Biohazard Cleanup Near Murray Square Murray, UT

Murray is a city in the core of Salt Lake Valley in Salt Lake County, Utah, known for its central location as the Hub of Salt Lake County.

The area was permanently settled by Mormon pioneers in 1848, when the Mississippi Saints began a scattered settlement then called South Cottonwood, after the land had served as a seasonal home of Paiute, Shoshone, and Bannock peoples.

Murray is named for territorial governor Eli Houston Murray, and the post office officially changed its name from South Cottonwood Post Office to Murray Post Office in 1883.

After an incorporation election held on November 18, 1902, in which C. L. Miller was elected mayor by a margin of three votes, Murray was officially recognized as a city by the State of Utah on January 3, 1903.

As of the 2020 census, Murray had a population of 50,637 and 20,421 households, up from 46,746 people in 2010.

Murray's industrial history began with the construction of the Woodhill Brothers' smelter in 1869, and in 1870 the city produced the first silver bars smelted in Utah, with the Germania and Hanauer smelters later combined into ASARCO in 1899.

The smelters dominated Murray's economy until the ASARCO lead smelter closed in 1949, and the landmark smokestacks were imploded in 2000 so Intermountain Healthcare could build the Intermountain Medical Center on the site.

The Pony Express traveled through central Murray along what is now State Street, where Utah Pony Express Station Number 9, called Travelers' Rest, stood near present-day 6200 State Street.

The army established Camp Murray in 1885 to house several companies of the Ninth Infantry Regiment to help protect the railroad, and the camp was disbanded in the early 20th century.

Unlike most neighboring communities, Murray operates its own police, fire, power, water, library, and parks and recreation departments, and it has its own school district, while maintaining one of the lowest city tax rates in the state.