Rich County, Utah
| Rich County, Utah | |
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Rich County Courthouse, Randolph
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 Location in the U.S. state of Utah |
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 Utah's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1864 |
| Named for | Charles C. Rich |
| Seat | Randolph |
| Largest town | Garden City |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,086 sq mi (2,813 km2) |
| • Land | 1,029 sq mi (2,665 km2) |
| • Water | 58 sq mi (150 km2), 5.3% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 2,264 |
| • Density | 2.2/sq mi (1/km²) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 |
| Website | www |
Rich County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,264, making it the third-least populous county in Utah. Its county seat is Randolph, and the largest town is Garden City. The county was created in 1864. It was named for an early LDS apostle, Charles C. Rich.
The southern half of Bear Lake and the Bear Lake Valley lie on the northern edge of the county. The Bear River Valley lies in most of the eastern portion of the county. The elevation of these valleys is close to 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and the rest of the county is covered by mountains, including the Bear River Range. Because of the high elevation the climate is cold in winter and mild in summer, and the population is limited. There are only four significant settlements in Rich County.
Rich County was believed to have first been visited by European descendent explorers in 1811, when trapper Joseph Miller discovered the Bear River. In 1827, the first annual rendezvous of trappers occurred on the south shore of Bear Lake, a tradition which is still marked today. The site is also preserved as part of Bear Lake State Park. The first settlement within the county's present boundary was Round Valley in 1863; located southwest of Laketown (settled 1864), it is now a ghost town. Randolph was settled in 1870. Originally created as Richland County in 1864, the name was shortened to Rich in 1868 by the 17th Utah Territorial Legislature. The boundary as originally defined legitimately extended beyond Utah into southwestern Wyoming, but also contained populated territory within what was actually Idaho Territory. The 1870 census for Rich County, Utah Territory enumerates a total of 1,672 residents in the eight Idaho communities of Bennington, Bloomington, Fish Haven, Liberty, Montpelier, Ovid, Paris and St. Charles. Utah Territory adjusted the county's boundary in 1872 and Idaho Territory took the eight aforementioned communities and others in the Bear Lake Valley to form Bear Lake County on January 5, 1875.
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