...When the mines failed in the 1890s, Sandy faltered, then underwent a significant economic transformation into an agricultural community. The fact that Sandy did not disappear, like so many other mining towns that dwindled with their mother lodes, was due to its location, resources, and the spirit of its inhabitants.

Sandy was incorporated in 1893, largely as part of an effort to combat what Mormon inhabitants considered "unsavory" elements in the town. Due to its mine-based beginnings, Sandy was somewhat of a boom town, unlike the majority of other rural Utah towns. After incorporation, it was almost as if Sandy had redefined itself. Gone were the large numbers of single, transient men. By 1900 there was only a handful of saloons and hotels, and Sandy began to more closely resemble other rural Utah towns--a place where everyone knew everyone else. Church, farming, business, and family formed the focus of the inhabitants' world.

This pace and way of life continued for more than six decades, interrupted only by wars, the Depression, and the changing seasons. No significant jumps in population, economic trends, or social patterns altered the predictable and stable rhythm of life.

In the late 1960s, however, this rural town dramatically changed course with its second boom. It had always been assumed by local leaders and citizens that Sandy would grow outward from its logical and historic center--the nexus of Main and Center streets. However, population growth overwhelmed the physical center as neighborhoods spread out in every direction over the land.

During the 1970s, pocket communities took shape, providing the services, schools, and shopping traditionally offered by a city. Annexation issues became prominent as Salt Lake County and Sandy vied for control over land and resources. Sandy became a collection of small local communities identified by a youthful, family-oriented population. For many it seemed that Sandy was a bedroom community, an extension of Salt Lake City. Nevertheless, in the 1980s Sandy officials worked to create a community with an identity of its own and a vision for the future.

Sandy High School students originally attended Jordan High School, which was completed in 1913. In 1962 Hillcrest High School was completed, followed by Brighton in 1969 and Alta in 1978. Sandy students attend seven middle schools and over a dozen elementary schools. The community is served by a new modern library completed in 1991.

Sandy's major employers at the present are Alta View Hospital, Becton Dickinson/Deseret Medical, Economy Builders Supply, Jordan School District, MacManagement, Sandy City, Shopko, Wasatch Building Products, Inc., Western Rehabilitation Institute, Discover Card, and the South Towne Mall.

Christian denominations with congregations in Sandy include Alta Canyon Baptist Church, Berean Baptist Church, Blessed Sacrament Church, Church of Christ of South Salt Lake, Community of Grace Presbyterian Church, Eleventh Hour Christian Church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Grace Community Bible Church, Grace Lutheran Church, Hilltop United Methodist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mountain View Christian Assembly, Sandy Baptist Church, Seventh-day Adventists, and South East Baptist Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has numerous stakes and wards. The city's population in 1990 was 75,058.

Martha Sonntag Bradley