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History · Brian Head

Brian Head dates to 1975

Most of Brian Head was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1980.

1975founded
0on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Brian Head’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Brian Head began

When was Brian Head founded?

1975

Brian Head dates its founding to 1975 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 77 in 19802020 census: 15151 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Brian Head’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brian Head’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brian Head’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMen at Brian Head Bear Flat ski develop…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Brian Head came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brian Head.

Read it all →

The community was originally called "Monument Peak," but was changed to the current name after 1900 for reasons no longer known, although probably related to the name of (or renaming to) Brian Head (mountain), in nearby Dixie National Forest.

In 1964, the Brian Head Resort opened. Development of the Aspen Meadows area is currently projected to double the size of the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brian Head, 1958 to 1975

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1964In the archiveMen at Brian Head Bear Flat ski developing area, southwest of Brian Head Peak, near Cedar…
  4. 1975
    FoundingBrian Head is established
By decade

Brian Head, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
Men at Brian Head Bear Flat ski developing area, southwest of Brian Head Peak, near Cedar Breaks National Monument. Sch…1964Men at Brian Head Bear Flat ski developing area, sout…
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Brian Head Dec 2023 072023Brian Head Dec 2023 07Brian Head Dec 2023 062023Brian Head Dec 2023 06Brian Head Dec 2023 052023Brian Head Dec 2023 05Brian Head Dec 2023 042023Brian Head Dec 2023 04Brian Head Dec 2023 032023Brian Head Dec 2023 03Brian Head Dec 2023 022023Brian Head Dec 2023 02Brian Head Dec 2023 012023Brian Head Dec 2023 01NB Leaving Dixie National Forest in Brian Head, Utah, Oct 172017NB Leaving Dixie National Forest in Brian Head, Utah,…Brian Head welcome sign, Oct 172017Brian Head welcome sign, Oct 17Brianhead2011BrianheadDramatic switchback original2007Dramatic switchback original
On the map

Brian Head on the map, 1958 to 2002

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brian Head. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Brian Head on the 1958 USGS mapBrian Head on the 1985 USGS mapBrian Head on the 2002 USGS map1958Cedar Breaks sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Brian Head.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Men at Brian Head Bear Flat ski developing area, southwest of Brian Head Peak, near Cedar Breaks National Monument. Sch…
Retake this viewMen at Brian Head Bear Flat ski developing area, southwest of Brian Head Peak, near Cedar Breaks National Monument. Sch…, 1964

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Brian Head’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Brian Head, census by census

0100198020002020Peak: 151

Between 77 and 151 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Brian Head’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Brian Head’s history

What year was Brian Head founded?

In 1975, according to Wikidata. the census of 1980 counted 77 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.