- Settled: As the Union Pacific tracks entered Utah from Wyoming early in 1868, the raucous tent-town familiarly known as “Hell-on-Wheels” moved along with it, setting up at each end-of-track construction camp, temporary incarnations of the same group of merchants, saloon-keepers, shillers, camp-followers, and brothels, with temporary quarters, put up and torn down week after week; Corinne’s roots began with “Hell-on-Wheels;” one of the few Utah towns not settled by Mormons, but grew to become a major commerce and shipping center, envisioned by its founders to become the capitol of the state
- Origin of Name: Various stories are told about the origin of the name; 1) Corinne was the name of a character in a popular novel of the day, 2) it was the name of a popular actress of the time, Corinne LaVaunt, 3) The most likely source is that it was named after Corinne Williamson, daughter of General J. A. Williamson, land agent for the Union Pacific Railroad
- Original Name: Connor, or Connor City, after Colonel Patrick J. Connor of the U.S. Army; also called Bear River; referred to by its founders as “Corinne the Fair,” the Mormons called it the “Burgh (or Borg) on the Bear,” or “The City of the UnGodly”
- Notable History: Established as the railroad town of Utah, founded to be a bastion against the Mormon “Kingdom of Brigham Young and his Apostles;” its founders hoped it would someday become the State Capital of Utah; Corinne has a rich fascinating and colorful history: once a wide-open railroad town; during its heyday, the law firm of Johnson and Underdunk provided a handy device which operated somewhat like a slot machine-with the insertion of a $2.50 gold piece and the pull of a handle, one had a signed, sealed, legal divorce document lacking only the names of the parties involved; located at the hub of commerce and communication, its population fluctuated between 2,500 and 10,000; at its peak, the town had hotels, saloons, a civic center, smelter, baseball field, rodeo grounds, freight and railroad sidings, and a site for a planned university: at present it’s primarily a rural ag and bedroom community; the first Presbyterian church in Utah has been renovated, with other historic buildings including the Masonic Lodge; its cemetery includes wooden markers that date to the 1800s.
- Location: 6. 5 miles (9 minutes) west of Brigham City on Hwy 13: 13.3 miles (17 minutes) west of Tremonton on Hwy 13
- Population at 2022 Census: 853, up from 822 in 2020
Corinne, UT
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