Grantsville Map
Grantsville is the second most populous city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,015 at the 2000 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in growth occurred during the 1970s and 1990s. Recent rapid growth has been attributed to the nearby Deseret Peak recreational center, the Miller Motorsports Park raceway and to the newly built Wal-Mart Distribution Center located just outside the city.
Grantsville was first known by the name Twenty Wells, due to the many sweetwater artesian springs in the area. It was first settled in 1848 as a seasonal livestock grazing site for stock owners in Salt Lake City. The first permanent settlers arrived in 1850 to establish one of Brigham Young's more than 350 Mormon colonies throughout Utah Territory. By then, the fortified town was known as Willow Creek. Three years later, with almost 30 families living in the settlement, it was renamed Grantsville in honor of George D. Grant, the leader of a detachment of the Nauvoo Legion militia sent to control hostile Native Americans in the Tooele Valley. Grant is also known for leading a group to rescue members of the Martin Handcart Company. The later years of the decade brought many hardships to Grantsville's citizens, including drought, grasshopper infestations, and the settlement's temporary abandonment in advance of the arrival of Johnston's Army. Ironically, the arrival of the army and its construction of Camp Floyd in nearby Cedar Valley ended up greatly blessing Grantsville's settlers as they were then able to trade with the army for many needed provisions. By the end of the next decade, the 1860s, Grantsville had become a largely self-sufficient oasis of orchards and shade trees at the edge of the Territory's western deserts. Brigham Young himself visited Grantsville on several occasions, both officially and unofficially, and dedicated the first permanent church building in 1866. The building stands today, thought it is no longer owned by the Church. The Lincoln Highway passed through the city in 1925 after it was realigned to the north, spurring business along Main Street.
Grantsville is located at 40°35?45?N 112°27?55?W / 40.59583°N 112.46528°W / 40.59583; -112.46528 (40.595699, -112.465404). It is bordered on the south by South Mountain, which separates Rush Valley from Tooele Valley. To the north is Stansbury Island, and on the east are the Oquirrh Mountains and the Great Salt Lake and on the west side the Stansbury Range. SR-138 passes through the city, heading northwest to intersect with I-80 and east to Stansbury Park.
Nearby cities include Stockton, Tooele.