Mantua (, ) is a town on the eastern edge of Box Elder County, Utah, United States. and were all émigrés from Denmark led by Hans Jens Jensen. Snow was from Mantua, Ohio, and the town was named after the Ohio community in his honor. Due to Danish pronunciation the town's pronunciation was changed to "man-away" unlike Ohio's ("man-tooway"). Prior to receiving its current name, the community was called Box Elder Valley, Copenhagen, Flaxville, Geneva, Hunsaker Valley, Little Copenhagen, and Little Valley.
Geography
Mantua lies at the head of Box Elder Canyon on the northern, western, and southern sides of the Mantua Reservoir. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and (13.21%) is water.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mantua has a dry summer continental climate, abbreviated "Dsa" on climate maps.
Demographics
As of the 2000 United States census, The reservoir is open to public access, including ice fishing during cold seasons.
Government
Mantua is considered to be a speed trap. In 1997, its two police officers issued over 1,300 speeding tickets, amounting to fines of approximately $60,000, or more than half of the city's total yearly revenue. In 2014, it issued over 2,100 traffic tickets, amounting to approximately $220,000 in fines, or more than one-third of total yearly revenue. The sole full-time police officer (and later mayor) objected to the term "speed trap" as he said he did not hide his truck, and fatal accidents had decreased since he began patrolling. Most tickets are issued along the town's section of combined US Highway 89/91. When asked about this, the city claimed that it loses money on parking tickets which is in contrast to the rest of the state. Brigham City owns the land which the tickets were written on, and the Mantua Police Department was operating with unapproved Brigham City employees telling them when to issue citations.
In 2021, the town prosecutor filed Class C misdemeanor charges against about a dozen residents for failing to license their dogs even though the dogs had died. The police chief had signed the summons in which he stated that there was evidence of the violation, but was unable to produce it for the trial. The town council subsequently changed the ordinance to make failure to obtain a dog license an infraction rather than a criminal misdemeanor, bringing the town into compliance with Utah state law, which permits a misdemeanor only for repeated offenses or in situations that are a threat to public health or safety.
See also
- List of cities and towns in Utah