A community of scattered homesteads had its first encounter with industry in the 1870s when smelters were established near the railroad. Later, with a burgeoning business district and hundreds of immigrant workers arriving each year, the citizens of Murray pushed for incorporation, which was granted in 1903. In the first half of the 20th century, the industrial town was one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Utah. Murray City was hailed as an example of an independent municipality with its own power plant, waterworks, school district, and so on. The commercial core was surrounded by dairies, poultry ranches, and truck farms. Murray was one of the first cities in Salt Lake County to experience a postwar suburban boom in the 1950s and continues to thrive today as more than just a bedroom community.