Loa, the county seat of Wayne County, was established in 1878 by approximately forty families. The name Loa was suggested by Franklin W. Young, who had once resided in the Hawaiian Islands and had been impressed with Mauna Loa, Hawaii's second highest mountain, whose name means high, large, and powerful. The city is located in a broad valley west of the Fremont River, 205 miles south of Salt Lake City and 50 miles east of Richfield; its elevation is approximately 7,000 feet.

Until 1880 the settlers were scattered throughout the valley. Under direction of the LDS church leadership, they were encouraged to build a more organized town upon the present site. The town was marked off in six-acre blocks, sixteen rods apart, and was dedicated in 1885. It was not until 1890 that residents of Loa received government title to the land. Alvin L. Robinson, a probate judge appointed by President Grover Cleveland, secured title to the town's lands and sold individual land owners their appropriate titles. Loa was incorporated on 17 April 1919 with W.S. McClellan serving as first president of the town board of trustees. Loa's early water supply came from open ditches or from settlers hauling barrels of water long distances from Brian Springs on Spring Creek. As the human and animal populations grew, concerns over contamination increased; the result was a fresh-water pipeline from Road Creek which was completed in 1911.