Sandy

About Sandy

The City of Sandy Utah, also known as Sandy City is one of the many suburbs settled in the early 1860s. Sandy was incorporated in 1893 and is the fifth-largest city in Utah, and is about to break the 100,000 mark in population. Located just 15 miles south of the state capital, Salt Lake City, Sandy is nestled against Cottonwood Heights and the Wasatch mountains on the East, the city of Draper on the South and West Jordan, South Jordan, Murray, and Holladay on the West and North.

The area was settled in 1863 as an agricultural community and was given its name by Brigham Young because of the sandy soil and problems with irrigation. Silver was discovered in nearby Little Cottonwood Canyon in 1870 and the town became the nearest supply point for mining and miners, developing a personality as a rough and ready mining community. In 1873 a railroad was built to connect the town with Salt Lake City. For the next 40 years, Sandy City became the smelter capital of Utah. In 1907, as mines were closing, the streetcar was built to connect Sandy with downtown Salt Lake City. Once again the town shifted gears and reverted to its agricultural roots. For the next 60 years, Sandy families farmed and commuted to the city, as a typical Utah town dedicated to the church, family, and farming.

Growth in the area has been steady, diverse, and quite substantial! In spite of this dynamic growth, the planning commission can boast that 9 out of 10 property owners live within one-half mile of a park. The city continues to grow, with a wide variety of new construction projects on the board and on the ground. In 2006 Sandy City was named by Money Magazine as the 23rd best place to live in America. In addition, the city has been named each year for each of the last 10 years one of America’s “safest cities”.