Sunnyside, Utah

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Sunnyside, Utah
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Sunnyside, Utah


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Utah
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Carbon

government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
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unit_pref = Imperial
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area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 8.1
area_land_km2 = 8.1
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 3.1
area_land_sq_mi = 3.1
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 404
population_density_km2 = 49.7
population_density_sq_mi = 128.6

timezone = Mountain (MST)
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = MDT
utc_offset_DST = -6
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 1987
elevation_ft = 6519
latd = 39 |latm = 33 |lats = 8 |latNS = N
longd = 110 |longm = 24 |longs = 3 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 84539
area_code = 435
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 49-74370GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1433066GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Sunnyside is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The population was 404 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Sunnyside is located at coor dms|39|33|8|N|110|24|3|W|city (39.552126, -110.400835)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 404 people, 160 households, and 104 families residing in the city. The population density was 128.6 people per square mile (49.7/km²). There were 183 housing units at an average density of 58.3/sq mi (22.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.84% White, 0.50% African American, 6.93% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.30% of the population.

There were 160 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,955, and the median income for a family was $36,875. Males had a median income of $39,688 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,752. About 12.8% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

The area now known as Sunnyside, Utah, was first settled in 1879 when George and James Whitmore arrived at the base of the Book Cliff Mountains and established the Whitmore Cattle Ranch. In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad extended their line from their railhead at Deseret, to Price, Utah. Along this sixty-mile stretch they established two additional railheads, one in Woodside, and the other twenty miles north, which they named Sunnyside, because it sat on the Sunnyside of the Book Cliff Mountains. This area extended to the base of the Book Cliff Mountains, and included Whitmore’s Ranch. In 1896 coal was discovered in Whitmore Canyon and on July 4, 1898, when the Sunnyside railhead was abandoned by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the coal camp located within the walls of Whitmore Canyon was christened with the name of Sunnyside.

Officially incorporated as a town in 1916, with a mayor and four trustees. Until 1994 the mayor was not an elected official, but rather was held by the Superintendent of Mines for Utah Fuel Coal Company and later Kaiser Steel Corporation after they took over in 1950.

Sunnyside’s early history is as colorful and spirited as the men and women who arrived at this desolate area of eastern Carbon County, where for over the next century would be the leader in coal production in Carbon County. The history of coal mining in Sunnyside began shortly after Jefferson Tidwell and his three sons discovered coal in Whitmore Canyon in 1896. By 1898 the Pleasant Valley Coal Company had acquired the rights to the coal from Tidwell and by 1901 the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad with its subsidiary Utah Fuel acquired the operation. For the next fifty years Utah Fuel operated the coal mines in Sunnyside and in 1949 sold its interest to Kaiser Steel Corporation. It was through the financial investments of these companies that turned Tidwell’s merger mining operation into a major coal industry, which became inextricably tied to Sunnyside until its demise ninety years later.

References

External links