...Following the first business boom and for a year thereafter, businessmen were attracted to the town from all parts of the county. Their businesses included Meldrum's blacksmith shop, Sherman's general merchandise store, Cook's drug store, Mrs. Cook's millinery store, Mrs. John Shuman's boarding house, Proctor Hotel, Goss Livery Stable, Stohl Furniture Store, Thomas Waldron's general merchandise store, Fishburn and Son's general merchandise store, Consolidated Wagon and Machine Company, Mr. Zimmerman's saloon, Wyatt Brothers' meat market, and the Kent Hotel. Very few homes were built during the first year; most of the families lived in the rear rooms of their places of business.

The town's name of Tremont was of short duration. Within three or four years, the name was so frequently confused with Fremont, Utah, that postal authorities requested a name change for the newer town. By simply adding two letters to Tremont, the town became Tremonton and the identity problem was solved.

A town organization was effected on 6 January 1906, with J.A. Fishburn as president, and J.C. Gates, D.C. Roush, S.B. Watland, and E.M. Wyatt members of the board, with George Shuman, clerk. They at once began to make improvements. Land for a city park was purchased from John Shuman for $50.00. In 1909 the old board sidewalks were replaced by cement walks; in 1910 a $6,000 bond was issued and a water system installed using water from the local canals; in 1911 Utah Power and Light Company installed an electric light system.

On 29 March 1912 the Tremonton Commercial Club was organized with Aquilla N. Fishburn as president, Charles McClure as vice-president, Harry L. Gephart secretary, and S.N. Cole treasurer. The club voted to organize a hotel commission. David Holmgren was chairman of the commission, which at once began the erection of the Midland Hotel. The contractors soon learned that the underground water was too near the surface to make the building of foundations and basements either safe or possible. Therefore, Matthew Baer organized a drainage company in July 1913, and by November of that year a sewer and drainage system had been extended to the greater portion of the town.

From the summer of 1912 to the close of 1914 Tremonton experienced a building boom. Coles Bank, the Shield Hotel block, Waldron and Harris Mercantile Building, and the Midland Hotel were all built. On 6 May 1918 Tremonton was incorporated as a city of the third class with Charles McClure as mayor; J.A. King, David Holmgren, W.H. Stone, and H.T. Woodward, city councilmen; Louis Brenkman, clerk; and W.E. Getz, treasurer. That same year, the city voted a $50,000 bond and installed a new water system using water from the Johnson Spring located just east of Point Lookout. By 1925 the population of Tremonton numbered 1,000.

The founding of Tremonton differed in many respects from the settlement of a vast majority of its sister communities in the valley. Most of the families pushing north and west to establish homes in the region were Mormon; but the first people of Tremonton and vicinity were non-Mormon. They were people who brought with them a variety of religious beliefs from their former homes. They also were an industrious, progressive, and sincere people who, regardless of differences in belief, were willing to cooperate with their neighbors. These qualities were evident when they constructed the first Union schoolhouse to educate all their children. They further united (hence the name "Union") by sharing that building on Sunday, when several denominations used it during the course of the day for their services.

Tremonton is a modern city. From 1906, when it was first incorporated as a town, to 1918, when it was designated a third-class city, to the present, growth has been steady. Educational, recreational, civic, health, medical, and religious services and facilities have been updated and expanded with the steady growth of the city. Economically, the city is a central shopping place for the Bear River Valley. In 1992, 267 businesses were operating with official city licenses.

Employment opportunities also have expanded with the Thiokol plant located twenty-six miles to the west. Nucor Steel is located fourteen miles to the north. La-Z-Boy Chair Company operates within the city limits. Tremonton church groups include LDS, Baptist, Methodist, and Catholic.

Kleon Kerr