Taylorsville city hall is located at 2600 Taylorsville Boulevard, Taylorsvillem UT 84129.
Phone: 801-963-5400.
Taylorsville Today [†]
On July 1, 1996, Taylorsville became a city following a fourth and successful incorporation effort. Voters voiced by more than a 2 to 1 margin a desire to take control of their community from Salt Lake County. Many residents were instrumental in the effort to incorporate. The process, which began in September 1994, involved a full year of neighborhood meetings and education efforts. Community spirit and activism, which remains very high, prompted an unusually large number of citizens to run for an elected office; eleven people for mayor and 68 for five seats on the City Council. Since incorporation, numerous Taylorsville residents have actively served on other committees and volunteer projects.
Neighborhoods
Today, over ten years after incorporation, Taylorsville has become an established and diverse community. Residents of Taylorsville enjoy a very high quality of living while pro=actively addressing challenges facing the City such as limited amounts of undeveloped land and commercial development patterns that in some cases don't represent current trends in commercial growth. In addition, growth in surrounding communities has had a significant affect on Taylorsville's transportation network and economic tax base.
History
After the Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, men on horseback explored the South Valley. On one of these trips, a pioneer named Joseph Harker noticed the fertile soil along the Jordan River and in fall, 1848, moved south and built a cabin on the west bank of the Jordan River. He thus became the first settler in "Over Jordan," the pioneer term for all land west of the Jordan River. In winter, 1849, nine other families crossed the frozen river and joined the Harkers. Among them were the John and Samuel Bennion families and the John Taylor family.
In 1850, the colony moved a short distance south to a bend on the Jordan River between about 4300 and 4800 South. This site became known as Taylorsville and by 1851, had expanded to about 15 families. One newcomer, Robert Pixton, wrote that he moved to Taylorsville because "Salt Lake City has become too large and dangerous to raise a family in." John Bennion, in a letter to relatives in England, described the community idealistically: "If peace dwells upon this earth it is here," he wrote, "Here are the most prosperous people in the world, enjoying free soil, pure air, and liberty to worship our God as we please..."
By 1860, the Taylorsville area had 178 residents. Settlement was centered between what is now Taylorsville Expressway and the Murray-Taylorsville Road, which was regarded as "Main Street." East to west, most farms were between the Jordan River and Redwood Road. In 1867, the Rock Schoolhouse, the first permanent school, was built near Murray-Taylorsville Road and 1100 West on what was known as Pixton Hill. A commercial area containing various uses including a church and grocery store was developed at Redwood Road and 4800 South. Taylorsville Mercantile was a notable business on the street, selling everything from needles to automobiles.
The suburban boom hit the community about 1960. That year, Taylorsville-Bennion's population was about 4,000 and had just over 600 housing units. By 1987, the estimated population of the Taylorsville-Bennion area was 49,600 with over 16,000 housing units. Most housing constructed prior to 1980 was single-family. However, after 1980, there was an unprecedented boom in multi-family residential development. Commercial growth was equally dramatic. In 1970, the community had about 17,000 square feet of commercial space. By 1987, it had about 1.8 million square feet.
†Excerpt from the City of Taylorsville General Plan, 2006, www.taylorsvilleut.gov, accessed April, 2021.