Richfield sometimes referred to as the “hub of Central Utah,” is the county seat of Sevier County. It is located 160 miles south of Salt Lake City, placing it near the center of the state. The altitude is 5,280 feet and the climate is moderate, with typical average temperatures from 90° high to 50° low in the summer and 43° high and 16° low in winter. The city covers an area of four square miles and in 1990 had a population of 5,593. In July 1863 George W. Bean was called by Mormon apostle George A. Smith, who was presiding over the Utah Valley area, to take a small exploring party and go up the Sevier River above Gunnison and look for suitable locations for settlements.
After crossing to the west side of the Sevier River, the party found a big spring where Richfield was later settled. There they found fertile soil, good water, and wood in the nearby hills. The party, returning by way of Spring City, met Mormon Apostle Orson Hyde, who informed them that the settlement of Sevier Valley was under his direction. In January 1864 an independent party of ten men under the leadership of Albert Lewis came from Sanpete and arrived in what is now Richfield on 6 January. In the winter of 1864 Orson Hyde called additional families to go. Some bought their way out, but others responded to the call to settle. The first two white women in Richfield were Ann Swindle and Charlotte Doxford. The first settlement was called Big Springs or Warm Springs, after the life-giving spring at the foot of the red hills to the west. The settlement later was called Omni after a prophet in the Book of Mormon.
The name was changed to Richfield because of the fertile soil. The first dwelling places were dugouts. The early settlers wasted no time. August Nelson planted cottonwood saplings and Joseph F. Doxford even organized a martial band. A temporary bowery was built. Early in 1865 about 100 more families arrived, most from Sanpete Valley. In February 1865 the first schoolhouse was built; the first teacher in the school was Hans P. Miller. A fort was started in the fall of 1865; each man who owned a city lot was required to build one rod (16.5 feet) of wall.
Richfield currently continues to be both a shopping and cultural center for the central Utah area. The Richfield tabernacle, completed during 1929-30 and noted for its architectural beauty, is a frequent setting for the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera Company, plays, choral programs, and other cultural events. The Ramsay House (built by Ralph Ramsay, who carved the eagle which graced an earlier Eagle Gate in Salt Lake City) has been restored as a museum featuring period furniture and other memorabilia, as well as a collection of 200 local oral histories. Richfield has a municipal airport with a 6,600-foot runway, a modern 42-bed-capacity hospital, and a care center with a 98-bed capacity. Excellent schools include Ashman and Pahvant elementaries; Red Hills Middle School, Richfield High School, and Cedar Ridge Alternative High School, as well as Sevier Valley Applied Technology Center.
The Sevier County Courthouse in Sevierville, Tennessee is a historic courthouse built in 1895. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It was designed in Beaux Arts style by the McDonald Brothers of Louisville. It is tall and visible from quite far away. There is a statue of Dolly Parton designed by sculptor Jim Gray on the grounds of the courthouse. The Sevier County General Sessions Court is one of 95 General Session Courts in Tennessee. This is a court of limited jurisdiction that hears civil and criminal cases. Judges of the general session’s court are elected in nonpartisan elections to eight-year terms. Individual towns or cities may establish varying ordinances for the election of their municipal judges—e.g., ordinances that allow for some positions to be elected by popular vote and some to be selected by other methods.
Qualifications
To serve on the court, a judge must be:
• authorized to practice law in state;
• a district resident for at least one year;
• a state resident five years; and
• at least 30 years old.
Election rules
Primary election: Primary elections may be held for trial court judges. The political parties in each county determine whether or not there will be a primary election in their respective counties.
County primary elections
Counties that are having a primary election will have them on a Tuesday in May. The candidate who wins the county primary election in May will then move on to the county general election in August and run against other party candidates that won their respective primaries. Primary elections in Tennessee serve to designate a party’s nomination and narrow the field down to one candidate from that party for a specific office. A candidate who wins their primary nomination will move on to the general election. It is not uncommon for a candidate to run unopposed in their party primary and then go on to run unopposed in the general election as well. Similarly, candidates may win their primary and go on to run unopposed in the general election. Voters do not need to declare their party affiliation when they register to vote. However, primary voters must declare whether or not they will be voting in the Democratic or Republican primary.
By now, chances are quite high that you have heard of the Freedom of Information Act, which was passed in 1966, either in passing or directly through conversation. Under this federal act, arrest warrants have become public information throughout the entirety of the United States. Anyone is capable of accessing such information, whether it simply is out of curiosity, to perform a complete background check on a brand new employee, or following any type of criminal altercation or perhaps a vehicular accident. In such cases, simply speaking with the local sheriff’s department, your local government officials, or searching for an online resource can accomplish the task at hand with relative ease. Going through official sources, of course, does boast some paperwork and perhaps a small fee for the access of such records. Should this be the case, though, simply seek out the information online, where it should be located with ease for everyone to access of their own free will. Back in 1966, Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act in an attempt to offer more clarity and earn the trust of the general public, all of whom wished to acquire such documents for their own purposes at one time or another. However, in some rare cases, state and federal laws provide their own level of authority to restrict the public from any access to an arrest warrant or other information considered public records. In many cases, local government or the sheriff’s department will opt not to release warrant records for any criminal in the area due to the subsequent charges or convictions currently in place. Another reason for withholding such information has to do with the safety and confidentiality of the individual.
In such cases, the police will not release warrant records to the public should the identity of a minor, the victims of sexual assault, or the details of a confidential witness statement are at risk of being made public, which can be harmful to both the legal case at hand and the individual’s own safety. This type of withholding falls under confidentiality laws within the United States, of which there are many throughout every single state and county. While accessing public warrant records, and if you are being denied by the officials, there is the option to seek out such information online through various resources. Some companies offer paid searches for arrest warrants, providing the most current and any past records, plus the resulting conviction that stemmed from the warrant and its case. All related details to the case and individual, should it be closed at the time, can also be accessed completely online through such records. In many cases, an initial search is completely free. However, for more information, some resources will request that you pay a small fee to access more information regarding the warrant records or the criminal involved with said records. These fees are generally quite small and should not bother most people who are seeking such information.
For recreation, the city has three parks, a nine-hole golf course, an indoor/outdoor pool, a bowling alley, and numerous playing fields. Richfield is located forty-five miles from Fish Lake, and is surrounded by Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef national parks. The city features an elaborate Fourth of July celebration including a parade, park activities, and a patriotic pageant. A county fair is held annually, and a September arts festival was inaugurated in 1992 and is projected as an annual event. Another annual event is a light parade held each December. Major worldwide service clubs, including Elks, Rotary, and Lions, are active in the community, contributing to a quality lifestyle. Local clubs for both men and women provide much service as well as social opportunities. Much of the surrounding area is devoted to agriculture: hay, barley, oats, corn silage, cattle, hogs, sheep, turkeys, commercial feed lots, and dairy herds. Also, a well-developed business district serves Sevier County as well as adjacent counties. Government agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service have their area offices in Richfield. Governed by a mayor and city council, the community emphasizes preserving its past as well as preparing for the future.
Sevier County UT Cities, Towns, & Neighborhoods
• Annabella
• Aurora
• Central Valley
• Elsinore
• Glenwood
• Joseph
• Koosharem
• Monroe
• Redmond
• Richfield
• Salina
• Sigurd
• Austin
• Belknap
• Burrville
• Cove
• Fishlake Resort
• Fremont Junction
• Gramse
• Jensen
• Kema
• Lakeside Resort
• Nibley
• Prattsville
• Sevier
• Venice
• Vermillion
• Whipup
Sheep and cattle remain important to the local economy as do dairy products, field crops, and, in recent years, turkey rising. Trade and manufacturing–including food processing, clothing, and building products–have contributed to the county’s growth as well. Sevier is the state’s leading producer of gypsum, a mineral used in building products such as plaster and plasterboard produced in Sigurd. The county has coal mines and natural gas reserves in the northeast and major geothermal resources that could be tapped for energy production. Richfield, Utah gets 9 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year. Richfield averages 36 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year. On average, there are 254 sunny days per year in Richfield. The US average is 205 sunny days. Richfield gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 73 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure.
September, June and May are the most pleasant months in Richfield, while December and January are the least comfortable months. July is the hottest month for Richfield with an average high temperature of 90.8°, which ranks it as about average compared to other places in Utah. In Richfield, there are 3 comfortable months with high temperatures in the range of 70-85°. The most pleasant months of the year for Richfield are September, May and June. January has the coldest nighttime temperatures for Richfield with an average of 15.8°. This is about average compared to other places in Utah. In Richfield, there are 41.0 days annually when the high temperature is over 90°, which is about average compared to other places in Utah.
In Richfield, there are 166.1 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below freezing, which is colder than most places in Utah. In Richfield, there are 6.2 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero°, which is about average compared to other places in Utah. October is the wettest month in Richfield with 1.2 inches of rain, and the driest month is January with 0.5 inches. The wettest season is Winter with 30% of yearly precipitation and 18% occurs in Spring, which is the driest season. The annual rainfall of 9.3 inches in Richfield means that it is drier than most places in Utah. March is the rainiest month in Richfield with 7.8 days of rain, and June is the driest month with only 4.2 rainy days. There are 72.9 rainy days annually in Richfield, which is about average compared to other places in Utah. The rainiest season is summer when it rains 29% of the time and the driest is Spring with only a 22% chance of a rainy day. An annual snowfall of 36.4 inches in Richfield means that it is less snowy than most places in Utah. December is the snowiest month in Richfield with 7.9 inches of snow, and 7 months of the year have significant snowfall.
Sevier County Utah Court Directory
The Utah trial court system consists of District Courts, Juvenile Courts, and Justice Courts. Below is a directory of court locations in Sevier County.
District Courts in Sevier County
• 6th District Court – Sevier County
895 East 300 North, Richfield, UT 84701
Phone: 435-896-2700
Fax: 435-896-2743
Juvenile Courts in Sevier County
• 6th District Juvenile Court – Sevier County
845 East 300 North, Richfield, UT 84701
Phone: 435-896-2700
Fax: 435-896-2743
Justice Courts in Sevier County
• Aurora City Justice Court
20 South 120 East, PO Box 477, Aurora, UT 84620
Phone: 435-529-7643
Fax: 435-529-3808
• Salina City Justice Court
90 West Main Street, PO Box 69, Salina, UT 84654
Phone: 435-529-3651
Fax: 435-529-1235
• Sevier County Justice Court
250 North Main Street, Suite 124, Richfield, UT 84701
Phone: 435-893-0461
Fax: 435-896-8888
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