European-descent explorers first visited present-day Beaver County in the 1776 Dominguez–Escalante Expedition. The proposed territory of Deseret began with the arrival of Mormon pioneers in 1847. After the immediate Great Salt Lake City area was settled, settlers moved into more outlying areas, including the future Beaver County area. The county was created by the Utah territorial legislature from a section of Iron County on January 5, 1856, after the settlement of Beaver, Utah was flourishing. The county was named for the animal which was plentiful there. The county boundary as delineated by that act included areas in present-day Colorado and Nevada. The defined boundary was altered on January 16, 1861 by creation of two counties in present Nevada. The county area was effectively reduced on February 28, 1861 by the US Congress, when it created Colorado Territory, taking all of the Beaver County area east of 109 degrees longitude. The county's boundary was enlarged on January 17, 1861 by addition of parcels from Millard, Sanpete, and St. Mary's counties. However, its west area was reduced by creation of the Nevada Territory on July 14, 1862. The county area was also reduced on January 16, 1865, when Piute County was created from Beaver territory.
Geography
Beaver County lies on the west side of Utah. Its west border abuts the east border of the state of Nevada. The west part of the county consists of low rolling hills, punctuated by isolated mountains. The east edge of the county runs to the crest of a north-south-running mountain ridge. The terrain slopes to the west and north; its highest point is a mountain crest on its east border, at 12,011' ASL. The county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The Tushar Mountains lie on the eastern boundary of the county, reaching to in elevation, and providing water for the farming communities of Beaver and Manderfield. To the west, barren desert valleys typify the scenery, separated by mountains lightly forested with junipers.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 6,629 people, 2,265 households, and 1,697 families in the county. The population density was 2.56/sqmi. There were 2,908 housing units at an average density of 1.12/sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 89.0% white, 1.1% Asian, 1.1% American Indian, 0.3% Pacific islander, 0.2% black or African American, 6.9% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 35.2% were English, 15.5% were German, 10.6% were Irish, 6.8% were Scottish, and 2.3% were American. Of the 2,265 households, 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.2% were married couplesliving together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.1% were non-families, and 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.44. The median age was 31.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,514 and the median income for a family was $46,426. Males had a median income of $40,167 versus $26,215 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,131. About 12.6% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Beaver County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.
