Riverton City Directory Collections
The most useful Riverton city directory source is the University of Utah Marriott Library’s Utah City Directories Collection. Its metadata describes a Salt Lake City Suburban volume that includes Riverton with other valley communities. The collection listing shows a 1974 edition, then 1975, 1976, 1977–78, 1979, 1980, and later entries. The listing is strong evidence that Riverton is covered, but not proof of a complete annual run or that every resident appears.
| Collection | Years located | Where held | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City Suburban directory | 1974 | University of Utah Marriott Library | Metadata and scans as available |
| Later suburban listings | 1975, 1976, 1977–78, 1979, 1980, later | Utah City Directories Collection | Check each item |
| County appraisal cards | 1934–1987 description | Salt Lake County Archives | Address request |
| Historic Resources of Riverton | 291 filtered results | Marriott Digital Library | Open metadata search |
| Library local-history route | Not verified | Riverton Branch | Call before promising holdings |
Exact publisher, page image, and scan coverage should be read from each item. Where a scan does not show a Riverton entry, retain the collection metadata and mark the entry as unconfirmed.
The University of Utah city-directory collection is the primary digital starting point.
Riverton in the 1974 Suburban Volume
The 1974 suburban city directory is a useful quirk in Riverton research. It places Riverton beside Draper, Granger, Holladay, Hunter, Kearns, Magna, Midvale, Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, Taylorsville, Union, West Jordan, and White City. That regional frame can help locate a family whose address sits near a municipal edge. It also warns against calling the book a Riverton census. A regional publisher may omit households, use a wider postal label, or carry an old entry forward.
Start by noting the title, year, publisher, city label, page, and printed spelling. Search the alphabetical section for a family name, then use the street or criss-cross portion to test an address. Preserve abbreviations. If a person appears in a regional directory but not a current record, the result may still be a solid historical lead, not a present-day claim.
The Riverton Library branch listing identifies the local research handoff.
Read a Riverton City Directory Entry
A city directory entry is usually name-first. Depending on the volume, it may print a spouse in parentheses, occupation, employer, street address, telephone, and a symbol for owner, renter, widow, or business listing. The abbreviation key belongs to that edition. Do not expand a mark from memory. A person may appear under a spouse, in a business listing, or in a cross-reference.
| Entry field | Research use |
|---|---|
| Printed name | Keep surname, initials, spelling, and cross-reference intact. |
| Spouse or household note | Compare names across adjacent editions. |
| Occupation and employer | Useful identity clue, not a current status. |
| Address and telephone | Anchor the entry to a street and year. |
| Symbols and abbreviations | Read the volume’s key before interpreting them. |
- Criss-cross directory
- An address-order section that moves from street to listed occupant.
- Householder index
- A name-based finding aid centered on the person treated as the household contact.
- Abbreviation key
- The volume’s guide to short forms and symbols.
- Snapshot
- A record of a publication date, not a full count of residents.
Trace a Riverton Household Across Editions
Use nearby editions to test continuity, not one isolated hit. The same family can change address, spouse notation, occupation, telephone, or city label. An omission can mean a move, death, nonlisting, a publication gap, or an indexing error. The sequence below keeps the directory in its proper role.
- Find the earliest likely name in the 1974 or another verified suburban edition.
- Copy the exact address, abbreviation, spouse note, and page number.
- Check 1975, 1976, 1977–78, 1979, and 1980 listings for changes.
- Use the criss-cross section to inspect nearby addresses and alternate spellings.
- Pair directory years with the 1970 and 1980 federal census, subject to the 72-year access rule.
- Close the trail with a deed, appraisal card, obituary, cemetery record, or probate file.
A directory can bridge a name to a street. A county parcel or deed can then test whether that street evidence points to the same household.
Historic Riverton Buildings Link Names
The Historic Resources of Riverton filter at the Marriott Digital Library returned 291 records. Examples include Redwood Road properties, the Nicholes-Turner House at 13601 S Redwood, and Reynolds or Beckstead properties. A historic form may name an owner, builder, architect, construction era, or property. Extract that historic name, then search the current county Assessor and Recorder by modern address or parcel. This is a name-to-address bridge, not a current resident directory.
County Archives house-history material includes appraisal cards, aerials, permits, land certificates, mortgages, deeds, and plats. Appraisal cards require an address and can preserve rooms, additions, year built, depreciation, and footprint. The date description spans 1934–1987, while a page heading says 1970s–1991. Keep that difference visible for later verification.
Archives and Library Handoffs
The Riverton Branch is listed at 12877 S 1830 W, Riverton, Utah 84065-7026, with phone 801-943-4636. The official directory record does not enumerate current city-directory years or an obituary index. Ask about microfilm, newspapers, yearbooks, licensed databases, obituary research, staff help, and interlibrary loan before promising a result.
Utah State Archives provides search boxes for series, name indexes, digital collections, and research guides. Its WPA Soundex birth index covers 1904–1934 and can show a child, mother’s maiden name, sex, date or county, file number, and father. Historical birth and death records have privacy periods, and an index is not permission to obtain a restricted image. Salt Lake County Archives remains the right handoff for many property and county record groups.
Use Directory Years With Care
Riverton’s history moved from Jordan River agriculture to suburban growth in the late 1960s. The 1948 town incorporation and July 3, 1967 city status help explain why county land and permit records can precede a city file. An old farm parcel may have a legal description before a modern street number. Preserve the original location string rather than silently modernizing it.
On a research sheet, keep five fields together: printed city, address, year, person, and source. The same street can also carry a postal change, such as the 84065 and 84096 territory shift recorded by USPS in 2006. Directory evidence becomes much stronger when those time markers stay attached.
Note: A regional directory’s inclusion of Riverton confirms coverage, not complete household enumeration.
What Riverton City Directories Cannot Prove
A city directory does not prove current residence, ownership, family relationships, or that an omitted person left town. The address may be stale, the person may be listed elsewhere, and the book may not cover every household. Verify a modern question with the county parcel trail or an appropriate custodian. For the present address chain, the Riverton street directory uses the Assessor and Recorder rather than rebuilding the historical shelf.
Riverton Directory Research Notes
Directory work also benefits from Utah Archives finding aids, the Marriott local-history collections, and the Salt Lake County Library handoff. The State Archives reported 53,000 new digital images in its January 2026 review, so a source that was offline can later become searchable. Keep the item title, year, page, publisher, and scan link in the research note.
Riverton Directory Citation Practice
For each city directory hit, cite the volume title, edition year, page image, printed city, and exact address. That small citation makes a family-history lead repeatable and lets a later reader distinguish a scan from an index record.