Sevier County is located in south central Utah. The county seat is Richfield. The 2010 census counted 20,802 residents.
Important traces of Archaic Culture exist in Sevier County, particularly at the Sudden Shelter site. Also, important Fremont Culture sites are sprinkled through the county, the most famous of which is Clear Creek Canyon, now preserved in Fremont Indian State Park. The earliest known Anglo-Europen travelers on the trail system which was to become the Old Spanish Trail were the Escalante-Dominguez party and the indomitable Jedediah Smith. Early Mormon explorers included Parley P. Pratt in 1849-1850 and George W. Bean in 1863. During the first half of the 1860s, Mormon settlement intensified in the lands adjacent to the Sevier River. This angered local Indians and was one of the factors that led to open warfare. In 1867, increased hostile Indian activity forced the Mormans to flee the area, not to return until after things settled down in 1870.
Today, Sevier County is an important source of coal for the Intermountain Power Plant in neighboring Millard County.
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