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CHistory
History · Midvale

Midvale dates to 1851, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #64 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Midvale was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listings are the Midvale City Hall, the Thomas and Beda Anderberg House and the Salt Lake County Library. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1910.

1851founded
3on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Midvale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Midvale began

When was Midvale founded?

1851

Midvale dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,760 in 19102020 census: 36,028175 years

How historic is Midvale?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Midvale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Midvale is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #64 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Midvale’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±1.2) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 0.8 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 47%

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 Midvale’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1851.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.

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 Midvale’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Midvale, and 53 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Midvale’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Union, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Union
1854–1901
Midvale
1909–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BakerBali HaiBetty HeightsBirchmontBoggess Meadow EstatesBonneville TerraceCarmel CoveCelesteCentennial EstatesCountry Squire AcresCoventry at FairmeadowsCreekside EstatesDiamond AcresEnchanted VillageGardner GardensGeorge T SharpGolden AcresGreenwood CircleHalelaniHaleleaHidden VillageHillcrest HeightsHirschLandon Village
Gone or out of use
Union Fortmilitary
1cemetery inside Midvale
Midvale City

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Midvale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Midvale’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 viewYugoslavic funeral in Utah: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Midvale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Midvale.

Read it all →

Located in the central part of the Salt Lake Valley, and next to the Jordan River, Midvale was an early target for settlers in Utah. Permanent homes began as early as the 1850s, with one of the earliest homes still preserved today. The population grew quickly in the 1870s thanks to its central location, the use of railroad, and its connection to the mining in Bingham Canyon, the western area of present-day Midvale became an important industrial area for Utah. To support this growth, the eastern area of present-day Midvale provided agriculture and housing.

ChaptersIncorporationGrowth

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Midvale, 1851 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingMidvale is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Union post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Post officeThe Union post office closes
  6. 1904Born hereCarlos J. Anderson is born here
  7. 1909Post officeThe Midvale post office opens
  8. 1915Born hereKent Ryan is born here
  9. 1922In the archiveYugoslavic funeral in Utah
  10. 1930Born hereDon L. Lind is born here
  11. 1931Born hereDick Motta is born here
  12. 1939BuiltMidvale City Hall is built
  13. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Midvale, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Yugoslavic funeral in Utah1922Yugoslavic funeral in Utah
1930s–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
Today7 recent
Sinclair dino in2015Sinclair dino inMidvale Center 042015Midvale Center 04Midvale CIty Old Town sign2015Midvale CIty Old Town sign2015-11-03 10 13 04 View east from an airplane along the southern portion of Interstate 215 as it crosses the cities of…20152015-11-03 10 13 04 View east from an airplane along …2015-11-03 10 13 03 View east from an airplane along the southern portion of Interstate 215 as it crosses the cities of…20152015-11-03 10 13 03 View east from an airplane along …2015-11-03 10 12 52 View east from an airplane along the southern portion of Interstate 215 as it crosses the cities of…20152015-11-03 10 12 52 View east from an airplane along …2015-11-03 10 12 51 View east from an airplane along the southern portion of Interstate 215 as it crosses the cities of…20152015-11-03 10 12 51 View east from an airplane along …
On the map

Midvale on the map, 1951 to 1999

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

Midvale on the 1951 USGS mapMidvale on the 1963 USGS mapMidvale on the 1975 USGS mapMidvale on the 1999 USGS map1951Midvale 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 Midvale.

Every building

Midvale, building by building, 1911

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 sheet.

Midvale fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 9
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.

Yugoslavic funeral in Utah
Retake this viewYugoslavic funeral in Utah, 1922

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Midvale

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Salt Lake County Library
Midvale City Hall, built 1939Thomas and Beda Anderberg HouseSalt Lake County Library
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Moderne2
Late Victorian1
Victorian Eclectic1
Midvale City HallModerne · Built 1939
Thomas and Beda Anderberg HouseLate Victorian
All 3 listings
Salt Lake County LibraryBuilding · listed 1982

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

People over time

Midvale, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00019201940196019802000202036,028

Grew from 1,760 people in 1910 to 36,028 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Midvale

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

See all →
Don L. LindAmerican astronaut · b. 1930
Dick MottaAmerican basketball coach · b. 1931
K
Kent RyanAmerican football player · b. 1915
C
Carlos J. AndersonAmerican painter, illustrator and graphic desig… · b. 1904
C
Curtis ShawAmerican politician · b. 1888
Van HixsonAmerican National Guard general · b. 1920
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sandy55 historic placesB−Murray19 historic placesB+West Jordan3 historic placesC+Cottonwood Heights4 historic placesC−

Questions about Midvale’s history

What year was Midvale founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata. Midvale’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1910 counted 1,760 people here.

How does Midvale rank for history?

Midvale is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Midvale?

Three places: the Midvale City Hall (listed 1994), the Thomas and Beda Anderberg House (2004) and the Salt Lake County Library (1982).

How old are the homes in Midvale?

4% of Midvale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.