Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah Genealogy

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General Murray History
The area where Murray City is located now started out as a temporary home for several different Native American tribes. They camped there during migrations. These tribes included the Bannock, Paiute, and Shoshone. The Mormon pioneers permanently settled the area, which was originally called South Cottonwood, in 1848. It started out as an agricultural community before transitioning into an industrial and then suburban community. As a part of Murray’s industrial development, the first smelter was built there in 1870 because of the city's proximity to the railroad. A few of the largest smelters in the region were in Murray around that time. They were a major landmark. Their first official post office was also established in 1870. The post office was originally named South Cottonwood Post Office, but its name was changed to Murray Post Office in 1883. The post office was named after the civil war general and territorial governor Eli Murray, and Murray City got its name from the post office. Murray continued to grow and develop as a city in the coming years.

In the early twentieth century, Murray was considered to be very successful in terms of business and government cooperation. However, during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Murray's industry experienced great economic loss. The smelting industry that had been a large part of Murray began to vanish around this time. Intermountain Medical Center, one of the most prestigious hospitals in the region now lies on the land where the smelters once were and is a big and important part of the community. Due to the Murray's central location, the city became a major retail area around the 1950s and remains this way. Murray's borders have been expanded several times over the past century, forming the city into what it is today.

Family History Resources
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