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C+History
History · Delta

Delta dates to 1906, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #50 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Van's Hall. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1910.

1906founded
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Delta’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Delta began

When was Delta founded?

1906

Delta dates its founding to 1906 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 459 in 19102020 census: 3,622120 years

How historic is Delta?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1911.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Delta’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Delta is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #50 of 119 in Utah. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Delta’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194024.5% of homes (±9.9) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 2.7 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 58%

Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Delta’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points). Two sources give 1906.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Delta’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Delta’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Delta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Delta.

Read it all →

Delta was originally a railroad switch called Aiken. In 1905 Aiken was renamed Melville when Millard County began plans to set up irrigation and a dam. People purchased land for 50 cents an acre as long as they agreed to develop a 40-acre lot. The name was changed again because of the similarities between Melville and Millville, another town in Utah. The name was changed on 12 May 1908 to Burtner. The name was finally changed to Delta on May 11, 1911. The name was chosen as the area was a delta of the Sevier River.

ChaptersTopaz Relocation CampGreat Basin MuseumGunnison Massacre Site

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Delta, 1850 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Utah - Millard County - ED 14-1, ED 14-2,…
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906
    FoundingDelta is established
  5. 1911Post officeThe Delta post office opens
  6. 1920Born hereJames E. Faust is born here
  7. 1936Born hereMax Black is born here
  8. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1976Born hereRon Wright is born here
  10. 1985Born hereChrissy Teigen is born here
By decade

Delta, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Utah - Millard County - ED 14-1, ED 14-2, ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Utah …
Date unknown1 to date
Delta town02Date?Delta town02
Today10 recent
20220615 45 Union Pacific RR202220220615 45 Union Pacific RR2022-03-24 19 11 33 UTC minus 6 View north and down from an airplane across Millard and Juab counties in Utah, with the…20222022-03-24 19 11 33 UTC minus 6 View north and down f…Kit Fox Pup near2015Kit Fox Pup nearBaker Hot Springs2015Baker Hot SpringsUS Routes 6 & 50 Markers in2014US Routes 6 & 50 Markers inSevier Lake Utah September 20132013Sevier Lake Utah September 2013Sevier Lake Utah September 2013 (cropped)2013Sevier Lake Utah September 2013 (cropped)Delta, Utah2012Delta, UtahDelta, Utah2012Delta, UtahDelta utah mainstreet christmas parade2007Delta utah mainstreet christmas parade
On the map

Delta on the map, 1962 to 1986

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

Delta on the 1962 USGS mapDelta on the 1986 USGS map1962Delta 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 Delta.

Every building

Delta, building by building, 1918–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Delta fire insurance map, 1918, sheet 11918Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Utah - Millard County - ED 14-1, ED 14-2, ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Utah - Millard County - ED 14-1, ED 14-2, ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Delta

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Van's Hall
Van's Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Colonial Revival1
Van's HallSpanish Colonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Delta, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001920194019601980200020203,622

Grew from 459 people in 1910 to 3,622 in 2020, 7 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Delta

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Chrissy TeigenAmerican model · b. 1985
James E. FaustApostle of the LDS Church · b. 1920
R
Ron WrightAmerican baseball player · b. 1976
M
Max BlackAmerican congressman in Idaho · b. 1936
E
Edward Leo Lyman IIIb. 1942
J
Joseph BishopCollege administrator · b. 1932

Questions about Delta’s history

What year was Delta founded?

In 1906, according to Wikidata. Delta’s post office opened in 1911, and the census of 1910 counted 459 people here.

How does Delta rank for history?

Delta is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #50 of 119 in Utah. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Delta?

One place: the Van's Hall (listed 1995).

How old are the homes in Delta?

25% of Delta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.