious persecution in the East. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley after descending what settlers later called Emigration Canyon. Brigham Young, their leader, declared "This is the place" after seeing the valley.

The county was officially organized on January 31, 1850, with slightly more than 11,000 residents recorded In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County. In 1852, the territorial legislature passed the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners formally legalizing slavery in the territory.

Communities

• Cities: Bluffdale, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Emigration Canyon, Herriman, Holladay, Kearns, Magna, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, Riverton, Salt Lake City (county seat), Sandy, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, Taylorsville, West Jordan, West Valley City, White City.
• Towns: Alta, Brighton, Copperton.
• Unincorporated communities: Mount Aire.
• Community councils: Big Cottonwood Canyon, Granite, Parley's Canyon, Sandy Hills and Willow Canyon (enclaves of Sandy), Southwest (area south of Copperton and South Jordan and west of Herriman).
• Former communities:
  • Arthur
  • Bacchus
  • Bingham Canyon, incorporated 1904, disincorporated 1971. The last buildings were razed in 1972 as the Bingham Canyon Mine absorbed the town
  • Emmaville
  • Forest Dale, incorporated 1902, disincorporated 1912 and subsequently annexed by Salt Lake City.
  • Garfield
  • Lark was a small town on the southwest side of the valley that was dismantled in 1978 to make way for overburden from the Bingham Canyon Mine. At its peak the population was around 800.
  • Mountain Dell
  • Riter started out as a station on the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad in 1905 and a town formed in its vicinity. In 1918, the town and station were buried by an expansion of one of Kennecott's tailings ponds west of Magna. The station was moved north but in 1996 the location was again buried by another expansion of the tailings pond although by that time Riter was only a siding and there were no buildings there.
  • Welby

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Genealogical Research in Salt Lake County, Utah

• Salt Lake County Archives: has Birth records, death records, marriage licensus, tax appraisal cards, land certificates, collections, exhibits, and more.
• Family Search Library: A world-renowned collection of genealogical books, films, images, and more.
• Salt Lake County Probate Court Records: The court oversees estate administration, wills, and guardianships. The primary probate division is located at the Third District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

Adjacent Counties

• Davis County – north
• Morgan County – northeast
• Summit County – east
• Wasatch County – southeast
• Utah County – south
• Tooele County – west

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