Organization

Pioneers came into the Sandy area in the 1860s. It was a farming community with few people and widely spaced homes. When mining began in the nearby canyons and the railroad arrived in 1877, Sandy changed from a quiet agricultural village to a booming mining town. There were three smelters and two sampling mills here for testing the ores brought down from the mines. The railroad station was located almost directly across the street from where the Sandy Museum is now. In those days the museum building was a ZCMI Co-op store where the farmers, miners and even local Native Americans came to buy or trade items. It is said that Sandy got its name from the nickname of the red-headed train engineer called "Sandy" Kinghorn. In 1893 Sandy's population was over 1000 and Sandy incorporated and passed its first ordinances. The first Mayor was Arthur J. Cushing and Sandy was a one-mile square town containing many thriving businesses including 17 saloons. The rich ores brought to the smelters provided jobs for hundreds of men and made Sandy a major hub of society and business. Today Sandy has grown to be large suburban community with a population of over 100,000 citizens.