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B+History
History · Murray

Murray dates to 1848, and 19 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #12 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Murray was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 19 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 492 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1900.

1848founded
19on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
24famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Murray’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Murray began

When was Murray founded?

1848

Murray dates its founding to 1848 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 3,302 in 19002020 census: 50,637178 years

How historic is Murray?

B+

More historic than 72% 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 Murray’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Murray is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #12 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Murray’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.5% of homes (±0.9) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register19 listings, 516 historic buildings, 103 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 91%

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 Murray’s 103 sits above most of its state (90% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 516 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1848.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 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 Murray’s past

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

A historic districtThe Murray Hillside Historic District takes in 281 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Murray, and 103 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.Landmarks on the Register19 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

19 listings protect 516 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
19
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
516
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Henry J. Wheeler Farm
Henry J. Wheeler FarmJohn P. Cahoon HouseWarenski-Duvall Commercial Building and ApartmentsMurray LDS Second Ward MeetinghouseIris Theater, Apartments and Commercial BuildingMurray Downtown Historic DistrictMurray City Diesel Power Plant, built 1927Rawsel and Jane Bradford HouseRay F. and Ethel Smith House, built 1937Perry and Agnes Fitzgerald House and Cabin, built 1898Wesley and Frances Walton House, built 1899Murray Hillside Historic DistrictDyre & Maria Amundsen House, built 1891Edward and Irene Hobbs HouseMatthew and Johanna Rowan House, built 1887Edward and Harriet Rosenbaum HouseThomas & Margaret Taylor HouseMurray Downtown Residential Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian3
Victorian Eclectic2
Victorian1
Box1
Bungalow1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Henry J. Wheeler FarmBuilding
John P. Cahoon HouseVictorian
Warenski-Duvall Commercial Building and ApartmentsLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
Murray LDS Second Ward MeetinghouseLate Victorian
Iris Theater, Apartments and Commercial BuildingModern Movement
Murray Downtown Historic DistrictLate Victorian
Murray City Diesel Power PlantBuilt 1927
Rawsel and Jane Bradford HouseBuilding
All 19 listings
Ray F. and Ethel Smith HouseBuilding · listed 2019Perry and Agnes Fitzgerald House and CabinBuilding · listed 2023Wesley and Frances Walton HouseBuilding · listed 1995Murray Hillside Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2014Dyre & Maria Amundsen HouseBuilding · listed 2015Edward and Irene Hobbs HouseBuilding · listed 2018Matthew and Johanna Rowan HouseBuilding · listed 2019Edward and Harriet Rosenbaum HouseBuilding · listed 2020Thomas & Margaret Taylor HouseBuilding · listed 2020Murray Downtown Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020Murray Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2026

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Murray had its own post office from 1883 to 1901. Another post office, Home, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Home
1854–1857
Murray
1883–1901
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Adams ParkAkronAmherst ParkAspen HeightsAtwoodAuburn GardensBee and GeeBelle MeadowsBirchwood EstatesBrahman ValleyBrentwood ParkBridlewalkBullionCastlefield DownsChase AcresChevy ChaseCimarronClaytonClover Crest Number 2Clover Crest Number 3Cottonwood ParkCountry Garden EstatesDairy MeadowsDalton
1cemetery inside Murray
Murray

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

Help out

Start Murray’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Murray’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 viewEdward Johson of Murray, Salt Lake Coun…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Murray came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Murray.

Read it all →

Before being permanently settled by Mormon pioneers in 1848, the area where Murray is located was a natural area that served as the seasonal home of Paiute, Shoshone, and Bannock Native American tribes. The tribes camped along local creek banks and stream beds during their migrations. Artifacts of Native American encampments have been located along the Jordan River, including camps near Willow Pond Park.

ChaptersPre-settlementA new settlementCenter of industryPost–World War II to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Murray, 1848 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848
    FoundingMurray is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Home post office opens
  4. 1857Post officeThe Home post office closes
  5. 1883Post officeThe Murray post office opens
  6. 1898BuiltPerry and Agnes Fitzgerald House and Cabin is built
  7. 1899BuiltWesley and Frances Walton House is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Post officeThe Murray post office closes
  10. 1927BuiltMurray City Diesel Power Plant is built
  11. 1937BuiltRay F. and Ethel Smith House is built
  12. 1940In the archiveEdward Johson of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah, makes poultry pay his way on a one-acre …
  13. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1975Born hereScot Pollard is born here
  15. 1978Born hereKevin Curtis is born here
  16. 1995Born hereDarian Jenkins is born here
  17. 1997Born hereNathaniel Coleman is born here
By decade

Murray, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Edward Johson of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah, makes poultry pay his way on a one-acre farm. Careful farm and home ma…1940Edward Johson of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah, make…
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
Colors in the sky 22015Colors in the sky 22015-11-03 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 …Trouble 22014Trouble 2Navy wins silver medal at Armed Forces Beach Volleyball Tournament 130506-M-XX123-0032013Navy wins silver medal at Armed Forces Beach Volleyba…I-215 State-Named Shield2013I-215 State-Named ShieldSR-173 eastern terminus2009SR-173 eastern terminus6200 S State St20096200 S State St5900 S State St20095900 S State St5300 S State St20095300 S State St5100 S State St20095100 S State St4600 S State St20094600 S State St4500 S State St20094500 S State StJordan River Parkway in2008Jordan River Parkway in
On the map

Murray on the map, 1951 to 1999

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

Murray on the 1951 USGS mapMurray on the 1963 USGS mapMurray on the 1975 USGS mapMurray on the 1999 USGS map1951Salt Lake City South 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 Murray.

Every building

Murray, 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.

Murray fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 7
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.

Edward Johson of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah, makes poultry pay his way on a one-acre farm. Careful farm and home ma…
Retake this viewEdward Johson of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah, makes poultry pay his way on a one-acre farm. Careful farm and home ma…, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Murray, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,000190019201940196019802000202050,637

Grew from 3,302 people in 1900 to 50,637 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

24 famous people were born in Murray

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

See all →
Nathaniel ColemanAmerican sport climber · b. 1997
Scot PollardAmerican basketball player and reality televisi… · b. 1975
Kevin CurtisAmerican football player · b. 1978
D
Darian JenkinsAssociation football player · b. 1995
Stan WattsAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1911
K
Kayden TroffAmerican chess player · b. 1998
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Taylorsville2 historic placesC+Millcreek13 historic placesB−Midvale3 historic placesCHolladay11 historic placesBWest Jordan3 historic placesC+Cottonwood Heights4 historic placesC−

Questions about Murray’s history

What year was Murray founded?

In 1848, according to Wikidata. Murray’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1900 counted 3,302 people here.

How does Murray rank for history?

Murray is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #12 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 Murray?

19 listings: 16 buildings, among them the Henry J. Wheeler Farm (listed 1976, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Murray Downtown Historic District, the Murray Hillside Historic District and the Murray Downtown Residential Historic District, with 492 contributing buildings. 516 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Murray?

3% of Murray’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (19), 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.