History of Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, where it has stayed ever since. The city's name was officially changed to "Salt Lake City" at the same time. In 1857, when the Mormon practice of polygamy came to national awareness, President James Buchanan responded to public outcry by sending an army of 2500 soldiers, called the Utah Expedition, to investigate the LDS Church and install a non-LDS governor to replace Brigham Young. In response, Brigham Young imposed martial law, sending the Utah militia to harass the soldiers, a conflict called the Utah War. Young eventually surrendered to federal control when the new territorial governor, Alfred
Salt Lake County, Utah 48.91%, making Salt Lake County a majority non-Mormon county. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.1%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Utah by area. The county borders on the Great Salt Lake and is intersected by the Jordan River. The western portion of the county descends toward the valley of the lake, but perhaps the most dominating physical feature in Salt Lake County are the Wasatch Mountains in the eastern portion of the county, famous for both summer and winter activities. The mountains are