Manti, Utah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Manti, Utah
City
Birdseye view of Manti and the Sanpete Valley, August 2004
Location in Sanpete County and the state of Utah.
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Sanpete
Founded	1849
Incorporated	1851
Founded by	George Washington Bradley and Isaac Morley
Named for	A city in the Book of Mormon
Area
• Total	3.15 sq mi (8.17 km2)
• Land	3.15 sq mi (8.17 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	5,611 ft (1,710 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,429
• Density	1,088.5/sq mi (419.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code	84642
Area code(s)	435
FIPS code	49-47730
GNIS feature ID	1443136
Website	manticity.com

Manti (pronounced MAN-ty) is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. It is also the county seat, which means it's where the main government offices for the county are located. In 2020, about 3,429 people lived in Manti.

Discovering Manti, Utah

Manti was one of the very first communities settled in Utah outside of the main Wasatch Front area. It became an important center for many other towns that were later formed in Central Utah. A famous building in Manti is the Manti Utah Temple. It was the fifth temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its tall towers stand out in the city's skyline. For many years, Manti also hosted a large outdoor play called the Mormon Miracle Pageant every summer.

Manti's Early History

A view of Manti Cemetery from Temple Hill, August 2006

Manti has a rich history as one of Utah's first settlements. In 1849, a leader of the Ute Tribe named Chief Walkara (also known as Walker) invited Brigham Young to send settlers to the area. He wanted them to teach his people how to farm successfully.

Brigham Young sent about 225 settlers, including many families, to the Sanpitch Valley (now called Sanpete Valley). Led by Isaac Morley and George Washington Bradley, they arrived in November. The first winter was very harsh. The settlers had to dig temporary shelters into the side of the hill where the Manti Temple now stands to stay warm. Brigham Young named the new community Manti, after a city mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Manti officially became a city in 1851, and Dan Jones was its first mayor. Manti then became a central point for other settlements in the valley.

However, relations with the local Native Americans soon became difficult. This led to a conflict known as Wakara’s War. This war mostly involved Native Americans raiding the new settlements in Central and Southern Utah. The war ended in the mid-1850s after Brigham Young and Wakara reached an agreement.

Later, in 1865, another conflict called Utah's Black Hawk War began. This happened after an argument between a Manti resident and a young Native American leader. During this war, forts were built in Manti and other nearby towns for protection. Some smaller settlements were even left empty for a while. In 1867, Chief Black Hawk made peace with the settlers. However, small fights continued until 1872 when federal troops stepped in. Many settlers who fought and died in these wars are buried in the Manti Cemetery. Most of the Ute people were eventually moved to the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Eastern Utah.

Geography and Climate

Manti covers an area of about 2.0 square miles (5.1 square kilometers), and all of it is land.

The city has a climate with warm summers and cold winters. It gets just enough rain to avoid being called a very dry area. Because Manti is high up in the mountains, its weather is generally cooler than other populated parts of Utah, especially in the summer. Summer high temperatures are usually around 80-85°F (27-29°C), while winter highs are around 35°F (2°C). Winter nights can get very cold, often dropping to 15-20°F (-9 to -7°C).

Most of the rain and snow comes from October through May. Spring is usually the wettest season. Summers are drier, with some thunderstorms and moisture from the Gulf of California. Snowfall is common in winter and spring. On average, Manti gets about 12.70 inches of rain and 52.2 inches of snow each year. The hottest temperature ever recorded was 110°F (43°C) in August 1895. The coldest was -27°F (-33°C) in January 1937.

Even though Utah doesn't get many tornadoes, Manti was directly hit by a strong F2 tornado on September 8, 2002. The tornado lasted for 15 minutes and caused about $2 million in damage as it moved through the southeastern part of the city. Luckily, no one was hurt or killed.

Population Changes Over Time

In 2000, Manti had 3,040 people living in 930 households. About 46.7% of these households had children under 18 living with them. The average household had about 3.25 people. The population was spread out, with a large number of young people. The median age in the city was 26 years old.

Education in Manti

Manti is part of the South Sanpete School District. The city has one elementary school and Manti High School. The high school's sports teams are called the Templars and they compete in the 3A level of competition in Utah. Students in middle school attend classes in the nearby city of Ephraim.

Famous People from Manti

• William Harrison Folsom (1815-1901), an architect who helped design the Manti Temple.
• Julia Christiansen Hoffman (1856–1934), an artist and supporter of the arts from Portland, Oregon.
• Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, known for his "Hot-Rod" art, custom cars, and the famous character Rat Fink.
• Joyce Eliason (1934-2022), an American author, television writer, and producer.

See also

In Spanish: Manti (Utah) para niños