Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 19,650 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 17,899. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at the western terminus of Box Elder Canyon. It is near the former headquarters of ATK Thiokol, now Northrop Grumman, the company that created the solid rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle.

Brigham City is known for its peaches and holds an annual celebration called Peach Days on the weekend after Labor Day. Much of Main Street is closed off to cars, and the festival is celebrated by a parade, a car show, a carnival, and other activities.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) dedicated its fourteenth temple in Utah in Brigham City on September 23, 2012. Brigham City is home to the Golden Spike State Historical Monument and one of the nine regional campuses of Utah State University.

The city is the headquarters of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Shoshone people.

History

Latter-Day Saint pioneer William Davis first explored the Brigham City area in 1850. He returned with his family and others a year later to create permanent homes. Brigham Young directed Lorenzo Snow to lead additional settlers to the site and foster a self-sufficient city at the site in 1853.

thumb|[[Panoramic map of Brigham City from 1875]]

Snow directed both religious and political affairs in the settlement, eventually naming it Box Elder in 1855. When the town was incorporated on January 12, 1867, the name was changed to Brigham City in honor of Brigham Young. That same month, after the Utah legislature authorized a municipal election, residents elected Chester Loveland to be the town's first mayor. Brigham Young gave his last public sermon there in 1877 shortly before his death. In 1864, the cooperative movement began in earnest with the creation of a mercantile co-op store and was an important element of the United Order. Other industries were added, and the Brigham City Co-op is widely recognized as the most successful of the Latter-Day Saint Co-op ventures. Economic hardships brought an end to the Co-op in 1895, though the Co-op had first started selling businesses off in 1876.

World War II brought a major economic boost to the city. The federal government created Bushnell General Hospital on Brigham City's south side to treat soldiers wounded in the war. Locals sold supplies and food to the hospital while hospital staff patronized local businesses. After the war, the hospital's buildings were used as Intermountain Indian School. Many young Native Americans attended the boarding school until it closed in 1984, although the Intermountain "I" on the mountain is still visible in tandem with Box Elder High School's "B". The facility has left its mark in a number of other ways, with most of the buildings still standing. Some have been converted into businesses and condos, while others remain empty. Utah State University purchased the site and demolished all remaining buildings in 2013. The Utah State University Brigham City regional campus will be expanded to permanent buildings on this site and will mainly serve students from Box Elder, Weber, and Davis counties. Construction will begin in the fall of 2014.

Despite layoffs over the past decade, much of Brigham City's economy relies on Thiokol, the creator of many missiles, as well as the solid rocket booster for the Space Shuttle. Additionally, the local Autoliv (formerly a part of Thiokol) airbag plants also net Brigham City many jobs. Nucor Corporation has two facilities in Brigham City, in addition to its steel mill nearby Plymouth. The addition of a Walmart distribution center in nearby Corinne has also brought new jobs.

Historic sites

Baron Woolen Mills

Built in 1870 as part of the Brigham City Manufacturing and Mercantile Association, the mill produced high-quality blankets and sweaters from locally produced wool fleeces. It was damaged by a blaze in June 2014 and destroyed by a fire on July 20, 2015.

Cooley Memorial Hospital

Dr. A.D. Cooley opened this hospital in 1935. It operated as the only acute care facility in Brigham City until 1976, when the Brigham City Community Hospital opened.

Hotel Brigham

Originally built to house transient railroad workers, rooms in Hotel Brigham were meant to be inexpensive. Very few rooms had bathrooms. An original owner was James Knudson, a former mayor of Brigham City. His grandson, Cameron Kay Harmon, became a part owner and managed the hotel after World War II and into the 1950s.

Brigham City Archway Sign

Installed on 6 September 1928, this sign was financed by citizen donations totaling $2,400. The sign spans the width of Main Street, welcoming visitors to the business district. Made of opalite glass, the lettering welcomes all to Brigham City, "Gateway to the World's Greatest Wild Bird Refuge."

Brigham City Cemetery

Established in 1853 with the burial of a pioneer infant, the Brigham City cemetery is a beautiful, old-fashioned cemetery with above-ground grave markers. A final resting place for pioneers, peach orchard farmers, cholera epidemic victims, workers, and a host of others, the cemetery is peaceful and shaded with a wide variety of grand old trees.

<gallery widths="180px" class="center">

File:Baron Woolen Mills, 2007.JPG|Baron Woolen Mills, 2007

File:Cooley Memorial Hospital, 2007.JPG|Cooley Memorial Hospital, 2007

File:Hotel Brigham, 1946.jpg|Hotel Brigham, 1946

File:Archway.JPG|Archway

File:Brigham City Cemetery.jpg|Brigham City Cemetery, 1969

</gallery>

List of mayors

{| class="wikitable"

! No. !! Mayor !! Term

|-

| 1 || Chester Loveland || 1867–1875

|-

| 2 || John D. Rees || 1875–1878

|-

| 3 || Samuel Smith || 1879–1883

|-

| 4 || Adolph Madsen || 1882–1891

|-

| 5 || Joseph M. Jenson || 1891–1893

|-

| 6 || John D. Peters || 1895–1895

|-

| 7 || William L. Wight (acting) || 1895–1895

|-

| 8 || Jonah Mathias || 1895–1897

|-

| 9 || John F. Erdmann || 1898–1900

|-

| 10 || Heber C. Boden || 1900–1904

|-

| 11 || Christian Holst || 1904–1908

|-

| 12 || Thomas H. Blackburn || 1908–1912

|-

| 13 || Robert L. Fishburn, Jr. || 1912–1914

|-

| 14 || William T. Davis || 1914–1916

|-

| 15 || John F. Erdmann || 1916–1918

|-

| 16 || John W. Peters || 1918–1922

|-

| 17 || N. Chris Simonsen || 1922–1924

|-

| 18 || James Knudson || 1924–1926

|-

| 19 || Hervin Bunderson || 1926–1928

|-

| 20 || Abel S. Rich || 1928–1930

|-

| 21 || James E. Halverson || 1930–1932

|-

| 22 || Lorenzo W. Anderson || 1932–1934

|-

| 23 || J. Wesley Horsley || 1934–1936

|-

| 24 || Roy T. Shaw (acting) || 1936–1937

|-

| 25 || Francis J. Law || 1937–1940

|-

| 26 || Alf L. Freeman || 1940–1942

|-

| 27 || Carl Wold || 1942–1946

|-

| 28 || Rulon Baron || 1946–1948

|-

| 29 || Lorenzo J. Bott || 1948–1954

|-

| 30 || C. LeGrande Horsley || 1954–1958

|-

| 31 || Ruel M. Eskelsen || 1958–1962

|-

| 32 || Willis L. Hansen || 1962–1966

|-

| 33 || Olof E. Zundel || 1966–1973

|-

| 34 || Wayne A. Jensen (acting) || 1973–1974

|-

| 35 || Harold B. Felt || 1974–1978

|-

| 36 || Peter C. Knudson || 1978–1990

|-

| 37 || Clark N. Davis || 1990–1998

|-

| 38 || David T. Kano || 1998–2002

|-

| 39 || Lou Ann Christensen || 2002–2010

|-

| 40 || Dennis Fife || 2010–2014

|-

| 41 || Tyler Vincent || 2014–2022

|-

| 42 || Dennis "DJ" Bott || 2022–present

|}

Geography

Brigham City lies in southeastern Box Elder County on the western slopes of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range, at the western end of Box Elder Canyon. Brigham City is generally considered to be the northern end of the Wasatch Front. To the west is a large, flat region of desert scrub, eventually giving way to marshlands on the edge of the Great Salt Lake. Interstates 15 and 84 pass to the west of the city together. U.S. 89 approaches from the south and U.S. 91 comes from I-15/84 to the west. They intersect in the city, climbing through Box Elder Canyon together. Two routes of the Utah Transit Authority's bus system also provide access to Brigham City from Ogden, and it also has a Greyhound bus stop. It is planned to be the northern terminus of the FrontRunner commuter rail line by 2020.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.40%, is water.

|source 2 = National Weather Service

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Brigham City had a population of 19,650. The median age was 33.4 years. 29.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.7 males age 18 and over.

There were 6,801 households in Brigham City, of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.8% were married-couple households, 16.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 16,701 || 85.0%

|-

| Black or African American || 85 || 0.4%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 277 || 1.4%

|-

| Asian || 124 || 0.6%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 49 || 0.2%

|-

| Some other race || 971 || 4.9%

|-

| Two or more races || 1,443 || 7.3%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 2,406 || 12.2%

|}

2000 census

As of the census

  • Fourth of July Celebration
  • Brigham City Peach Days

thumb|Downtown Brigham City sign over Main Street

Education

thumb|right|[[Box Elder High School]]

Public schools

Brigham City is part of the Box Elder School District. Schools include:

  • Box Elder High School (Grades: 10 - 12)
  • Sunrise High School (Alternative Grades: 10 - 12)
  • Box Elder Middle School (Grades: 8 - 9)
  • Adele C. Young Intermediate School (Grades: 6 - 7)
  • Discovery Elementary School (Grades: K - 5)
  • Lake View Elementary School (Grades: K - 5)
  • Golden Spike Elementary School (Grades: Pre - 5)

Post secondary

Utah State University-Brigham City and Bridgerland Technical College are located in Brigham City.

Notable people

Politics:

  • Rob Bishop, former member of United States House of Representatives
  • Peter C. Knudson, former member of the Utah State Senate
  • Steve Christiansen, member of the Utah House of Representatives
  • Joseph Howell, former member of the United States House of Representatives
  • Delpha Baird, former member of the Utah State Senate
  • Richard A. Forsgren, former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
  • D. Lowell Jensen, American jurist and former U.S. district judge
  • Lee Perry, former member of the Utah House of Representatives
  • Oliver G. Snow, former member of the Utah Territorial Legislature
  • Stephen M. Studdert, White House staff Advisor of Presidents George H. W. Bush, Reagan, and Ford.
  • Pat Takasugi, former member of the Idaho House of Representatives

Religious Leaders:

  • Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church
  • Charles W. Nibley, presiding bishop of LDS Church, member of church's First Presidency
  • William J. Critchlow, Jr., general authority of LDS Church
  • Allan F. Packer, general authority of LDS Church
  • John E. Forsgren, missionary
  • Alexander Neibaur, first Jew to join the LDS Church

Art:

  • Lew Christensen, ballet dancer and choreographer; director of San Francisco Ballet during 1950s
  • Willam Christensen, founder of Ballet West and San Francisco Ballet
  • Portia Nelson, Broadway singer
  • Garth Smith, pianists/composer/musician
  • Nephi Anderson, author
  • Gail Bird and Yazzi Johnson, Native American artists who produce collaborative jewelry
  • Allan House, Chiricahua Apache sculptor, painter, and book illustrator
  • Zig Jackson, Native American photographer

Education:

  • Paul R. Cheeseman, Brigham Young University professor
  • Robert S. Nelsen, eighth President of California State University, Sacramento.
  • Benjamin M. Ogles, dean of Ohio University and Brigham Young University College of Family, Home and Social Sciences.

Businessmen:

  • Lorenzo Hoopes, executive for Safeway.
  • Morris D. Rosenbaum, prominent businessman in Brigham City

Athletes:

  • Marc Dunn, former NFL and NFL Europe football player
  • Chris Pella, college football coach
  • Julián Vázquez, professional footballer
  • Devin Durrant, former professional basketball player
  • Elmer Ward, American football player

Tech:

  • Larry L. Richman, directs publishing, websites, and social media for LDS Church
  • Lee Frischknecht, broadcast journalist

Science:

  • George Smooth Horsley, physicist
  • George Lorenzo Zundel, mycologist, phycologist, and plant patollis

Veterans:

  • Chase Nielson, former officer in the U.S. Air Force

Brigham City was the namesake of American movie director, producer, writer, and actor Richard Dutcher's 2001 film Brigham City about murder in a fictitious small Mormon town, although it is not actually about the real Brigham City. Due to geography and population, the movie was actually filmed some 120 miles to the south in Mapleton, Utah.

Movies that have scenes filmed in Brigham City include The Work and the Story, Species, and Clay Pigeons.

The LDS Church President Brigham Young, for whom Brigham City is named, gave his final public address in the city. He gave this address in a public square that is now home to the Brigham City Museum-Gallery.

See also

  • List of cities and towns in Utah
  • Brigham City Airport
  • Brigham City Utah Temple
  • Smith's Food and Drug

References

  • Rebecca Anderson, "The Baron Woolen Mills: a Utah Legend," Utah Historical Society, volume 75, number 2, Spring 2007, 116–133.
  • John G. Turner, "Brigham Young : Pioneer Prophet," Belknap Press, pp.&nbsp;512
  • Self-guided tour of Brigham City historic sites