Utah Territory - wikipedia Utah Territory Territory of Utah Organized incorporated territory of the United States ← 1850 -- 1896 → → → → → Territorial coat of arms ( 1876 ) The Utah Territory upon its creation. Modern state boundaries are shown for reference. Capital Fillmore ( 1851 -- 1856 ) Salt Lake City Government Organized incorporated territory Governor 1851 -- 1858 Brigham Young 1893 -- 1896 Caleb Walton West Legislature Utah Territorial Assembly History State of Deseret 1849 Utah Organic Act September 9, 1850 Colorado Territory formed February 28, 1861 Nevada Territory formed March 2, 1861 Wyoming Territory formed July 25, 1868 Statehood January 4, 1896 The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. The territory was organized by an Organic Act of Congress in 1850, on the same day that the State of California was admitted to the Union and the New Mexico Territory was added for the southern portion of the former Mexican land. The creation of the territory was part of the Compromise of 1850 that sought to preserve the balance of power between slave and free states. With the exception of a small area around the headwaters of the Colorado River in present - day Colorado, the United States had acquired all the land of the territory from Mexico with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. The creation of the Utah Territory was partially the result of the petition sent by the Mormon pioneers who had settled in the valley of the Great Salt Lake starting in 1847. The Mormons, under the leadership of Brigham Young, had petitioned Congress for entry into the Union as the State of Deseret, with its capital as Salt Lake City and with proposed borders that encompassed the entire Great Basin and the watershed of the Colorado River, including all or part of nine current U.S. states. The Mormon settlers had drafted a state constitution in 1849 and Deseret had become the de facto government in the Great Basin by the time of the creation of the Utah Territory. Following the organization of the territory, Young was inaugurated as its first governor on February 3, 1851. In the first session of the territorial legislature in September, the legislature adopted all the laws and ordinances previously enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Deseret. Mormon governance in the territory was regarded as controversial by much of the rest of the nation, partly fed by continuing lurid newspaper depictions of the polygamy practiced by the settlers, which itself had been part of the cause of their flight from the United States to the Great Salt Lake basin after being forcibly removed from their settlements farther east. Although the Mormons were the majority in the Great Salt Lake basin, the western area of the territory began to attract many non-Mormon settlers, especially after the discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1858. In 1861, partly as a result of this, the Nevada Territory was created out of the western part of the territory. Non-Mormons also entered the easternmost part of the territory during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, resulting in the discovery of gold at Breckenridge in Utah Territory in 1859. In 1861 a large portion of the eastern area of the territory was reorganized as part of the newly created Colorado Territory. The controversies stirred by the Mormon religion 's dominance of the territory are regarded as the primary reason behind the long delay of 46 years between the organization of the territory and its admission to the Union in 1896 as the State of Utah, long after the admission of territories created after it. In contrast, the Nevada Territory, although more sparsely populated, was admitted to the Union in 1864, only three years after its formation, largely as a consequence of the Union 's desire to consolidate its hold on the silver mines in the territory. Colorado was admitted in 1876. The evolution of the Utah Territory from its creation by Congress in 1850 to 1896, when statehood was granted. Contents 1 See also 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External links See also Utah portal Colorado portal Nevada portal Wyoming portal History portal American Civil War, 1861 -- 1865 Utah in the American Civil War Compromise of 1850 First Transcontinental Railroad Great Basin Great Salt Lake Historic regions of the United States History of Utah History of slavery in Utah Latter Day Saint movement Chief Judges of the Supreme Court of the Utah Territory Mexican -- American War, 1846 -- 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848 Morrisite War, June 1862 Mountain Meadows massacre September 7 -- 11, 1857 Paiute War, 1860 Runaway Officials of 1851 Territorial evolution of the United States Territories of Spain that encompassed land that would later become part of the Territory of Utah : Gran Cuenca Santa Fé de Nuevo Méjico, 1598 -- 1821 Nueva California, 1768 -- 1804 Alta California, 1804 -- 1821 Territories of Mexico that encompassed land that would later become part of the Territory of Utah : Alta California, 1821 -- 1848 Santa Fé de Nuevo México, 1821 -- 1848 U.S. territories that encompassed land that would later become part of the Territory of Utah : Mexican Cession, 1848 State of Deseret, 1849 -- 1850 ( extralegal ) U.S. territories that encompassed land that was previously part of the Territory of Utah : Territory of Jefferson, 1859 -- 1861 ( extralegal ) Territory of Colorado, 1861 -- 1876 Nataqua Territory, 1856 -- 1861 ( extralegal ) Territory of Nebraska, 1854 -- 1867 Territory of Nevada, 1861 -- 1864 Territory of Idaho, 1863 -- 1890 Territory of Dakota, 1861 -- 1889 Territory of Wyoming, 1868 -- 1890 US states that encompass land that was once part of the Territory of Utah : State of Nevada, 1864, additional territory annexed 1866 State of Colorado, 1876 State of Wyoming, 1890 State of Utah, 1896 Utah in the American Civil War Utah Territorial Statehouse Utah War, March 1857 -- July 1858 References This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2008 ) Further reading Unpopular Sovereignty : Mormons and the Federal Management of Early Utah Territory by Brent M. Rogers, 2017, University of Nebraska Press External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Utah Territory. Utah in 1851, with the text of the 1850 Act of Congress to Establish the Territory of Utah, Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum Utah 's Role in the Transcontinental Railroad, Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum Utah State History Utah Office of Tourism Official Website State of Utah Salt Lake City ( capital ) Topics Cities Congressional districts Counties Flag Geography Government Governors Healthcare History People Portal State fair Symbols Tourist attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Cache Valley Colorado Plateau Dixie Great Basin Great Salt Lake Great Salt Lake Desert Mojave Desert Monument Valley San Rafael Swell Uinta Basin Uinta Mountains Wasatch Back Wasatch Front Wasatch Range Largest cities American Fork Bountiful Cedar City Clearfield Cottonwood Heights Draper Holladay Kaysville Layton Lehi Logan Midvale Millcreek Murray Ogden Orem Pleasant Grove Provo Riverton Roy St. George Salt Lake City Sandy South Jordan South Salt Lake Spanish Fork Springville Taylorsville Tooele West Jordan West Valley City Counties Beaver Box Elder Cache Carbon Daggett Davis Duchesne Emery Garfield Grand Iron Juab Kane Millard Morgan Piute Rich Salt Lake San Juan Sanpete Sevier Summit Tooele Uintah Utah Wasatch Washington Wayne Weber Attractions Festivals America 's Freedom Festival Sundance Film Festival Utah Shakespeare Festival National Monuments Bears Ears National Monument Cedar Breaks National Monument Dinosaur National Monument Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument Hovenweep National Monument Natural Bridges National Monument Rainbow Bridge National Monument Timpanogos Cave National Monument National parks Arches National Park Bryce Canyon National Park Canyonlands National Park Capitol Reef National Park Zion National Park National Recreation Areas Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Ski resorts Alta Ski Area Beaver Mountain Brian Head Ski Resort Brighton Ski Resort Cherry Peak Resort Deer Valley Park City Mountain Resort Powder Mountain Snowbasin Snowbird Ski Resort Solitude Mountain Resort Sundance Resort Wolf Mountain Other Bonneville Salt Flats Golden Spike National Historic Site Great Salt Lake Lagoon ( amusement park ) Temple Square Coordinates : 39 ° 50 ′ N 113 ° 30 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.833 ° N 113.500 ° W ﻿ / 39.833 ; - 113.500 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Utah_Territory&oldid=839075249 '' Categories : States and territories established in 1850 States and territories disestablished in 1896 Utah Territory Former organized territories of the United States History of the American West History of the Great Basin History of Utah Pre-statehood history of Colorado Pre-statehood history of Nevada Pre-statehood history of Utah Pre-statehood history of Wyoming Utah War 1850 establishments in Utah Territory 1896 disestablishments in Utah Territory Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from April 2013 Former country articles requiring maintenance Articles needing additional references from March 2008 All articles needing additional references Coordinates not on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Română Русский Svenska Tiếng Việt 中文 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 1 May 2018, at 02 : 56. 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Question: when did utah become part of the united states
Answer: January 4, 1896