Riverton, Utah
Encyclopedia
Riverton is a city in Salt Lake County
, Utah
, United States
. It is part of the Salt Lake City
, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area
. The population was 38,753 at the 2010 census. Riverton is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state of Utah, and was ranked by CNN Money Magazine as the 60th best place to live in the U.S. in 2005.
Riverton shares city borders with South Jordan
to the north, Draper
to the east, Bluffdale
to the south, and Herriman
to the west.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 12.6 square miles (32.6 km²). The city is located in the Southwestern corner of the Salt Lake Valley about twenty miles (32 km) south and slightly west of Salt Lake City. Riverton City receives an average of 15.76 inches (400.3 mm) in precipitation each year. Snow can be seen in the winter, while during the summer temperatures occasionally break 100 °F (37.8 °C). Riverton has grown rapidly in the last few years, transforming it from a rural farming town into a suburban city. Businesses, housing, and roads have replaced many of the farms and cattle ranges.
Riverton's initial growth was slow because of the lack of water for irrigation. When more water became available, the town began to grow. Eventually three canals were built to extend water from the nearby Jordan River to the benchland areas, providing irrigation for agricultural uses to the larger area.
By the beginning of World War I in 1914, with its additional irrigation water and influx of people, Riverton prospered as an agricultural community. Its thriving business district was also evident at this time.
Commercial Development
The Page-Pixon (later Page-Hansen) store was built around the turn of the century, west of Redwood Road at 12760 South. The large department store sold everything from building materials, coal and dry goods to groceries, grain and housewares. This building was set back off the road and had a tie rail in from of it for tying up horses.
The Jordan Valley Bank was started in 1905 as a community bank. This bank was first housed in the Page-Hansen Store then the Commercial Building. In 1920 it moved across the street, to the south. Other businesses coming to Riverton in the ten-year period before and after the First World War included Bill's Meat Market, Gilbert Lloyd's Blacksmith Shop, Riverton Motors, the Riverton Canning Factory, the Riverton Alfalfa Mill, Utah Poultry Company and numerous others ranging from theaters to mercantile stores.
Farming was also a major Riverton business. Just before the turn-of-the-century, the farmers in Riverton gradually began to change from self-sufficient farming to commercial farming. In its early years Riverton's farmers were mostly self-sufficient, producing almost everything they needed. This was no longer the case when farming became a business. Riverton farmers were becoming specialists concentrating mostly on alfalfa, wheat, sugar beets, tomatoes, poultry, sheep or dairy cows. At this time, on land purchased from Samuel Howard in 1886, the LDS Church began to store tithed produce and livestock. It was not long until the hill that this enterprise was located on, at 1150 West 12400 South, became known as Tithing Yard Hill, which is now a residential planned development under the same name.
Electricity first came to Riverton in 1912. In 1913 the Salt Lake and Utah Railroad (Orem Line) was started and went through Riverton west of Redwood Road. It was used as a commuter and freight line and stretched from Salt Lake to Payson in Utah County. Trains used this line from 1914 to 1945 after which the rails and ties were removed. Riverton had its own train depot which was also torn down when the line was closed.
The community's first school had only one room. It was located in the old adobe meetinghouse used by the LDS branch on 1300 West. In 1892 a new two-story brick schoolhouse was built at 12830 South on Redwood Road, This structure had four rooms, two upstairs and two down and was built in January 1893. It was used by grades one through eight, two grades to a classroom. John Hansen was the first principal of this school. As the population grew additional classrooms were needed and another building for elementary grades was erected to the north of the four-room schoolhouse. In 1925 the south building was torn down and the north building remodeled. However, before the remodeling was completed, a fire struck-completely destroying the school on July 30, 1926. A junior high continued to be built on the south lot and the new elementary school which matched the junior high in brick color and design was erected on the site of the fire-destroyed building. Both these structures eventually became the Riverton Elementary School complex. The increased population of the 1970s and 1980s necessitated the construction of two new Riverton elementary schools. Southland Elementary was built on 2700 West and 13675 South and Rosamond Elementary at 1975 West and 12195 South.
By 1948 Riverton had grown sufficiently to be incorporated into a city. However, the City’s progress was temporarily halted by World War II, the final stage of the farming community's evolution occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. Land prices skyrocketed and Riverton's subdivisions expanded. Farmers sold land at prices many times the price they paid for it. Land was out of reach for your farmers, many of whom moved to Idaho and other neighboring states. This was mirrored throughout Salt Lake county as the number of farms decreased from 2,595 in 1950 to 798 in 1969. Nevertheless, Riverton's population more than tripled between 1970 when it totaled 2,820 inhabitants, and the mid-1980s when it reached around 10,000.
During this time a new City Hall was constructed at the edge of the Riverton City Park at 12800 South and 1400 West. In 1996 the City purchased the old Riverton Elementary School and it’s surrounding 9 acres of land from the Jordan School District for $225,000. The City initially put a ballot measure out to fund the school through a general revenue bond, but the measure failed to gain support because it would have raised property taxes for residents of Riverton. Instead the City put together a multi-year plan to convert the old school house to the Riverton Community Center, and some of the land was sold to the County Library System for a new, state of the art library. By 2005-2006, the City had successfully renovated the old elementary School into a new Community Center and City hall, which now houses all of the City’s administrative offices.
The oftentimes contentious city boundaries were in flux between the time of incorporation until the year 2000. At incorporation the boundaries were set from the Jordan River westward to what is now known as the coordinates of 3600 West, and from 11800 South to approximately 13800 South. In 1970, the town of Bluffdale was incorporated, taking in all of the land between 13800 South, southward to the Salt Lake/Utah County Line. 1982 saw the incorporation of the City of Drapper, a town once situated at the south-east end of the Salt Lake Valley, their incorporated boundaries, uncontested by Riverton, took area all of the area westward from the Jordan River to the I-15 freeway, an area that was once "loosely" considered or referred to as Riverton or "Riverton Siding". In 1996 the city boundaries grew, virtually doubling the physical size of the City, through the annexation of land between Riverton and what was then known as the Town of Herriman (now an incorporated City), extending its boundaries from 3600 West to roughly 4800 West, and to 5600 West from 13400 South to 14200 South and points southward beyond the city limits of Bluffdale. Included in the 1996 annexation was the “Foothills” development which had previously been annexed into Riverton during the 1980s, and then later de-annexed after the original developer filed for bankruptcy. The final solidification of Riverton’s boundaries came when the City of Herriman incorporated in 2000, halting any possible further expansion westward by Riverton.
and one high school (Riverton High School), the most populated 10-12 school in Utah. Because of High School overcrowding, not all students are allowed to park at the school. A new high school was built in nearby Herriman to relieve the congestion.
The Riverton schools are part of the Jordan School District. The district was recently split (2009), and the district has attempted to raise property taxes by 40%. The result of the August 4th, 2009 hearing resulted in over angry 1000 citizens (according to the Salt Lake Tribune) attacking the board for not touching administration salaries before passing on the large tax hike. The district settled on a 20% increase, the largest tax increase in the state.
, opened in November 2009. The much needed general hospital serves the fastest growing portion of the Salt Lake Valley with surrounding cities such as Riverton, Herriman, Bluffdale, and South Jordan. The hospital will also provide services to cities in northern Utah County. The hospital's services include a complete in-and-out patient care, a 24 hour emergency department, a state-of-art-women's center, a surgical center, radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, physical therapy, 40 physician offices, and a helicopter pad. Perhaps the most notable service this hospital includes is the children's out-patient center directly run by Primary Children's Medical Center
. The design of the hospital allows it to expand as the Southwest part of the valley continues to see rapid growth.
of 2000, there were 25,011 people, 6,348 households, and 5,884 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,989.7 people per square mile (768.2/km²). There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 521.5 per square mile (201.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.45% White, 0.22% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races
, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.17% of the population.
There were 6,348 households out of which 65.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.4% were married couples
living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 7.3% were non-families. 5.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.93 and the average family size was 4.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 42.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 13.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $63,980, and the median income for a family was $65,330. Males had a median income of $42,344 versus $26,710 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,643. About 2.4% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Salt Lake County, Utah
Salt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It had a population of 1,029,655 at the 2010 census. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. It occupies Salt Lake Valley, as well as parts of the surrounding mountains, the Oquirrh Mountains to the west...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of the Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area
Salt Lake City metropolitan area
The Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in north central Utah, anchored by Salt Lake City. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 968,858. As of July 1, 2009 the U.S...
. The population was 38,753 at the 2010 census. Riverton is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state of Utah, and was ranked by CNN Money Magazine as the 60th best place to live in the U.S. in 2005.
Geography
Riverton is located at 40°31′14"N 111°57′19"W (40.520585, -111.955271).Riverton shares city borders with South Jordan
South Jordan, Utah
South Jordan is a city in the U.S. state of Utah. The city lies in the Salt Lake Valley between the peaks of the Oquirrh Mountains and the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains and is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area...
to the north, Draper
Draper, Utah
Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah Counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Between 1990 and 2000 Draper was Utah's fastest-growing city over 5,000 people . Its population in 1990 was 7,143 and had grown to 25,220 by the 2000 census...
to the east, Bluffdale
Bluffdale, Utah
Bluffdale is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, USA. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,700 according to the 2000 census...
to the south, and Herriman
Herriman, Utah
Herriman is a city in southwestern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 21,785 as of the 2010 census. Although Herriman was a town in 2000, it has since been classified as a fifth-class city by state law. The city has experienced rapid growth since incorporation in 1999, as its...
to the west.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 12.6 square miles (32.6 km²). The city is located in the Southwestern corner of the Salt Lake Valley about twenty miles (32 km) south and slightly west of Salt Lake City. Riverton City receives an average of 15.76 inches (400.3 mm) in precipitation each year. Snow can be seen in the winter, while during the summer temperatures occasionally break 100 °F (37.8 °C). Riverton has grown rapidly in the last few years, transforming it from a rural farming town into a suburban city. Businesses, housing, and roads have replaced many of the farms and cattle ranges.
History
Located in the southern end of Salt Lake Valley, the first people to live in the area that is now Riverton settled in the mid-1850s. These early settlers lived in a widely scattered condition along the river bottom in crude dugout homes. Although the early accounts disagree, Archibald Gardner may have been the first to live on Riverton land. The town was originally referred to as “Gardnerville” prior to changing its name to Riverton.Riverton's initial growth was slow because of the lack of water for irrigation. When more water became available, the town began to grow. Eventually three canals were built to extend water from the nearby Jordan River to the benchland areas, providing irrigation for agricultural uses to the larger area.
By the beginning of World War I in 1914, with its additional irrigation water and influx of people, Riverton prospered as an agricultural community. Its thriving business district was also evident at this time.
Commercial Development
The Page-Pixon (later Page-Hansen) store was built around the turn of the century, west of Redwood Road at 12760 South. The large department store sold everything from building materials, coal and dry goods to groceries, grain and housewares. This building was set back off the road and had a tie rail in from of it for tying up horses.
The Jordan Valley Bank was started in 1905 as a community bank. This bank was first housed in the Page-Hansen Store then the Commercial Building. In 1920 it moved across the street, to the south. Other businesses coming to Riverton in the ten-year period before and after the First World War included Bill's Meat Market, Gilbert Lloyd's Blacksmith Shop, Riverton Motors, the Riverton Canning Factory, the Riverton Alfalfa Mill, Utah Poultry Company and numerous others ranging from theaters to mercantile stores.
Farming was also a major Riverton business. Just before the turn-of-the-century, the farmers in Riverton gradually began to change from self-sufficient farming to commercial farming. In its early years Riverton's farmers were mostly self-sufficient, producing almost everything they needed. This was no longer the case when farming became a business. Riverton farmers were becoming specialists concentrating mostly on alfalfa, wheat, sugar beets, tomatoes, poultry, sheep or dairy cows. At this time, on land purchased from Samuel Howard in 1886, the LDS Church began to store tithed produce and livestock. It was not long until the hill that this enterprise was located on, at 1150 West 12400 South, became known as Tithing Yard Hill, which is now a residential planned development under the same name.
Electricity first came to Riverton in 1912. In 1913 the Salt Lake and Utah Railroad (Orem Line) was started and went through Riverton west of Redwood Road. It was used as a commuter and freight line and stretched from Salt Lake to Payson in Utah County. Trains used this line from 1914 to 1945 after which the rails and ties were removed. Riverton had its own train depot which was also torn down when the line was closed.
The community's first school had only one room. It was located in the old adobe meetinghouse used by the LDS branch on 1300 West. In 1892 a new two-story brick schoolhouse was built at 12830 South on Redwood Road, This structure had four rooms, two upstairs and two down and was built in January 1893. It was used by grades one through eight, two grades to a classroom. John Hansen was the first principal of this school. As the population grew additional classrooms were needed and another building for elementary grades was erected to the north of the four-room schoolhouse. In 1925 the south building was torn down and the north building remodeled. However, before the remodeling was completed, a fire struck-completely destroying the school on July 30, 1926. A junior high continued to be built on the south lot and the new elementary school which matched the junior high in brick color and design was erected on the site of the fire-destroyed building. Both these structures eventually became the Riverton Elementary School complex. The increased population of the 1970s and 1980s necessitated the construction of two new Riverton elementary schools. Southland Elementary was built on 2700 West and 13675 South and Rosamond Elementary at 1975 West and 12195 South.
By 1948 Riverton had grown sufficiently to be incorporated into a city. However, the City’s progress was temporarily halted by World War II, the final stage of the farming community's evolution occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. Land prices skyrocketed and Riverton's subdivisions expanded. Farmers sold land at prices many times the price they paid for it. Land was out of reach for your farmers, many of whom moved to Idaho and other neighboring states. This was mirrored throughout Salt Lake county as the number of farms decreased from 2,595 in 1950 to 798 in 1969. Nevertheless, Riverton's population more than tripled between 1970 when it totaled 2,820 inhabitants, and the mid-1980s when it reached around 10,000.
During this time a new City Hall was constructed at the edge of the Riverton City Park at 12800 South and 1400 West. In 1996 the City purchased the old Riverton Elementary School and it’s surrounding 9 acres of land from the Jordan School District for $225,000. The City initially put a ballot measure out to fund the school through a general revenue bond, but the measure failed to gain support because it would have raised property taxes for residents of Riverton. Instead the City put together a multi-year plan to convert the old school house to the Riverton Community Center, and some of the land was sold to the County Library System for a new, state of the art library. By 2005-2006, the City had successfully renovated the old elementary School into a new Community Center and City hall, which now houses all of the City’s administrative offices.
The oftentimes contentious city boundaries were in flux between the time of incorporation until the year 2000. At incorporation the boundaries were set from the Jordan River westward to what is now known as the coordinates of 3600 West, and from 11800 South to approximately 13800 South. In 1970, the town of Bluffdale was incorporated, taking in all of the land between 13800 South, southward to the Salt Lake/Utah County Line. 1982 saw the incorporation of the City of Drapper, a town once situated at the south-east end of the Salt Lake Valley, their incorporated boundaries, uncontested by Riverton, took area all of the area westward from the Jordan River to the I-15 freeway, an area that was once "loosely" considered or referred to as Riverton or "Riverton Siding". In 1996 the city boundaries grew, virtually doubling the physical size of the City, through the annexation of land between Riverton and what was then known as the Town of Herriman (now an incorporated City), extending its boundaries from 3600 West to roughly 4800 West, and to 5600 West from 13400 South to 14200 South and points southward beyond the city limits of Bluffdale. Included in the 1996 annexation was the “Foothills” development which had previously been annexed into Riverton during the 1980s, and then later de-annexed after the original developer filed for bankruptcy. The final solidification of Riverton’s boundaries came when the City of Herriman incorporated in 2000, halting any possible further expansion westward by Riverton.
Education
The public schools in Riverton consist of six public elementary schools (Riverton, Rosamond, Rose Creek, Southland, Foothills, and Midas Creek), two middle schools (Oquirrh Hills and South Hills),and one high school (Riverton High School), the most populated 10-12 school in Utah. Because of High School overcrowding, not all students are allowed to park at the school. A new high school was built in nearby Herriman to relieve the congestion.
The Riverton schools are part of the Jordan School District. The district was recently split (2009), and the district has attempted to raise property taxes by 40%. The result of the August 4th, 2009 hearing resulted in over angry 1000 citizens (according to the Salt Lake Tribune) attacking the board for not touching administration salaries before passing on the large tax hike. The district settled on a 20% increase, the largest tax increase in the state.
Hospital
The Intermountain Riverton Hospital, funded by Intermountain HealthcareIntermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Health Care, Inc., DBA as Intermountain Healthcare, and formerly known as Intermountain Health Care , is a non-profit healthcare system and is the largest healthcare provider in the Intermountain West. Intermountain Healthcare provides hospital and other medical services in Utah and...
, opened in November 2009. The much needed general hospital serves the fastest growing portion of the Salt Lake Valley with surrounding cities such as Riverton, Herriman, Bluffdale, and South Jordan. The hospital will also provide services to cities in northern Utah County. The hospital's services include a complete in-and-out patient care, a 24 hour emergency department, a state-of-art-women's center, a surgical center, radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, physical therapy, 40 physician offices, and a helicopter pad. Perhaps the most notable service this hospital includes is the children's out-patient center directly run by Primary Children's Medical Center
Primary Children's Medical Center
Primary Children's Medical Center is a 252-bed children's hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is owned by Intermountain Healthcare and operates in affiliation with the University of Utah...
. The design of the hospital allows it to expand as the Southwest part of the valley continues to see rapid growth.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 25,011 people, 6,348 households, and 5,884 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,989.7 people per square mile (768.2/km²). There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 521.5 per square mile (201.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.45% White, 0.22% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.17% of the population.
There were 6,348 households out of which 65.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 7.3% were non-families. 5.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.93 and the average family size was 4.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 42.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 13.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $63,980, and the median income for a family was $65,330. Males had a median income of $42,344 versus $26,710 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,643. About 2.4% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.