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C−History
History · Emigration Canyon

Half of Emigration Canyon’s homes were built after 1991

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Emigration Canyon was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1950 on.

0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Emigration Canyon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Emigration Canyon’s history

How historic is Emigration Canyon?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Emigration Canyon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Emigration Canyon is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Emigration Canyon’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19407.1% of homes (±3.9) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical UT town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder

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 Emigration Canyon’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Emigration Canyon’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.Lost villages9 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Emigration Canyon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Emigration Canyon’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 viewEntering the Great Salt Lake Valley by …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Emigration OaksKillyonsLittle MountainMaple CityMargaretheMountain Top ParkPinecrestQuadSpring Glen

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Emigration Canyon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Emigration Canyon.

Read it all →

Emigration Canyon was significant in early Utah history as the original route used by pioneers entering the area. It was part of the Hastings Cutoff route used by the Donner Party in 1846 (not affiliated with the Mormon pioneers) and where the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. As Brigham Young looked over the canyon, he declared, "This is the right place. Drive on." These words have become famous in Utah history. The event is commemorated with This Is The Place Heritage Park at the mouth of the canyon. Throughout Emigration Canyon, there are several historic markers designating camps, trail markers, and milestones where the Mormon pioneers passed while on their way to the Salt Lake Valley. One example of these milestones is called Lost Creek Camp.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Emigration Canyon, 1850 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archiveEntering the Great Salt Lake Valley by C.C.A. Christensen
  3. 20th century
  4. 1946In the archiveViews Along State Road 65 Near
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Emigration Canyon, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Entering the Great Salt Lake Valley by C.C.A. Christensen1850Entering the Great Salt Lake Valley by C.C.A. Christe…
1940s1 item
Views Along State Road 65 Near1946Views Along State Road 65 Near
1950s–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
Today16 recent
Emigration Canyon Power Lines DSC 03572014Emigration Canyon Power Lines DSC 0357Emigration Canyon Power Lines DSC 02892014Emigration Canyon Power Lines DSC 0289Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 03722014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0372Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 03702014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0370Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 03642014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0364Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 03312014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0331Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 02772014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0277Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 02592014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0259Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 02492014Emigration Canyon Pipeline DSC 0249Emigration Canyon Communication Building DSC 03402014Emigration Canyon Communication Building DSC 0340Emigration Canyon Cell and Radio TowersDSC 02832014Emigration Canyon Cell and Radio TowersDSC 0283Mormon Trail end2012Mormon Trail endA-22. Brigham Young's Last Camp (northwest of Salt Lake City) on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (2008)2008A-22. Brigham Young's Last Camp (northwest of Salt La…A-21. Little Mountain Summit (Emigration Canyon Road) on the California and Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trails (20…2008A-21. Little Mountain Summit (Emigration Canyon Road)…EmigrationCanyon2006EmigrationCanyonEmigration Canyon2006Emigration Canyon
On the map

Emigration Canyon on the map, 1950 to 1998

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

Emigration Canyon on the 1950 USGS mapEmigration Canyon on the 1963 USGS mapEmigration Canyon on the 1975 USGS mapEmigration Canyon on the 1998 USGS map1950Fort Douglas sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Entering the Great Salt Lake Valley by C.C.A. Christensen
Retake this viewEntering the Great Salt Lake Valley by C.C.A. Christensen, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Emigration Canyon

Nobody well known was born in Emigration Canyon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Wilford BrimleyAmerican actor and singer · b. 1934
Loretta YoungAmerican actress · b. 1913
Stephen CoveyAmerican educator, author, businessman and moti… · b. 1932
Frank BorzageAmerican film director and actor · b. 1894
R
Roseanne BarrAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1952
Craig VenterAmerican biotechnologist and businessman · b. 1946
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Salt Lake City233 historic placesA+

Questions about Emigration Canyon’s history

How does Emigration Canyon rank for history?

Emigration Canyon is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Emigration Canyon?

7% of Emigration Canyon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.