Gunnison, Utah
Encyclopedia
Gunnison is a city in Sanpete County
Sanpete County, Utah
Sanpete County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. The population according to the 2010 U.S. Census was 27,822. It was possibly named for a Ute Indian chief named Sanpitch, which was corrupted to Sanpete. Its county seat is Manti and its largest city is Ephraim.-Geography:According to...

, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 2,394 at the 2000 census. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison
John W. Gunnison
John Williams Gunnison was an American military officer and explorer.-Biography:Gunnison was born in Goshen, New Hampshire in 1812. He graduated from West Point in 1837, second in his class of fifty cadets. His military career began in Florida, where he spent a year in the campaign against the...

, a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 officer who surveyed for the transcontinental railroad in 1853.

Geography

Gunnison is located at 39°9′19"N 111°49′6"W.

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 2,394 people, 513 households, and 410 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 451.9 people per square mile (174.4/km²). There were 549 housing units at an average density of 103.6 per square mile (40.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.35% White, 1.84% African American, 2.51% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.58% Pacific Islander, 3.97% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 8.00 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.10% of the population.

There were 513 households out of which 45.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.59.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 197.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 240.6 males. The startling ratio of women to men is due to the presence of the Central Utah Correctional Facility, which is located one half mile northeast of downtown Gunnison. This state-run prison opened in 1990, has a capacity of 1,125 inmates, and currently houses only male offenders.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,147, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $27,207 versus $23,958 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $14,537. About 9.8% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Gunnison is located in the South Sanpete School District
South Sanpete School District
South Sanpete School District is a public school district in the U.S. state of Utah. The district provides education for students in the southern half of Sanpete County. The offices for the district are located in Manti...

 and has 1 elementary school, 1 middle school, and 1 high school (all of which are known as Gunnison Valley). Gunnison Valley High School is the "Home of the Bulldogs" with the traditional school colors being Blue and White. The Mighty Bulldogs compete in the 2A division. The middle school mascot is the Royal Monarch (Elk), and the elementary school is also known as the Bulldogs. Gunnison is also home to Fieldstone Academy and Fieldstone Junior Boarding School. This private boarding school serves students in the 4th - 12th grade from all over the world. Current capacity for Fieldstone Academy is around 100 students.

Gas Spill

In the summer of 2007, over 24,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from a storage tank beneath the Top Stop gas station, located on the corner of South Main and East Center and owned by Wind River Petroleum. The gasoline leaked throughout the soil beneath South Main Street and eventually throughout the southwest side of town, contaminating businesses and homes. On August 10, 2007, local and state officials ordered the temporary evacuation of an entire Main Street block, heavily populated with businesses, because of the fumes from the gasoline leak. In the weeks following, Wasatch Environmental installed underground soil-ventilation systems. Several businesses, including the Top Stop, permanently closed, and some homes were evacuated. Gunnison City, along with a number of businesses and residents, filed suit against Wind River Petroleum over the handling of the gas leak. As of 2010, approximately $3 million ($1 million from a state cleanup fund, $2 million from Wind River Petroleum) had been spent on the cleanup, which is expected to last a decade.
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