Rich County, Utah
county in northern Utah, United States
Rich County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 2,510, making it the fourth-least populous county in Utah. Its county seat is Randolph, and the largest town is Garden City. The county was created in 1864. It was named for an early LDS apostle, Charles C. Rich.
The southern half of Bear Lake and the Bear Lake Valley lies on the northern edge of the county. The Bear River Valley lies in most of the eastern portion of the county. The elevation of these valleys is close to 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and the rest of the county is covered by mountains, including the Bear River Range. Because of the high elevation, the climate is cold in winter and mild in summer, and the population is limited.
History
Various Native American peoples inhabited the Rich County region for thousands of years.
The public source identifies “Rich County, Utah” as county in northern Utah, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rich, County and Utah.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Rich County, Utah”, the useful work is to connect “county in northern Utah, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26907. VIAF identifies the subject as 148941357. The Library of Congress control number is n82024103. Authority coordinates are 41.620, -111.240. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 1864.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rich County, Utah”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rich County, Utah primary sources, Rich County, Utah archive and Rich research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Rich County, Utah” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.