Uintah County Utah is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Vernal. The county was named for the portion of the Ute Indian tribe that lived in the basin. Uintah County is the largest natural gas producer in Utah, with 272 billion cubic feet produced in 2008. The Vernal, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Uintah County. Archeologist evidence suggests that portions of the Uinta Basin have been inhabited by Archaic peoples and Fremont peoples. By the time of recorded history its inhabitants were the Ute people. The first known traverse by non-Indians was made by Fathers Dominguez and Escalante (1776), as they sought to establish a land route between California and Spanish America. By the early nineteenth century, occasional fur trappers entered the Basin. In 1831-32 Antoine Robidoux, a French trapper licensed by the Mexican government, established a trading post near present-day Whiterocks. He abandoned the effort in 1844.
In 1861 US President Abraham Lincoln created the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, reserved for the use and habitation of Utah and Colorado Indians. In the 1880s the Uncompahgre Reservation was created in the southern portion of present-day Uintah County. Ashley Valley was not part of either Reservation, and by 1880 enough ranchers and farmers had settled there that the Territorial Legislature created Uintah County (most of which had previously been part of Wasatch County, with the county seat at Ashley (now an abandoned area some three miles (5 km) of present-day Vernal). Gilsonite was discovered in 1888 at Bonanza, in central Uintah County. This was on Reservation land, but miners pressured the US government to remove some 7000 acres (11 square miles; 28 km²) for mining use. Mining and its associated activities (including relative lawlessness) rapidly boomed in that area. The northern boundary of Uintah County originally extended to the north border of Utah. In 1918 the extreme northern portion (lying north of the Uinta Mountain watershed divide) was split off to form Daggett County, Utah. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,501 square miles (11,660 km2), of which 4,480 square miles (11,600 km2) is land and 22 square miles (57 km2) (0.5%) is water. Uintah County is centered in the Uintah Basin, which runs from western Colorado on the east to the Wasatch Mountains on the west, and from the Uinta Mountains on the north to the Roan Plateau on the south. This basin was formed by a prehistoric lake (“Uinta Lake”) during the late Tertiary period. The county’s geography ranges from high mountain terrain (Uinta Mountains) to the fertile Ashley Valley (site of the county seat), to a rugged and desolate canyon land which includes the Dinosaur National Monument, to desolate and largely uninhabited hills in the south (“The Book cliffs” to locals; officially Roan Plateau).
There were 25,224 people, 8,187 households, and 6,541 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 9,040 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.73% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 9.38% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.05% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 3.54% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,187 households out of which 44.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.70% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.10% were non-families. 17.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.45. In the county, the population was spread out with 34.60% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,518, and the median income for a family was $38,877. Males had a median income of $33,966 versus $21,199 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,571. About 12% of families and 15% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18% of those under age 18 and 10% of those ages 65 or over.
The Uinta County Courthouse in Evanston, Wyoming is the oldest courthouse building in Wyoming, and one of the oldest permanent structures in Wyoming. Built in three stages, the first phase was a two-story jail, built in 1873. It was expanded with court facilities the following year, and in 1910 the main portion of the Georgian Revival structure was built with the present façade. Each phase showed an increasing attention to detail and ornament. The original 1873 jail and 1874 courthouse were built by Evanston contractors Harvey Booth and William McDonald, assisted by mason William Durnford. McDonald was also the chairman of the Uinta County Commission; his contract stipulated that the work cost no more than $25,000. The 1910 addition was carried out by Evanston contractor W.H. Armstrong for $24,000. The present front section of the courthouse is a brick structure, two stories high, with quoined corners and a central portico. The portico is supported by two unfluted Ionic stone columns, backed by two engaged Ionic pilasters of the same material on the building itself.
The courthouse has a tiled roof with a dentiled cornice. The masonry walls of the 1873-1874 portion of the complex have been stained red by a mixture reportedly containing slaughterhouse blood and stale beer.
In 1887 a new jail was built nearby by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis. This building was demolished in 1976 to make way for a new public safety facility. The new jail allowed the courthouse to expand its office and storage space. The Uinta County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Archeologist evidence suggests that portions of the Uinta Basin have been inhabited by archaic peoples and Fremont peoples. By the time of recorded history its inhabitants were the Ute people. The first known traverse by non-Indians was made by Fathers Dominguez and Escalante (1776), as they sought to establish a land route between California and Spanish America. By the early nineteenth century, occasional fur trappers entered the Basin. In 1831-32 Antoine Robidoux, a French trapper licensed by the Mexican government, established a trading post near present-day Whiterocks. He abandoned the effort in 1844.
In 1847 the Great Salt Lake Valley, still a property of Mexico, was first colonized by Brigham Young and his followers. In 1861 Young dispatched an exploring party to the Uinta Basin; they reported “that section of country lying between the Wasatch Mountains and the eastern boundary of the territory, and south of Green River country, was one vast contiguity of waste and measurably valueless.” Young made no further effort to colonize the area. In 1861 US President Abraham Lincoln created the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, reserved for the use and habitation of Utah and Colorado Indians. In the 1880s the Uncompahgre Reservation was created in the southern portion of present-day Uintah County. Ashley Valley was not part of either Reservation, and by 1880 enough ranchers and farmers had settled there that the Territorial Legislature created Uintah County from portions of Sanpete, Summit, and Wasatch counties. They established the county seat at Ashley, a now-abandoned settlement three miles north of the present courthouse in Vernal.
Uintah County boundaries were altered in 1892 (Grand County created), in 1917 (adjustments with Duchesne and Summit county boundaries), in 1918 (Daggett County created), and in 1919 (the Daggett boundary line was adjusted). It has remained in its present configuration since 1919. Gilsonite was discovered in 1888 at Bonanza, in central Uintah County. This was on Reservation land, but miners pressured the US government to remove some 7000 acres (11 square miles; 28 km²) for mining use. Mining and its associated activities (including relative lawlessness) rapidly boomed in that area.
Lawyers in Unintah County Utah
Here are some of the areas of law that the attorneys at Ascent Law LLC practice for their clients in Unintah County Utah:
The northern boundary of Uintah County originally extended to the north border of Utah. In 1918 the extreme northern portion (lying north of the Uinta Mountain watershed divide) was split off to form Daggett County, Utah. Located in SE Vernal, the Vernal Regional Airport provides daily scheduled air service to Denver, Colorado via Denver International Airport. Service is provided through United Express, operated by Skywest airlines. Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) service is available. The extraction of natural resources including oil, natural gas, phosphate, and gilsonite constitute primary economic activity of Uintah County. There is some agriculture in Uintah County, primarily focusing on raising cattle and sheep, and cultivating alfalfa. A significant portion of west Uintah County is taken up by the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.
The Ute Tribe’s headquarters is in Fort Duchesne. Much of the rest of the county is land owned by the Ashley National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management.
There is relatively little private land in the county. Discovery of significant dinosaur and other pre-historic remains on the eastern edge of the county caused nationwide interest, which culminated in establishment of Dinosaur National Monument. In addition to the large Visitor Center at the Monument’s Jensen site, a natural history museum, the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum, showcasing some of the area’s finds, was established in Vernal by the State of Utah.
Uintah County UT Cities, Towns, & Neighborhoods
• Ballard
• Fort Duchesne
• Jensen
• Maeser
• Naples
• Randlett
• Vernal
• Whiterocks
Other Populated Places in Uintah County
• Bennett
• Bullionville
• Dragon
• Dry Fork
• Fairbanks Crossing
• Gusher
• Hayden
• Independence
• Lapoint
• Leeton
• Leota
• Little Bonanza
• Ouray
• Rainbow
• Red Wash
• Santio Crossing
• Squaw Crossing
• Tridell
• Watson
Uintah County Resource Assessment
Uintah County is located in the central portion of the Uinta Basin, which extends sixty miles into western Colorado. The northern rim of the basin is formed by the Uinta Mountains, the western rim by the Wasatch Mountains, and the southern rim by the Roan and Book cliffs. The basin is the geological remains of prehistoric Uinta Lake, formed during the late Tertiary period, the same period when sediment was deposited in the lake bottom to form Gilsonite, oil shale, tar sands, and oil. Ashley and White Creek and the Uinta and Green rivers are major water resources in the county. The Green, the largest of the four, slices through the central portion of the county.
The dominant industries in Uintah County are cattle, hay and alfalfa, lumber, mining, oil and gas. Uintah County consists of 4,487 square miles of land and 62% of the land is shrub/rangeland.
Justice Courts are established by counties and municipalities and have the authority to deal with class B and C misdemeanors, violations of ordinances, small claims, and infractions committed within their territorial jurisdiction. Justice Court jurisdictions are determined by the boundaries of local government entities such as cities or counties, which hire the judges. There are two types of Justice Court judges: county judges who are initially appointed by a county commission and then stand for retention election every 6 years, and municipal judges who are appointed by city officials for a 6-year term. Some are both county and municipal judges. Some judges hear cases daily, and others have limited court hours each week. Justice Court judges need not be attorneys, although they receive extensive and continuing legal training. All Justice Court judges must attend 30 hours of continuing judicial education each year to remain certified. One hundred eight Justice Court judges serve in 134 county and municipal courts.
Uintah County Utah Court Directory
The Utah trial court system consists of District Courts, Juvenile Courts, and Justice Courts.
District Courts in Uintah County
• 8th District Court – Uintah County
920 East Highway 40, Vernal, UT 84078
Phone: 435-781-9300
• Juvenile Courts in Uintah County
• 8th District Juvenile Court – Uintah County
920 East Highway 40, Vernal, UT 84078
Phone: 435-781-9335
Justice Courts in Uintah County
Naples City Justice Court
1420 East 2850 South, Naples, UT 84078
Phone: 435-789-9090
Fax: 435-789-9458
Uintah County Justice Court
641 East 300 South, Suite 100, Vernal, UT 84078
Phone: 435-781-5338
Fax: 435-781-6726
Vernal City Justice Court
374 East Main Street, Vernal, UT 84078
Phone: 435-789-7137
Fax: 435-789-1753
Lawyer in Uintah County Utah Free Consultation
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8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C
West Jordan, Utah
84088 United States
Telephone: (801) 676-5506
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