Holden, Utah

Holden is a town in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 400 at the 2000 census.HistoryHolden was settled in 1855 by a group of ten families sent out by the LDS bishop of Fillmore. Named Cedar Springs for the springs in the cedar that the community was built around. The town then assumed the name Buttermilk Fort because travelers passing through were encouraged to stop for a glass of cold buttermilk while they rested. The town got its post office 1864 and the town was renamed for Elijah E. Holden, a member of the Mormon Battalion who was one of the first settlers of Holden and died while caught in a snowstorm in 1858.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.4 km²), all of it land.EconomyThe traditional economy has been agriculture. Before the freeway bypassed the town, there were five gas stations, a grocery store, cafe, a swimming pool, an open-air dance hall, and a show house. Those businesses are now gone. Now there is a dental office with two dentists, a UPS transfer station where packages are delivered throughout Millard County, a nursery that grows native plants, three beauticians, a cabinet shop, a realty business and several home business featuring craft items. Cattle, alfalfa hay and corn are the main agriculture products. Most of the farms are located outside of the city limits, but owned and operated by farmers and ranchers that live in Holden.