Monticello, Utah Monticello, Utah San Juan County Courthouse San Juan County Courthouse Location in San Juan County and the state of Utah.

Location in San Juan County and the state of Utah.

County San Juan Monticello /m nt s lo / is a town/city located in San Juan County, Utah, and is the county seat.

It is the second most crowded city in San Juan County, with a populace of 1,958 at the 2000 census.

Monticello, titled in honor of Thomas Jefferson's estate, became the governmental center of county in 1895 and was incorporated as a town/city in 1910. Monticello, along with much of San Juan County, experienced an increase in populace and economic activeness during the uranium boom from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Several uranium and vanadium mines were opened in the area, and a uranium refining foundry was directed in Monticello by the Federal Government from 1948 to 1960. Following the uranium boom, a massive cleanup universal was conducted by the U.S.

In 1998, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the Monticello Utah Temple, the first in a series of mini temples and the 53rd temple for the church.

Monticello was one of the many metros/cities established by Mormon pioneers in the Utah Territory, which became the State of Utah. Farming, ranching, and uranium quarrying have all played an meaningful part in the economy and history of the town. Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began the first full-scale settling of what is now known as San Juan County, Utah.

Few white inhabitants had settled along the San Juan River before to the arrival of the Mormon pioneers from the San Juan Expedition.

After passing through Hole-In-The-Rock, the pioneers appeared in the San Juan County region and settled in Bluff on 6 April 1880. In that year, on a journey to northern Utah from the San Juan River settlements, Apostles Erastus Snow and Brigham Young, Jr.

They were quite impressed by it, and this encounter was one of the key factors behind LDS settlement there a several years later. After struggling to farm along the unpredictable San Juan River, leaders began to look to settle the higher nation at the base of the Abajo Mountains, also known as the Blue Mountains, where a several streams and springs descended from the mountain.

Hammond, the LDS Stake President (the dominant LDS county-wide authority) of San Juan County, sent scouts from Bluff to identify possible locations for settlements near the water sources of the Blue Mountains.

The first white man to build a cabin in the Monticello region was likely cattleman Patrick O'Donnell in 1879. The North and South Forks of Montezuma Canyon, through which Montezuma Creek flows, were being utilized when the scouts arrived.

The Kansas and New Mexico Cattle and Land Company, directed by Edmund and Harold Carlisle, was positioned a several miles north of what is now Monticello, and the L.C.

Walton from Bluff to establish a new settlement at what is now Monticello. They first set up camp at Verdure near the South Fork of Montezuma Creek on March 11, 1887, six miles (10 km) south of what is now Monticello. By the first part of July, 1887, the men had begun to plant crops, survey an irrigation ditch, and layout a town site in the present-day Monticello area. Conflicts soon began with the Carlisle cowboys and Ute Indians over water and territory rights, resulting in warning shots, heated disputes, and legal battles.

The first phone lines were installed in the improve in 1906, tying into Colorado circuits. The Blue Mountain Irrigation Company ordered assembly of a combined water and power fitness in 1917. The San Juan Record, the county newspaper, was established in Monticello by Oscar Walter Mc - Conkie in 1915, where it remains to this day. Monticello, Utah, where a uranium foundry was directed by Vanadium Corp., was among the U.S.

The Vanadium Corporation of America (VCA) began assembly of a vanadium foundry in Monticello in 1941 in response to the increased demand for radioactive material brought about by World War II. In 1943, VCA began producing a uranium-vanadium sludge for the Manhattan Engineer District. It working 200 workers until it closed in 1946. In 1948, the U.S.

Monticello and the San Juan County region experienced momentous growth amid the uranium boom of the 1950s.

The uranium mines in San Juan County were among the richest in the nation. The Happy Jack Mine, positioned in White Canyon, San Juan County, was established by Monticello natives Fletch Bronson and Joe Cooper. The Happy Jack Mine was the second richest deposit of high undertaking uranium ore in the nation, the first being the Mi - Vida Mine, also in San Juan County. During these years the foundry at Monticello processed large amounts of ore taken from the canyons of southeastern Utah. The populace of Monticello more than doubled amid this time as a result of the activeness at the refining plant and the quarrying activity in the region.

County assessed valuation jumped from $1 million in the 1940s to $132 million in 1959. Oil and quarrying accounted for 94 percent of the property tax in San Juan County amid those years, and the San Juan School District became the state's highest paying district. Department of Energy from 1989 to 2004 to remove radioactive material from lands and buildings and to restore the territory formerly occupied by the mill. All radioactive material was removed and placed in a controlled repository near Monticello.

Funding was provided to restore the former foundry site and approximately 150 acres (0.61 km2) of encircling land to a usable condition. In a deal with the Federal Government, the City of Monticello reseeded and restored the reclaimed land; upon culmination, the town/city received approximately $7 million from the government. Many Monticello inhabitants claim that the exposure to the radioactive foundry tailings caused cancer in inhabitants and foundry workers. Efforts have been made and are ongoing to secure compensation for the illness or death of family members exposed to the foundry tailings.

Monticello is positioned in the Four Corners region of the Colorado Plateau.

According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km ), all land, making it the biggest city in the county in terms of area. Monticello is positioned at the base of the Abajo Mountains, or the Blue Mountains, which are part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest.

From Monticello, a tree formation on the Blue Mountains can be seen, which resembles a horse's head and neck, which can be seen from any point in town.

Monticello is 40 miles from the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park and is 59 miles from Arches National Park, positioned near Moab.

Climate data for Monticello, Utah (1981 2010) Monticello Utah Temple As the seat of San Juan County, Monticello is home to the San Juan County Fair and Fairgrounds.

Blue Mountain Entertainment is a small-town arts organization which provides financing to bring cultural performances to Monticello throughout the year. The City of Monticello annually hosts the Blue Mountain Triathlon.

An open home was held from July 15 to July 18, 1998, and the Monticello Utah Temple was dedicated July 26, 1998.

The Monticello Elementary School hosts kids from grades K-6, while grades 7-12 attend Monticello High School. The San Juan County Library is positioned in Monticello.

Monticello is home of The Hideout Golf Club, an 18-hole golf course constructed near the reclaimed site of the uranium mill.

Fishing is available at Foy Lake, Monticello Lake, and Lloyds Lake, all on the Blue Mountains. a b c d "Monticello," Utah Place Names.

Salt Lake City, Utah : University of Utah.

(1994), "Monticello", in Powell, Allan Kent, Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, ISBN 0874 - 804256, OCLC 3047 - 3917 a b c d e "Monticello Mill Tailings," Superfund Program, United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(1994), "San Juan County", Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, ISBN 0874 - 804256, OCLC 3047 - 3917 a b c d e f "Public Health Assessment: Monticello Mill Tailings (DOE) and Monticello Radioactively Contaminated Properties," Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), Department of Health and Human Services.

"The Bronsons, Joe Cooper and the Fabled Happy Jack," The San Juan Record, Oct 14, 2009.

"Monticello, San Juan County, Utah," Decommissioning Projects, UMTRA Title 1.

San Juan Record, March 25, 2009 San Juan County Fair a b City of Monticello Monticello Utah Official Website San Juan School District Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monticello, Utah.

Monticello Utah Official City Website San Juan County School District Public Schools Municipalities and communities of San Juan County, Utah, United States

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Cities in Utah - Cities in San Juan County, Utah - County seats in Utah - Populated places established in 1887 - Superfund sites in Utah - Old Spanish Trail (trade route)