South Salt Lake

History

Jesse Fox Jr. developed the area South Salt Lake referred to as Central Park around 1890. Mr. Fox chose the name after visiting New York and seeing Central Park there. He was impressed by the park and its design within an urban environment. Despite South Salt Lake being rural at the time, he decided to name the area Central Park. In 1925 the LDS Central Park Ward was created and named after the development. In 1936, an attempted annexation by Salt Lake City failed due to concerns over funding and implementation of a sewer system. On August 14, 1936, a resolution creating the Town of Central Park was approved by the Board of County Commissioners - however, this did not last long, as voters then decided to disincorporate the town in 1937. In a close vote, voters then approved incorporation of South Salt Lake. On September 29, 1938, still in need of a sewer system, South Salt Lake voted to incorporate as the Town of South Salt Lake, with Robert R. Fitts as the first town president. The town was also lacking many other basic amenities at the time that would be easier to implement with incorporation, such as a post office and fire department. In 1939, the Works Progress Administration finally began construction of a sewer system, with a cost of $462,000. The original boundary of South Salt Lake was from 500 East to 300 West and 2100 South to Mill Creek on the south. On August 1, 1950, the population had increased enough for South Salt Lake to be designated as a third class city. This changed the form of government to a mayor and city council. The town president of the time, Marlow Callahan, became the first mayor of the City of South Salt Lake. In the 1990s, South Salt Lake annexed portions of an unincorporated portion of Salt Lake County to the south, and nearly…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The city is bordered by the Jordan River on the west, 500 East and 700 East on the east, 2100 South on the north, and 3900 South on the south. West Valley City lies to the west, Salt Lake City to the north, northeast, and east; and Millcreek to the east, south, and southeast. Because of its location next to the Jordan River and well away from the mountains, it is mostly flat, only ranging in elevation from about to . It has a fairly high water table, with some areas being somewhat swampy before development in the early 1900s. Much city water comes through wells from the aquifer beneath the city. Three tributaries of Mill Creek converge in Fitts Park.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  36,324
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  28,623
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  28,550
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  24,057
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  23,257
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,084
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,720
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,091

Most recent

• M 2.86 — 2026-08-07
  6 km NNW of Saratoga Springs, Utah
• M 3.52 — 2026-02-14
  4 km NNW of West Valley City, Utah
• M 3.5 — 2026-02-05
  6 km WNW of Lehi, Utah
• M 2.71 — 2026-02-05
  41 km ENE of Oakley, Utah
• M 2.97 — 2026-01-22
  41 km SSE of Evanston, Wyoming
• M 4.65 — 2026-01-22
  40 km S of Evanston, Wyoming