Daggett County, Utah Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Daggett County
U.S. county
Daggett County Courthouse in Manila, May 2008
Location within the U.S. state of Utah
Utah's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Utah
Founded	January 7, 1918
Named for	Ellsworth Daggett
Seat	Manila
Largest town	Manila
Area
• Total	721 sq mi (1,870 km²)
• Land	697 sq mi (1,810 km²)
• Water	24 sq mi (60 km²) 3.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	935
• Density	1.2968/sq mi (0.5007/km²)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Daggett County (/ˈdæɡət/ DAG-ət) is a county in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 935, making it the least populous county in Utah. Its county seat is Manila. The county was named for Ellsworth Daggett, the first surveyor-general of Utah. The small community of Dutch John, located near the state line with Colorado and Wyoming, became an incorporated town in January 2016.

History
Geography
Demographics
- 2016
Commerce and transportation
Communities
See also

History

Due to dangerous roads, mountainous terrain, and frequent bad weather preventing travel via a direct route, 19th century residents in the north portion of Uintah County had to travel 400 to 800 miles (640 to 1,290 km) on both stagecoach and rail to conduct business in Vernal, the county seat, a mere 50 miles (80 km) away. The journey involved overland travel to a train station in Wyoming, to either Mack, Colorado, Price, or Salt Lake City, then a stagecoach to Vernal. In the fall 1917 election, the Uintah county voters voted to establish a separate county on the northern slope of the Uinta Mountains. The act establishing the county was approved on January 7, 1918, naming Manila as the county seat.

The boundary between Daggett and Uintah counties was adjusted in 1919, with some territory being returned to Uintah. Daggett County boundaries have remained unchanged since 1919.

Geography

Daggett County lies at the lower northeastern corner of Utah. Its northern border abuts the south border of the state of Wyoming, and its eastern boundary abuts the western border of the state of Colorado. Its main geographical features are the Uinta Mountains, which comprise its southwestern portion and delineate part of its southern border, and the Green River, which has carved a deep gorge through the east-central part of the county. In 1958, the United States Bureau of Reclamation took advantage of this natural feature to construct the Flaming Gorge Dam, creating the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, which began filling in 1964.

The county terrain slopes to the north and east on the northern flank of the Uintas. The county's highest point is on a mountain crest along its south border, at 12,276 ft (3,742 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 721 square miles (1,870 km²), of which 697 square miles (1,810 km²) is land and 24 square miles (62 km²) (3.3%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Utah by area. Over 90% of the land of Daggett County is under federal ownership.

Major highways

U.S. Route 191
Utah State Route 43
Utah State Route 44
Utah State Route 1364 (Browns Park Rd)

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Ashley National Forest (part)
Browns Park Waterfowl Area
Browns Park Waterfowl Management Area
Clay Basin Wildlife Management Area
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (part)
Goslin Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Indian Crossing Campground (BLM)
Marshall Draw Wildlife Management Area
Taylors Flat Wildlife Management Area

Lakes

Big Springs
Browne Lake
Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge Reservoir
Chokecherry Spring
Cow Spring
Daggett Lake
Dowds Hole
Dripping Spring
East Grindstone Spring
Fighting Spring
Flaming Gorge Reservoir (part)
Ford Spring
Greens Lakes
- Greens Lake
- West Greens Lake
Grindstone Spring
Lamb Lakes
- Bummer Lake
- Ewe Lake
- Lamb Lake
- Mutton Lake
- Ram Lake
Long Park Reservoir
Lower Potter Lake
One Fish Lake
Pollen Lake
Potter Lake (Upper Potter Lake)
Red Lake
Serviceberry Spring
Sheep Creek Lake
Spirit Lake (part)
Spitzenburg Spring
Stove Lake
Tepee Lakes
- Lower Teepee Lake
- Upper Teepee Lake
Weyman Lakes
- Anson Lake (Lower Anson Lake)
- Candy Lake
- Clear Lake
- Hidden Lake
- Penguin Lake
- Sesame Lake
- Upper Anson Lake
Youngs Spring

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	400	—
1930	411	2.8%
1940	564	37.2%
1950	364	−35.5%
1960	1,164	219.8%
1970	666	−42.8%
1980	769	15.5%
1990	690	−10.3%
2000	921	33.5%
2010	1,059	15.0%
2020	935	−11.7%
US Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2018 2020

2016

As of 2016, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Daggett County, Utah, were:

35.4% were of English ancestry
9.2% were of Scots-Irish ancestry
8.8% were of German ancestry
8.3% were of Irish ancestry
7.9% were of American ancestry
7.2% were of Dutch ancestry
5.5% were of Danish ancestry.
3.3% were of Swedish ancestry
2.5% were of Scottish ancestry
2.1% were of Italian ancestry
1.6% were of Swiss ancestry
1.6% were of French ancestry
1.5% were of Norwegian ancestry
0.7% were of Polish ancestry

Commerce and transportation

The few commercial establishments in Daggett County exist to service tourists and users of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Throughout the county, there is one small general store, several gas stations, five cafes or restaurants, five inns/motels, and a few miscellaneous businesses that offer raft rentals. Some businesses offer guided fishing trips on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the Green River. The economy is primarily related to recreation, management of government land, and ranching. There are no railroads within Daggett County.

Map of Daggett County communities

Communities

Towns

Dutch John
Manila (county seat)

Census-designated places

Flaming Gorge

Daggett County, Utah facts for kids

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