West Valley City dates to 1980, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #83 of 119 in Utah. What drives it
Most of West Valley City was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 96 buildings. Below: the census since 1980.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Valley City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Valley City is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #83 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Valley City’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, West Valley City ranks #344 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 West Valley City’s 7.0 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 97 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at West Valley City’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1980.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 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 West Valley City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Granger
1888–1901
Eldorado
1890–1905
Hunter
1898–1901
Bacchus
1915–1954
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Academy ParkAcord AcresAddison Park OneAddison Park Three and FourAlpine MeadowsAmanda AcresAnderton EstatesApollo HillsArlington ParkArnold EstatesAsbury Park AdditionB and B EstatesBacchusBacchus HeightsBaileyBailey MeadowsBangerterBello ParkBennion PlazaBenviewBlue Haven PlaceBonneville RidgeBrady PlaceBrenthaven Park
Gone or out of use
Utah Central Airportairport
1cemetery inside West Valley City
Valley View Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start West Valley City’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Valley City’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The earliest known residents of the western Salt Lake Valley were Native American bands of the Ute and Shoshoni tribes.
The first European people to live in the area were the Latter-day Saints. The Euro-Americans arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The area was first staked out by settler Joseph Harker and his family in the area they named as "over Jordan" (referring to the land west of the Jordan River, which runs through the valley).
The Granger area was settled by Welsh pioneers who came to Utah with Dan Jones in 1849. Irrigation systems and agriculture were developed in the area, and Elias Smith proposed the area's name on account of its successful farming. The population of Granger and its vicinity was about 1,000 people in 1930.
In 1980, according to Wikidata. West Valley City’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1980 counted 72,299 people here.
How does West Valley City rank for history?
West Valley City is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #83 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 West Valley City?
Two places: the McLachlan, William, Farmhouse (listed 1980) and the Westwood Village Historic District (2024).
How old are the homes in West Valley City?
0.7% of West Valley City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
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