The town was established in the 1880s by Mormon settlers, and was initially known as Youngtown, after John Willard Young. The town is generally held to be named after Jay L. Torrey from Pittsfield, Illinois. Torrey was a member of the Wyoming legislature, who, upon the advent of the Spanish–American War, achieved national attention by proposing the creation of what became three volunteer cavalry regiments, made up of cowboys and stockmen. Torrey was commissioned Colonel of the 2nd Regiment, the "Rocky Mountain Riders"; the 1st Regiment, the only regiment to see action, was better known as the Rough Riders.
Geography
Torrey is located on the north bank of the Fremont River between Boulder Mountain to the southwest and Capitol Reef National Park to the east. Teasdale is approximately three miles to the southwest, Grover is about five miles to the southeast and Bicknell is about six miles to the northwest. Utah State Route 24 and Utah State Route 12 serve the community. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, none of which is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 171 people, 73 households, and 50 families residing in the town. The population density was 433.3 people per square mile. There were 110 housing units at an average density of 278.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 99.42% White and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.34% of the population. There were 73 households out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couplesliving together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.76. In the town, the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $25,859, and the median income for a family was $26,528. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $16,667 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,818. About 5.9% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 20.7% of those 65 and older.
