Monticello, Utah

Monticello is a city in San Juan County, Utah, United States, and serves as the county seat. As of the 2020 census, it is the second most populous city in the county, with a population of 1,824 people. The area was settled in July 1887 by pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was named after Thomas Jefferson's estate. It became the county seat in 1895 and was officially incorporated as a city in 1910.

During the uranium boom from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, Monticello saw growth due to several uranium and vanadium mines in the area. The Federal Government operated a uranium processing mill in Monticello from 1948 to 1960. Later, from 1989 to 2004, a major cleanup project led by the U.S. Department of Energy removed radioactive material and restored the land where the mill once stood.

Today, Monticello is known for its natural beauty and recreation. In 2000, an 18-hole golf course called The Hideout was built on the cleaned-up mill site. It has been recognized as one of the top golf courses in Utah and in the United States. In 1998, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Monticello Utah Temple, which was the 53rd temple for the church and the first of a new series of smaller temples. The city is located at the base of the Abajo Mountains on the Colorado Plateau.

History

The Old Spanish Trail trade route passed through the area of Monticello from 1829 into the 1850s.

Monticello was one of the many cities established by Mormon pioneers in the Utah Territory, which became the State of Utah. Farming, ranching, and uranium mining have all played an important role in the economy and history of the town.

Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began the first full-scale settling of what is now known as San Juan County, Utah. Few white residents had settled along the San Juan River before the arrival of the Mormon pioneers from the San Juan Expedition. After passing through Hole-In-The-Rock, the pioneers arrived in the San Juan County area and settled in Bluff on 6 April 1880. In that year, on a journey to northern Utah from the San Juan River settlements, Apostles Erastus Snow and Brigham Young Jr. passed through the current site of Monticello. They were quite impressed by it, and this encounter was one of the key factors behind LDS settlement there a few years later. After struggling to farm along the unpredictable San Juan River, leaders began to look to settle the higher country at the base of the Abajo Mountains, also known as the Blue Mountains, where several streams and springs descended from the mountain.

In March 1886, Francis A. Hammond, the LDS Stake President of San Juan County, sent scouts from Bluff to identify possible locations for settlements near the water sources of the Blue Mountains. The scouts found that a few people had already begun to utilize the land. The first white man to build a cabin in the Monticello area was likely cattleman Patrick O'Donnell in 1879. Notwithstanding the fact that others were utilizing the land, Hammond sent the families of George A. Adams, Frederick I. Jones, Parley R. Butt and Charles E. Walton from Bluff to establish a new settlement at what is now Monticello. They first set up camp at Verdure near the South Fork of Montezuma Creek on March 11, 1887, six miles (10 km) south of what is now Monticello. By the first part of July 1887, the men had begun to plant crops, survey an irrigation ditch, and layout a townsite in the present-day Monticello area.

In 1903 the Utah State Agricultural College in Logan established an experimental station in Verdure where various dry-farming techniques were tested for thirteen years. This information spurred the growth of the farming industry in the area. In 1909, the Enlarged Homestead Act was passed, which provided 320 acres (1.3 km²) of non-irrigable land for a small price. New farms began to cover the sagebrush lands north and east of Monticello.

The Vanadium Corporation of America (VCA) began construction of a vanadium mill in Monticello in 1941 in response to the increased demand for radioactive material brought about by World War II. In 1943, VCA began producing a uranium-vanadium sludge for the Manhattan Engineer District. Monticello and the San Juan County area experienced significant growth during the uranium boom of the 1950s. The uranium mines in San Juan County were among the richest in the nation. The mill at Monticello processed large amounts of ore taken from the canyons of southeastern Utah. The population of Monticello more than doubled during this time as a result of the activity at the processing plant and the mining activity in the region.

On January 1, 1960, the mill was closed permanently by the Atomic Energy Commission. A massive cleanup project was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 to 2004 to remove radioactive material from lands and buildings and to restore the land formerly occupied by the mill. All radioactive material was removed and placed in a controlled repository near Monticello. With the remaining cleanup funds, the city decided to expand the existing 9-hole golf course into an 18-hole course. The course was designed by Forrest Richardson & Assoc. Golf Course Architects and construction was completed in 2001.

Geography and climate

Monticello is located in the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau. It sits at the base of the Abajo Mountains, also known as the Blue Mountains, which are part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. The city covers an area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), making it the largest city in the county by area. From Monticello, you can see a tree formation on the Blue Mountains that looks like a horse’s head and neck.

Monticello is about 40 miles from the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park and 59 miles from Arches National Park, near Moab. The city has a warm-summer humid continental climate, which means it has cold winters and warm summers, similar to places like Flagstaff, Arizona, Aspen, Colorado, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Demographics

Monticello, Utah, had a population of 1,824 as of the 2020 census. The median age was 34.2 years, with 30.4% of residents under 18 and 16.1% aged 65 or older. Most residents lived in rural areas, and about 41% of households included children under 18.

In the 2000 census, the population was 1,958. The racial makeup was mainly White, with smaller percentages of Native American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino residents. The median income for a household was $35,929, and about 8% of the population lived below the poverty line.

Culture

Monticello is the county seat of San Juan County and holds the San Juan County Fair and Fairgrounds. The fair takes place every August, and the town also celebrates Pioneer Day on July 24 with a parade and festivities, honoring the arrival of Mormon settlers in the Salt Lake Valley.

The city hosts the Blue Mountain Triathlon each year, featuring cross country skiing, biking, and running. In 1997, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced plans to build smaller temples, with the first one built in Monticello. The Monticello Utah Temple was completed in 1998 and later expanded in 2002. It was the 53rd temple built by the church.

Education

The San Juan School District operates two public schools in Monticello. Monticello Elementary School serves children in grades K-6, and Monticello High School serves students in grades 7-12. The San Juan County Library is also located in Monticello.

Monticello was once chosen as the site for a new campus of the George Wythe University. Construction began in August 2008, but the project was never finished.

Recreation

Monticello is home to The Hideout Golf Club, an 18-hole golf course built near the site of an old uranium mill. It is ranked as the second-best golf course in Utah and the 23rd-best municipal golf course in the United States.

The Abajo Mountains and nearby areas are great for hiking and hunting. You can also go fishing at Foy Lake, Monticello Lake, and Lloyds Lake, all located in the Blue Mountains.