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History · Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City has 233 places on the National Register, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #1 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Dated to 1847 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history), with 25% of its homes built before 1940 and 22 historic districts holding 9,596 contributing buildings. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, the census since 1850, and every listing on the Register.

1847founded

233on the National Register

25%homes built before 1940

15old photos & papers

33famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Salt Lake City’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Salt Lake City began

When was Salt Lake City founded?

1847

Salt Lake City dates its founding to 1847 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 6,157 in 18502020 census: 199,723179 years

How historic is Salt Lake City?

A⁺

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Salt Lake City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salt Lake City is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #1 of 119 in Utah. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salt Lake City’s overall grade.

Founding era1847, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194025.4% of homes (±0.9) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%A⁻National Register233 listings, 9,596 historic buildings, 461 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%

NewerOlder

Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)#1 of 119

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Salt Lake City ranks #42 on History.

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 Salt Lake City’s 461 sits above most of its state (97% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 9,596 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1847.

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 Salt Lake City’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark233 places on the National Register, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe Wells Historic District takes in 1,923 historic buildings.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Salt Lake City, and 254 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1911, drew every building in Salt Lake City.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

233 listings protect 9,596 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 5 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

233

National Historic Landmarks

Brigham Young Complex

historic buildings protected

9,596

each building in a district counts

first listed

1966

Brigham Young Complex

BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructuresObjects★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Prairie School25

Victorian Eclectic24

Bungalow20

Craftsman19

Colonial Revival19

Victorian15

★ Landmark

Brigham Young ComplexAngell, Truman O.

★ Landmark

Emigration CanyonSite

★ Landmark

Temple SquareDistrict

★ Landmark

Fort DouglasDistrict

★ Landmark

Council HallBuilding

Beehive HouseGreek Revival · Built 1854

Thomas Kearns Mansion and Carriage HouseBuilding

Isaac Chase MillBuilt 1852

All 234 listings

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, places now gone and burying grounds

Salt Lake City’s post office has been open since 1849. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Salt Lake City

1849–today

Wasatch

1882–1902

North

1883–1891

Sugar

1883–1899

Fort Douglas

1897–1942

18401930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Agricultural ParkAirport East Business ParkAlbert PlaceAmos AdditionArcher KullakArlington HillsArlington ParkAthensAvondaleBarichsBecksBeverly AdditionBeyles Riverside PlotBlaineBolton and CompanyBonneville CenterBonneville on the HillBrooklynBuena VistaBullockBunnellsBurlington Addition EastBurlington Addition WestBurr Oak Addition

Gone or out of use

Lafayette SchoolschoolSaint Marks HospitalhospitalSalt Lake City Army Air BasemilitaryThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day SaintschurchTreasure Box MinemineUnited States Forest Service Airportairport

12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Salt Lake City

B'Nai IsraelBrigham Young Family MemorialCathedral of the MadeleineFort DouglasKimball - WhitneyLarkin Sunset LawnMontefioreMount Calvary CatholicMount OlivetSalt Lake CitySalt Lake Memorial MausoleumShaarey Tzedek

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

The story

How Salt Lake City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Salt Lake City.

Read it all →

Before settlement by members of the LDS Church, the Shoshone, Weber Ute, and Paiute had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. At the time of Salt Lake City's founding, the valley was within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone. At the time of European contact, the Salt Lake Valley was inhabited by several Indigenous groups, including the Northwestern Shoshone and the Western Goshute, a distinct tribe with ancestral territory in the broader region. The Western Goshute had distinct names for key geographic features, including the Jordan River (Pi'o-gwût), City Creek (So'ho-gwût), and Red Butte Canyon (Pi'o-gwût, So'ho-gwût, and Mo'ni-wai-ni). The Goshutes lived in the vicinity of Salt Lake and the valleys to the west. The land was treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title held by the Northwestern Shoshone was ever ceded or relinquished by tre…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Salt Lake City, 1886–1902

Passages that mention Salt Lake City, cut from the printed page as they were published.

This station is eventually to place the several sub-stations and auxiliary steam plants in Salt Lake City. It is end of the city, where there is every facility for the delivery of coal. The plant at present has a capacity of 400,000 cubic feet per day, and is a mixed coal and water plant, so design… — **Utah, the inland empire**1902 · page 68Read the page →
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This station is eventually to place the several sub-stations and auxiliary steam plants in Salt Lake City. It is end of the city, where there is every facility for the delivery of coal. The plant at present has a capacity of 400,000 cubic feet per day, and is a mixed coal and water plant, so designed that either or both systems can be use'd in the manufacture of gas at any time. Designs have been made for the extension of this plant as the demand for gas
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Y. Express Carrying Company." Doubtless the former contractor, one of whom, Mr. Hockaday, was a resident merchant of Salt Lake City, knew of the conception of such a design of Governor Young, some time before the new contract was awarded, seeing the contract was sought for that very purpose. The gi… — **History of Salt Lake City**1886 · page 153Read the page →
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Y. Express Carrying Company." Doubtless the former contractor, one of whom, Mr. Hockaday, was a resident merchant of Salt Lake City, knew of the conception of such a design of Governor Young, some time before the new contract was awarded, seeing the contract was sought for that very purpose. The gieat Mormon colonizer and city founder, had already proclaimed his intention of establishing a line of settlements from Great Salt Lake City to Carson Valley, and a line of intercourse east to the Missouri River; and it was quite certain that, on this eastern line, a chain of settlements would spring up out of the Mor-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The following invitation was issued to the musical people : Salt Lake City, January 9th, 1875. You are respectfully invited to be present at a meeting to be held at the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms on Wednesday evening next, the 12th inst., at 7 o'clock, to take into consideration the desirabilit… — **The history of Salt Lake City and its founders**1886 · page 774Read the page →
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The following invitation was issued to the musical people : Salt Lake City, January 9th, 1875. You are respectfully invited to be present at a meeting to be held at the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms on Wednesday evening next, the 12th inst., at 7 o'clock, to take into consideration the desirability of giving a performance in Salt Lake City, of Handel's great oratorio "The Messiah, " by the associated musical talent of this city and vicinity, on some date to be hereafter decided upon, said performance to be solely for the furtherance of the divine art, (music) and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

"After the party left Lake Utah for winter quarters in Salt Lake City, the Indians became more insolent, boasting of what they had done — driving off the stock of the inhabitants of the southern settlements, resisting all attempts to recover them, and finally firing upon the people themselves as th… — **The history of Salt Lake City and its founders**1886 · page 68Read the page →
Read the text
"After the party left Lake Utah for winter quarters in Salt Lake City, the Indians became more insolent, boasting of what they had done — driving off the stock of the inhabitants of the southern settlements, resisting all attempts to recover them, and finally firing upon the people themselves as they issued from their little stockade to attend to their ordinary occupations. Lender these circumstances, the settlers in the Utah Valley applied to the supreme government, at Salt Lake City, for counsel as to the proper course of action. The President was at first extremely averse to the adoption of harsh measures ; but, after several conciliatory
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Salt Lake City, 1847 to 1932

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

19th century
1847
FoundingSalt Lake City is established
1849In the archiveSalt Lake City scrip note for 2.00c, 1849 (NBY 18226)
1849Post officeThe Salt Lake City post office opens
1852BuiltIsaac Chase Mill is built
1854BuiltBeehive House is built
1856In the archiveGardo house saltlake 1856
1860In the archiveLeviStewart
1871BuiltSt. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral is built
1882Post officeThe Wasatch post office opens
1883Post officeThe North post office opens
1890In the archiveSalt Lake City main street 1890s
1891Post officeThe North post office closes
1894BuiltSalt Lake City and County Building is built
1894Born hereFrank Borzage is born here
20th century
1902Post officeThe Wasatch post office closes
1907In the archiveFirst Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake City
1913Born hereLoretta Young is born here
1932Born hereStephen Covey is born here

By decade

Salt Lake City, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1840s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1840s–1860s7 items

1849Salt Lake City scrip note for 2.00c, 1849 (NBY 18226)

1849Salt Lake City scrip note for 2.00c, 1849 (NBY 18336)

c. 1856Gardo house saltlake 1856

1860sLeviStewart

East Temple Street in Salt Lake City Scene on East Temple Street (titel op object) Utah (serietitel op object), RP-F-F1…

1861East Temple Street in Salt Lake City Scene on East Te…

18631863 view Salt Lake City

1869Birdseye [sic] panoramic view of Great Salt Lake City

1890s7 items

1890Salt Lake City main street 1890s

c. 1890778 MSS P 24

c. 1890690 MSS P 24 B7 F14

1891Salt Lake City, Utah. 1891

1898Brigham Young's Grave, Salt Lake City, UtahPostcard

1898Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah

1900s1 item

c. 1907First Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake CityPostcard

1910s–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

On the map

Salt Lake City on the map, 1951 to 1998

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

1951Salt Lake City North 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 Salt Lake City.

Every building

Salt Lake City, building by building, 1884–1911

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 year, then a sheet.

Salt Lake City fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 1

1884Sheet 1 of 17

Edition

Sheets

+16 more at the Library of Congress

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.

Retake this viewSalt Lake City scrip note for 2.00c, 1849 (NBY 18226), 1849

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Salt Lake City, census by census

Grew from 6,157 people in 1850 to 199,723 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

33 famous people were born in Salt Lake City

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

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

Roseanne BarrAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1952

Craig VenterAmerican biotechnologist and businessman · b. 1946

Help out

Finish Salt Lake City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewSalt Lake City scrip note for 2.00c, 18…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Millcreek13 historic placesB⁻South Salt Lake1 historic placeB Magna3 historic placesC⁺West Valley City2 historic placesC⁻North Salt LakeIts storyD⁻Emigration CanyonIts storyC⁻

Questions about Salt Lake City’s history

What year was Salt Lake City founded?

In 1847, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Salt Lake City’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1850 counted 6,157 people here.

How does Salt Lake City rank for history?

Salt Lake City is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #1 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 Salt Lake City?

233 listings, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks: 205 buildings, among them the Brigham Young Complex (a National Historic Landmark since 1964), 23 historic districts with 8,057 contributing buildings, 2 sites, 2 structures, and 2 objects. 9,596 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Salt Lake City?

25% of Salt Lake City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1965.

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 (15), Wikidata (15), the National Register of Historic Places (234), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Salt Lake City has 233 places on the National Register, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks

How Salt Lake City began

When was Salt Lake City founded?

How historic is Salt Lake City?

What drives Salt Lake City’s History grade

What stands out about Salt Lake City’s past

233 listings protect 9,596 historic buildings

Architectural styles listings

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

How Salt Lake City came to be

What they wrote about Salt Lake City, 1886–1902

Salt Lake City, 1847 to 1932

Salt Lake City, decade by decade

Salt Lake City on the map, 1951 to 1998

Salt Lake City, building by building, 1884–1911

Stand where they stood

Salt Lake City, census by census

33 famous people were born in Salt Lake City

Finish Salt Lake City’s story

History across the town line

Questions about Salt Lake City’s history

Memory lane

Where this page comes from