Welcome to Tooele County! - Douglas Proving Grounds
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Tooele City is located thirty-two miles southwest of Salt Lake City at the western base of the Oquirrh Mountains, which form the eastern border of the city. To the west lies the Stansbury Range; to the north twelve miles is the Great Salt Lake; and on the south, a low divide, Stockton Pass, separates Tooele from Rush Valley.
Tooele is the county's largest city, and took its name from the valley, which Captain Howard Stansbury spelled "tuilla" on his surveying maps in 1849-50. The name possibly originates from Indians known to early pioneers as "Tooelians," who lived in the area, although others claim it comes from the Spanish word for a bulrush plant found in the area.
As early as 1847, Tooele Valley, known for its waist-high grass, was used for grazing by herders from other valleys. The guiding force for permanent settlement in 1849 was Ezra Taft Benson, who had two groups in his employ, one caring for his livestock, the other instructed to build a sawmill and gristmill on Big Creek (Settlement) Canyon.
When Tooele was incorporated on 19 June 1853 the city covered nine square miles. The U.S. government in 1943 purchased 25,000 acres of land five miles south of the city. With the construction of an ordnance depot, which became the Army's largest supply center in the West, the city expanded to 12.3 square miles; by 1990 Tooele could claim a population of 13,825. The depot is Tooele's largest employer; but enough workers commute from and shop in the Salt Lake Valley that Tooele could be called a bedroom community of Salt Lake City.
Tooele is the county's largest city, and took its name from the valley, which Captain Howard Stansbury spelled "tuilla" on his surveying maps in 1849-50. The name possibly originates from Indians known to early pioneers as "Tooelians," who lived in the area, although others claim it comes from the Spanish word for a bulrush plant found in the area.
As early as 1847, Tooele Valley, known for its waist-high grass, was used for grazing by herders from other valleys. The guiding force for permanent settlement in 1849 was Ezra Taft Benson, who had two groups in his employ, one caring for his livestock, the other instructed to build a sawmill and gristmill on Big Creek (Settlement) Canyon.
When Tooele was incorporated on 19 June 1853 the city covered nine square miles. The U.S. government in 1943 purchased 25,000 acres of land five miles south of the city. With the construction of an ordnance depot, which became the Army's largest supply center in the West, the city expanded to 12.3 square miles; by 1990 Tooele could claim a population of 13,825. The depot is Tooele's largest employer; but enough workers commute from and shop in the Salt Lake Valley that Tooele could be called a bedroom community of Salt Lake City.
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