Tooele County, Utah Dugway Proving Ground in Tooele County. The county's western portion is home to the Bonneville Salt Flats, traversed by Interstate 80 and the Wendover Cut-off, the former routing of the Victory Highway. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.7%) is water. Covering vast amounts of the Great Salt Lake desert west of Salt Lake Valley, Tooele County is the second largest county in Utah and among the driest. As of the census of 2000, there were 40,735 people, 12,677 households, and 10,128 families residing in the county.
Salt Lake County, Utah City in 1857, when the name was subsequently shortened to Salt Lake City. In 1858, when the Utah Territory was declared in rebellion after governor Brigham Young refused to step down for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' polygamous practices, the federal government sent troops to install a new governor and keep watch over the area. They abandoned the valley and the troops set up Camp Floyd to the south in Utah County. In 1862, Fort Douglas was established on the eastern bench, near the current site of the University of Utah, as the federal government wanted to