About 11.7% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. East Carbon City had its beginnings in fall 1942, when the U.S. government – through the Defense Plant Corporation – awarded a contract to the W.E. Ryberg-Strong-Grant Corporation of Springville, Utah, to develop the town at a planned cost of $5 million. It was originally named "Drager", after W.L. Drager, chief engineer for the Defense Plant Corporation, who was raised in Utah and later moved to Washington, D.C. On September 9, 1942, the Post Office moved into its new building, and during the ceremonies, Postmistress Agnes Scow announced the U.S Post Office Department would not allow the name of Drager. Its contention was that Drager was too similar to the name Draper (another Utah community), and would create confusion and delays in mail delivery. A selected group of citizens gathered in the school auditorium to discuss a new name from the proposals of "Dragerville", "Dragervale" or "Drager Town" offered by the Post Office Department. "Dragerton", a derivative of "Drager-town", was selected. In 1959, with the area near its peak population, the Carbon School District built a high school in the area. The school was placed on land within the Sunnyside city limits that bordered Dragerton. The land was donated by Kaiser Steel, a local mining company. In 1958, during an assembly at East Carbon Junior High School, a vote was taken to give the new high school a name and mascot. The name selected was East Carbon High School and the mascot was a Viking. The school colors were blue, white and red. When the town was incorporated in 1973 the name was officially changed to "East Carbon City", matching the high school name. In 2005, the high school was closed and demolished before the beginning of the new school year. Bruin Point Elementary School was built the following year and is the only school serving the area of East Carbon. As part of East Carbon's incorporation, the nearby town of Columbia (approximately 4 miles to the southeast) became part of the new city. However, the area is still referred to as "Columbia" by local residents.