The small town was first settled in 1863. Under the growing influence of the mining industry, the population swelled to 4,000 residents. It was the first town in the Utah Territories to have its streets surveyed and named, and it later gained the distinction of being the first to get electric lights, and the first to get a telephone. A town cemetery (northwest of the settlement) was created shortly into the twentieth century. Other amenities were slowly addressed, and they now include a ball diamond, a city park, a city hall, a fire station, a municipal water system, and a centralized wastewater collection/disposal system.