Erda, Utah

Erda is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tooele County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,473 at the 2000 census, a significant increase from the 1990 figure of 1,113.

Geography

Erda is located at (40.607109, -112.309192).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 22.5 square miles (58.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,473 people, 697 households, and 623 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 110.1 people per square mile (42.5/km²). There were 722 housing units at an average density of 32.2/sq mi (12.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.93% White, 0.28% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.53% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.25% of the population.

There were 697 households out of which 54.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.3% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.6% were non-families. 9.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.55 and the average family size was 3.81.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 38.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 105.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $62,286, and the median income for a family was $65,494. Males had a median income of $42,386 versus $30,574 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,649. About 3.5% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Why The Name?

Marilyn Shields, a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers who works at the nearby Benson Grist Mill, said there are two stories about how Erda, settled in 1851 and originally called Batesville and Rose Springs, earned its official name.

In one version, Shields says, a wheat and alfalfa farmer named Pierre Apollinaire DeRoubaix who moved to the area in 1870 called it Erda after a town in France where he once lived.

"The other more well-known story is that the San Pedro-Salt Lake Railroad that ran along the Oquirrh Mountains named the town Erda after a German word that means earth," says Shields.

So which story is correct?

In an interesting coincidence of time from 1848 to 1874 Richard Wagner wrote a series of operas, one of which was called "Der Ring des Nibelungen" or the “The Ring of the Nibelung” this opera was based loosely on figures and elements of Germanic folklore, particularly from the Icelanders sagas and the Nibelungenlied. Represented in this opera was Erda the goddess of wisdom/Earth accordingly Erda is the mother of Thor, with Odin. Erda is daughter to the Night-Disir Natt/Night and her second husband of three, Annar.

On the other hand Pierre Apollinaire DeRoubaix took the English spelling of his name and changed his family name to Droubay, which many current Erda residents will recognize as a founding father of their community. Even though there is no city or town in France named Erda, there is a small village named Erdeven which could have been Pierre Droubay's home town.

The running joke is that when the original settlers got to a fork in the road they said "Do we go to Grantsville erda' Tooele?"

References

External links