Heber City, Utah

Heber City, Utah
City
Heber Valley with Deer Creek Reservoir
Location in Wasatch County and the state of Utah
Coordinates: 40°30′24″N 111°24′44″W / 40.50667°N 111.41222°WCoordinates: 40°30′24″N 111°24′44″W / 40.50667°N 111.41222°W
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Wasatch
Settled	1859
Named for	Heber C. Kimball[1]
Area
• Total	3.5 sq mi (9 km^2)
• Land	3.5 sq mi (9 km^2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km^2)
Elevation	5,604 ft (1,708 m)
Population (2010)[2]
• Total	11,362
• Estimate (2013)[3]	12,911
• Density	2,113.5/sq mi (816.0/km^2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	84032
Area code(s)	435
FIPS code	49-34200[4]
GNIS feature ID	1455878[5]
Website	City of Heber City

Heber City is a city in Wasatch County, Utah, United States. Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball. It is the county seat of Wasatch County. The original Heber City town square is located on the west side of main street between Center street and 100 north and currently houses city offices as well as the historic Wasatch Stake Tabernacle and Heber Amusement Hall. The city was largely pastoral, focusing largely on dairy farms and cattle ranching, and has since become a bedroom community for Orem, Provo, Park City and Salt Lake City.

Heber City is currently governed by Mayor Alan McDonald along with City Council Members Kelleen Potter, Robert Patterson, Heidi Franco, Jeff Bradshaw, and Erik Rowland.

Within the city limits are Heber Valley, Old Mill, and J.R. Smith Elementary Schools, Timpanogos Intermediate School, Rocky Mountain Middle School, Wasatch High School, and Wasatch Alternative High School. An additional school in the Heber Valley is Midway Elementary School. All of these schools are part of the Wasatch County School District. Utah Valley University maintains a satellite campus just north of Heber City along the US-40 corridor.

Heber City supports four LDS stakes, as well as congregations of Southern Baptists, Catholics as part of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

History

Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert Broadhead, James Davis and James Gurr. John W. Witt built the first house in the area. The area was under the direction of Bishop Silas Smith who was in Provo. In 1860 Joseph S. Murdock became the bishop over the Latter-day Saints in Heber City and vicinity.^[6]

Geography of Heber

Heber City is located at 40°30′24″N 111°24′44″W / 40.506793°N 111.412292°W (40.506793, -111.412292),^[7] at an elevation of 5595 feet.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (8.9 km²), all of it land.

Heber City is in the neighborhood of three large reservoirs, Jordanelle, Deer Creek, and Strawberry.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Heber City has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.^[8]

Economy

Heber City has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Utah. Local developers and business leaders cite that there are not enough jobs in the city itself (as 27% of residents commute to Park City or Salt Lake City for work) and wish to improve the city's self-reliance. Average home prices in the valley doubled from 2002–2008 and the population has grown by 25% in that same time period.^[9]

Tourism is a year-round industry in the Heber Valley. The winter season features cross-country and downhill skiing, as well as snowboarding and snowmobiling on several trails and the nearby ski resorts of Park City. In the summer and fall, golfing, off roading, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreational activities are abundant. Heber is also home to the Heber Valley Historic Railroad (HVRR) which was known as the Heber Creeper before 1989.

Heber City's youth are employed largely in the surrounding golf courses, restaurants, and specialty shops in Heber City and the surrounding area. Local contractors and farmers are also a major source of employment for the youth. The adult population work mostly in Park City, Salt Lake City, Provo and Orem. Skiing and Snowboarding is very popular among Heber City's youth, and many people go to Park City mountain resort, Canyons, or Deer Valley, all of which are in Park City. Farming and ranching is a large force in the economy, but this has diminished slightly. The largest local employer is the Wasatch County School District.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	658		—
1880	1,291		96.2%
1890	1,538		19.1%
1900	1,725		12.2%
1910	2,214		28.3%
1920	2,071		−6.5%
1930	2,477		19.6%
1940	2,748		10.9%
1950	2,936		6.8%
1960	2,936		0.0%
1970	3,245		10.5%
1980	4,362		34.4%
1990	4,782		9.6%
2000	7,291		52.5%
2010	11,362		55.8%
Est. 2014	13,599	[10]	19.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 2013 Estimate[3]

As of the census^[4] of 2010, there were 11,362 people and 3,637 households residing in the city. The population density was 2,113.5 people per square mile (816/km²). There were 3,637 housing units at an average density of 710.5 per square mile (274.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.7% White, 0.4% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.4% of the population.

There were 3,362 households out of which 50.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 3.78. The median age was 28.5 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,394, and the median income for a family was $47,481. Males had a median income of $33,816 versus $21,524 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,358. About 4.8% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or older.

Transportation

U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 189 both cross the city. Interstate 80 is located approximately eighteen miles north of the city and can be accessed via Highway 40 while Interstate 15 can be accessed via Highway 189 through Provo Canyon and is approximately twenty-five miles away. A typical drive to downtown Salt Lake City is approximately forty five minutes to one hour.

Heber City was connected to Provo by a 32-mile long railroad line. The line, completed in 1899, was used by Denver & Rio Grande Western until 1967. Today, a portion of the line is used by the famous Heber Valley Railroad, a heritage railroad open to the public.

The Heber City Municipal Airport, or Russ McDonald Field, FAA identifier 36U, is located two miles south of the city, near the junction of U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 189, and is capable of handling aircraft up to large corporate jet, including Gulfstreams and Global Express. Approximately 85 aircraft are based at the airport. The airport is served by a GPS instrument approach procedure, allowing aircraft to arrive at the airport in adverse weather. During the winter ski season, and particularly the Sundance Film Festival, the airport is crowded with corporate jets as it is the closest airport to Park City. The airport is also home to the Heber Valley Airshow, held each summer. The nearest airport with commercial airline service is Salt Lake City International Airport.

Notable People

Cael Sanderson - Only four-time undefeated collegiate wrestling champion in NCAA history

References

1. Van Atta, Dale (Jan 22, 1977). "You name it - there's a town for it". The Deseret News. pp. W6. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
2. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
3. "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
4. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
6. Jenson, Andrew, Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Salt Lake City:Deseret News Press, 1941) p. 328
7. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
8. Climate Summary for Heber City, Utah
9. Deseret News - 'Wasatch Back' growing fast. September 9, 2008.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
11. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved October 17, 2014.

External links

• Heber City Official City Government Website
• Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Development
• Wasatch County School District Public Schools