Draper, Utah

Draper, Utah
City
Draper Historic Park Draper Historic Park
Location in Salt Lake County and the state of Utah. Location in Salt Lake County and the state of Utah.
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Utah
Counties	Salt Lake, Utah
Settled	1849
Incorporated	1978
Founded by	Ebenezer Brown
Named for	William Draper
Government
• Mayor	Troy K. Walker
Area
• Total	30.1 sq mi (78.0 km2)
• Land	30.1 sq mi (77.9 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation	4,505 ft (1,373 m)
Population (2012)
• Total	44,103
• Density	1,500/sq mi (570/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	84020
Area code(s)	385, 801
FIPS code	49-20120
GNIS feature ID	1427473
Website	www.draper.ut.us

Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about 20 miles (32 km) south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 42,274, having grown from 7,143 in 1990.

Draper is part of two metropolitan areas - the Salt Lake County portion is included in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, while the Utah County portion is part of the Provo-Orem metropolitan area.

The Utah State Prison is located in Draper, near Point of the Mountain, alongside Interstate 15. The execution of Gary Gilmore took place there on January 17, 1977.

History

In the fall of 1849, Ebenezer Brown brought cattle to graze along the mountain stream of South Willow Creek. The next spring, he brought his family and sold his cattle to immigrants heading to the gold fields of California along what became the Mormon Road. More settlers came in the next few years to the new settlement first known as Sivogah, meaning Willows, the Indian name for the area, then later as South Willow Creek. At the end of 1852, 20 families lived along South Willow Creek. In 1854, the first post office was established with the name Draperville for William Draper III, the first presiding elder of the town's Mormon congregation. The name of the town in later years was shortened to Draper.

Hostilities with the Native Americans began in 1854, and a fort was established were the local settlers lived, during the winters of 1855 and 1856. The location of the fort, never completed, as the feared hostilities did not materialize, is now the site of the Draper Historical Park.

Geography

File:Corner Canyon2.jpg

Corner Canyon, Draper

Jordan River Parkway, Draper

Draper lies roughly midway between Salt Lake City and Provo. Draper is bordered by Riverton and Bluffdale to the west, South Jordan to the northwest, Sandy to the north, Alpine to the southeast, Highland to the south, and Lehi to the southwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.1 square miles (78.0 km²), of which 30.1 square miles (77.9 km²) is land and 0.015 square miles (0.04 km²), or 0.05%, is water.

The winds on Traverse Ridge make it a popular area for hang gliding and paragliding. In 2004, Draper citizens voted for a tax increase that would pay for the purchase of key pieces of property in the Corner Canyon area. The aim of this measure was to protect and preserve the Corner Canyon area for the future enjoyment of citizens of the city and the Salt Lake Valley area. In the fall of 2005, 1,021 acres (4.13 km²) of property were identified and purchased for the development of Corner Canyon Regional Park, which will consist of parks, trails, and other recreation areas.

Climate

Draper's climate is roughly identical to that of other Salt Lake City suburbs. However, due to being further away from the Great Salt Lake, varied elevation, and from the downtown urban heat island effect, Draper experiences a slightly drier winter, and more extremes in temperatures. The average temperature in Winter and Summer are 30°F to 50°F, and 80°F to 100°F. Springs are usually mild and wet, while fall can sometimes become an Indian Summer and drier weather. Monsoonal moisture from the South usually brings afternoon thunderstorms July and August. Draper falls on the border of Humid Continental/Subtropical, and is technically a cool/warm Semi-Arid Desert environment, but with Summer Monsoonal moisture. Snow usually falls quite regularly November through March, with Summer weather June through September. However, recent years have seen Spring started a couple weeks earlier, but also ending later. Autumn has been starting later and has a very slow transition to a short one to two month Winter bringing heavy snow to mountains and rain to the valley floor. The fauna have been allowed a longer, wetter, earlier growing season, and long harvests. However, fruit trees are starting to suffer.

Demographics

The Draper Utah Temple.

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1980	5,521		—
1990	7,257		31.4%
2000	25,220		247.5%
2010	42,274		67.6%
Est. 2014	46,202		9.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

At the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the city was 91.25% White, 1.52% African American, 0.75% Native American, 1.30% Asian, 0.36% Pacific Islander, 2.71% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.82% of the population.

In 2000, there were 6,305 households out of which 54.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.8% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.9% were non-families. 10.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.69.

In the city at the 2000 census, the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 38.3% from 25 to 44, 14.8% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 129.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city as of the 2000 census was $72,341, and the median income for a family was $76,858 (these figures had risen to $80,524 and $89,871 respectively as of a 2007 estimate. Males had a median income of $50,915 versus $31,742 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,747. About 1.8% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Utah Department of Corrections has its headquarters in Draper. Draper fields its own police department that covers the city limits. It was established in 2003, and fields about 40 officers. Fire is covered by the Unified Fire Authority.

Economy

File:1800contactsheadquarters.jpg

The headquarters of 1-800 Contacts in Draper, Utah.

Draper is home to the main customer service center of eBay, the tech call center of PGP Corporation, the call center of Musician's Friend, and the headquarters of 1-800 Contacts. Draper is also home to Utah's first IKEA, which opened in spring 2007. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constructed a temple in Draper that was dedicated on March 20, 2009.

Local media

• The Draper City Journal, newspaper, tabloid style newspaper covering local government, schools, sports, and features. Delivered to homes directly monthly by the USPS. Managed and Operated by Loyal Perch Media.

Top employers

According to the City's 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Utah State Prison	1,000-1,999
2	eBay	1,000-1,999
3	1-800 Contacts	500-999
4	Affiliated Computer Services (ACS)	500-999
5	Coca-Cola	500-999
6	Edwards Lifesciences	250-499
7	O'Currance	250-499
8	Harmons	250-499
9	EMC Corporation	250-499
10	Musician's Friend	250-499

External links

• City of Draper official website
• Draper homes for Sale
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Draper, Utah travel guide from Wikivoyage