Editing West Valley City, Utah (section)

==History==
The earliest known residents of the western Salt Lake Valley were [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] bands of the [[Ute people|Ute]] and [[Shoshoni]] tribes.

The first European people to live in the area were the Latter-day Saints. The Euro-Americans arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The area was first staked out by settler Joseph Harker and his family in the area they named as "over Jordan" (referring to the land west of the [[Jordan River (Utah)|Jordan River]], which runs through the valley).

The Granger area was settled by Welsh pioneers who came to Utah with [[Dan Jones (Mormon)|Dan Jones]] in 1849. Irrigation systems and agriculture were developed in the area, and [[Elias Smith (Mormon)|Elias Smith]] proposed the area's name on account of its successful farming. The population of Granger and its vicinity was about 1,000 people in 1930.<ref>Jenson, Andrew. ''Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1941) p. 295</ref>

Hunter was not settled until 1876. This settlement was started by Rasmus Nielson, Edward Rushton, August Larsen and about seven others along with their families. Irrigation began in 1881 and the main crop was fruit trees.<ref>Jenson. ''Encyclopedic History''. p. 346</ref>

The city began to experience rapid growth in the 1970s, when the area that is now West Valley City consisted of the four separate communities of Hunter, Granger, Chesterfield, and Redwood. These four [[unincorporated area]]s merged in 1980 to form the present-day city. During the [[2002 Olympic Winter Games]], West Valley City was the official venue for men's and women's [[ice hockey]].

On May 19, 2011, the city unveiled an official plan to create a downtown area for the city over the course of 10 years, building on plans and development that already existed. It will be known as Fairbourne Station (named after Joseph Fairbourne, an early settler who operated a weigh station in the area in the late 19th century) and will consist of approximately {{convert|40|acres|0|abbr=on}}, costing $500 million to build. The center will include a civic center (consisting of city hall, a courthouse, police headquarters, and a library), an eight-story [[Embassy Suites Hotels|Embassy Suites]] hotel, a plaza, and residential development, as well as the end of the [[TRAX (light rail)|TRAX]] [[Green Line (TRAX)|Green Line]], and a stop on the [[3500 South MAX]] [[bus rapid transit]] line. [[Valley Fair Mall (West Valley City, Utah)|Valley Fair Mall]] and the [[Maverik Center]] are located nearby, as is [[Interstate 215 (Utah)|I-215]]. {{As of|2016}},  the development is incomplete with the TRAX line having opened in 2011 and the hotel in 2012, but the City Hall and the government center still under construction.<ref>[http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51831965-78/west-valley-fairbourne-south.html.csp New name for WVC project: Fairbourne Station]. [[The Salt Lake Tribune]]. May 19, 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wvc-ut.gov/734/Fairbourne-Station|title=Official Fairbourne Station Web Site|website=Wvc-ut.org|access-date=2017-08-27}}</ref>

Serial killer [[Ted Bundy]] was arrested in Granger on August 16, 1975, on a routine traffic stop.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/778245/Officer-recalls-Bundys-75-capture.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421230657/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/778245/Officer-recalls-Bundys-75-capture.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 21, 2012|title=Officer recalls Bundy's '75 capture|date=2000-08-20|work=DeseretNews.com|access-date=2017-04-21|language=en}}</ref>