The town of Logan was founded in 1859 by settlers sent by Brigham Young to survey for the site of a fort near the banks of the Logan River.[1] They named their new community "Logan" for Ephraim Logan, an early fur trapper in the area.[1] Logan was incorporated on January 17, 1866.[8]Brigham Young College was founded here on August 6, 1877 (and closed in 1926),[9] and Utah State University – then called the Agricultural College of Utah – was founded in 1888.[10]
Logan's growth reflects settlement and post-war booms along with other changes incidental to conditions in the West. Logan grew to about 20,000 in the mid-1960s, and according to Census estimates, exceeded 50,000 in 2015.[11]
Geography
Logan is in northern Utah, 47 miles (76 km) north of Ogden, on the Logan River. It is about 82 miles (132 km) north of Salt Lake City.
View over Logan and the LDS Temple and the Wellsville Range
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.5 square miles (48.0 km2), of which 18.0 square miles (46.5 km2) is land and 0.58 square miles (1.5 km2), or 3.16%, is water.[5]
The city lies near the eastern edge of Cache Valley on the western slopes of the Bear River Mountains. Mount Logan rises to an elevation of 9,710 feet (2,960 m) immediately to the east, and south of Logan Canyon. The eastern portions of the city are constructed on top of shelf-like "benches", late Pleistocenesedimentary deposits created by the glacially fed Logan River feeding into the northern stretches of Lake Bonneville, building a "Gilbert-type" river delta over several thousand years. The Logan River later cut down through these sedimentary deposits following the draining of Lake Bonneville approximately 14,500 years ago. This created a low-lying area with very steep slopes that reach into the rest of town and to the Logan River bottomlands. To the west of Logan lie flatlands that contain both farmland and marshes. To the north and south of Logan are rapidly growing residential suburbs.
Climate
Logan has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dsa) with very warm though usually dry summers and cold winters with moderate snowfall. Precipitation tends to be heaviest in the spring months. Like other areas in northern Utah, during mid-winter, high-pressure systems often situate themselves over Cache Valley, leading to strong temperature inversions. These temperature inversions trap cold air and pollutants and allow thick smog to accumulate in the valley about three percent of the time. This reduces the air quality to unhealthy levels and can result in the worst air pollution levels in the U.S.[12]
Climate data for Logan, Utah (Utah State University), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present
During the 2020 census, there were 52,778 people.[4] The population was counted at 48,174 in the 2010 census.[5] The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 83.9% White, 1.0% African American, 1.0% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 8.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.9% of the population.[16]
As of the 2000 Census there were 13,902 households counted in Logan, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.2.
In the city, the population was spread out, with
23.4% under the age of 18
34.3% from 18 to 24
25.5% from 25 to 44
9.7% from 45 to 64
7.1% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
As of the 2000 Census the median income for a household in the city was $30,778, and the median income for a family was $33,784. Males had a median income of $27,304 versus $19,687 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,765. About 12.6% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
Logan's Parks and Recreation department runs the Logan River Golf Course, the Logan/Cache County Fairgrounds, and the Logan Aquatic Center.
Zootah at Willow Park is a small zoo in Logan's Willow Park, with a small collection of wild animals including monkeys, coyotes, bobcats, bald eagles, and land birds and ducks.
Logan is the home of two full-length golf courses, the Logan River Golf Course and the Logan Golf and Country Club. Other golf courses are also found around the Cache Valley Area.
There are numerous events at the Logan/Cache County Fairgrounds including fairs, rodeos, and demolition derbies. Nearby, the city of Logan runs an aquatic center and a skate park. During the winter season, the city operates an outdoor ice skating rink at Merlin Olsen Park (Central Park).
Government
The government of the city of Logan consists of the Executive Branch, led by an elected mayor; the Legislative Branch, led by a five-member city council; and the Judicial Branch, led by the city judge.[22] Logan does not use districts for election purposes, as the mayor and council members are elected at-large.
The current mayor of Logan, Holly H. Daines, was elected in November 2017.[23] Current Logan City Council Members include Amy Z. Anderson, Mark A. Anderson, Mike Johnson, Ernesto Lopez, and Jeannie F. Simmonds.[24]
Alvin Crockett was the city's first mayor, elected on March 5, 1866.[25] Other previous mayors include Craig Petersen (2014-2018) and Randy Watts (2006-2014).
Logan residents are served by two public school districts; primarily Logan City School District, but also Cache County School District for certain neighborhoods. There are eight public schools in the Logan City School District: six elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, Logan High School. The Cache County School District has four high schools outside Logan in other cities.
Charter schools include Edith Bowen Laboratory School (K-6th), located on the campus of Utah State University,[26] Bear River Charter School (K-6th),[27] and Fast Forward Charter High School.[28]
InTech Collegiate Academy (often known simply as InTech) is located in Logan and is a STEM focused, early college high school partnered with Utah State University.
Logan River Academy is an adolescent residential treatment center that operates in the southern end of Logan.
In 2009, the Logan metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked as the eighth highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who biked to work (3.3 percent).[33]
Logan is served by a local sales-tax-funded zero-fare bus system called the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD), which incorporated the Logan Transit District (LTD) in 2007. The LTD system began in 1992 with six routes in Logan. Service outside of Logan began with the formation of CVTD in 2001. The system has 16 routes that serve Logan and the adjacent cities of North Logan and River Heights. These include a northern route that reaches north to Richmond, and a southern route that serves the southern suburbs and Hyrum. There is also a five-time daily connection to Lewiston and Preston, Idaho.[34]
