Category Archives: late 19th century

Early Magna Settlements

Published May 4, 2022 / by Malcolm Harrison / 1 Comment on Early Magna Settlements

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Write-up by: Malcolm Harrison

Placed by: Sons of the Utah Pioneers, Site Number 28

GPS Coordinates: 40.6833 N, -112.0915 W

Historical Marker Text:

“Early Magna Settlements

In commemoration of the First Communities Established on the West Side of Salt Lake Valley and the First Major Industry of Utah

In 1853, Abraham Coon, an early Mormon pioneer, explored a canyon in the Oquirrh Mountains on the west side of Salt Lake Valley. He found an abundance of timber suitable for lumber and also a variety of oak tree the bark of which was useful in tanning leather. There was ample water to power a sawmill and a tan-bark processing plant. Abraham Coon obtained permission to open the canyon for these purposes, established a toll fee for access to the canyon, and used the revenue for the construction and maintenance of the road. The canyon was officially named Coon Canyon.

Abraham Coon and his family settled at the mouth of the canyon, and started a farming community that became known as Coonville. This was the first settlement on the west side of Salt Lake Valley and it covered a one-square-mile area south of this marker. The Coon, Deardon, Hardman, Shafer, Thomas, Sadler, Ek, Jenkins, and Larson families settled in the area. The 47th District School House was built here to house first- through eighth-grade classes and also church functions.

In the 1860s, settlers from Salt Lake City were attracted to the fertile soil in this part of the valley, and the farming community of Pleasant Green grew up on the two-square-mile area north of Coonville. Early family names in Pleasant Green included Spencer, Reid, Taylor, Cockrell, Jacobs, Lecheminant, Breeze, Perkins, Sutton, Mellen, Hirst, Brown, Bouck, Bertoch, Hartley, Lambert, Whipple, Shields, Adamson, Drury, Featherstone, and Wolstenholme.

In 1906, Daniel C. Jackling brought the Utah Copper Company into operation by commencing open-pit mining in Bingham Canyon. Over the next forty years the mine, smelting, and milling operations were expanded and the company became known as Kennecott. The open-pit mine is truly one of the wonders of the world. The modernization of the mine and processing plants has gone forward, and in 1992 this remains one of the great copper producing centers of the world.

With the advent of the copper industry, Coonville and Pleasant Green merged into the unincorporated city of Magna. “Magna” means “magnificent” or “great,” a proud reference to the role played by the city and its people in the development of the copper industry. The name became official with the opening of the first Magna Post Office in 1917.”

Extended Research:

Many people believe that the Pioneers settled the Salt Lake Valley from East to West as the Saints arrived down through the Wasatch Mountains and expanded steadily towards the Oquirrh Mountains. As early as the mid-19th century, however, small groups and families spread out to settle areas west of Salt Lake City into modern-day West Jordan, Tooele, West Valley, and Magna. As the first settlement at the base of the Oquirrh Mountains, Magna has this secluded monument dedicated to preserving the story of how it was settled and cultivated. The legacy of this place is really the story of a town that has known many names.

Between 1851 and 1853 Abraham Coon and his family were the first of eight families to establish their homes and farms near the mouth of a small canyon called Coon’s Canyon. Natural resources could be found surrounding the canyon such as water flowing from natural springs and a mountain creek.[1] They called their new settlement Coonville, but this corner of the valley was called many different names over the years. According to A History of Salt Lake County, it was called “Mill Stone Point for its smooth stones suitable for grinding grain, stagecoach drivers then called it Point of West Mountain…Then the clutter of shanties and tents for migrant workers prompted the nickname Ragtown or Dinkeyville.”[2]

The history of the Early Magna Settlements and its various names has been quietly preserved through maps. In 1849 Colonel J. J. Abert ordered a map of the Salt Lake Valley to be surveyed.[3] At this time there was nothing noteworthy on the map west of the Jordan River aside from an irrigation ditch and a few sinks (places where flowing water disappears into the ground).

Stansbury, Howard, Cartographer, Surveyor, J. W Gunnison, Albert Carrington, Charles Preuss, Millard Fillmore, and Grambo & Co Lippincott. Map of the Great Salt Lake and adjacent country in the territory of Utah: surveyed in 1850 under the orders of Col. J.J. Abert. [Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., New York: Ackerman Lith, 1852] Map.

Just 40 years later in 1890, Collier & Cleaveland Lith. Co. produced another map of the Salt Lake Valley.[4] By this point, there were plenty of family farms and roads and two school districts. Abraham Coon lived to see all of this develop as he died only 5 years prior to the map’s completion. However, Coonville was not the official name on the map; by this time the town was known as Pleasant Green. A few years earlier on July 21, 1874, Judge Elias Smith had established the Pleasant Green Precinct. The name likely came from the reputation of the farms which produced bountiful crops, despite the arid climate, thanks to the natural mountain springs. It wasn’t until the arrival of Utah Copper Co. that the name Pleasant Green changed.

Collier & Cleaveland Lith. Co. Map of Salt Lake County, Utah. [Denver and Salt Lake City: Collier & Cleaveland Litho. Co, 1890] Map.

While knowledge of the rich mineral deposits in the Oquirrh Mountains was known since the early days of the pioneer’s arrival into the valley, no claims were officially staked until a decade after Abraham Coon and his family settled the area. Brigham Young, the first governor of Utah and simultaneously president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, encouraged all of the pioneers to put their time and effort into agriculture rather than mining. While it was not expressly forbidden to go prospecting or dig up minerals it was not considered a priority. Brigham Young himself said, “Gold is good in its place— it is good in the hands of a good man to do good with, but in the hands of a wicked man it often proves a curse instead of a blessing.”[5] With the passage of time and a strong push from outsiders like Colonel Patrick E. Connor, now known as the father of Utah mining, soon mining ventures opened up all over the state with one of the largest in the Oquirrh Mountains around the turn of the century.

Daniel C. Jackling created the Utah Copper Co. in 1906 which would later become Kennecott Copper Corporation. The company began constructing a mill in the area and Jackling decided to call it Magna, from the Latin word meaning “superior” or “great”.[6] The town post office also adopted the name Magna, which was not uncommon at the time. Many towns, especially small ones, were called one name and had another name for the post office. The town grew from a rural farm town and became known as a bustling mining town. The profitable mines attracted immigrants from all around the world including places like Greece, China, Italy, Serbia, Mexico, and more. Pleasant Green was slowly forgotten as the green farms were replaced with the roads and buildings of industrialization and urbanization.

Although initially settled by only a handful of families, by 1950 the population reached 3,502 and as of 2020, it has climbed to almost 30,000 residents.[7] Many people call this town home, but few know the history of the settling of where they now live. Not many know the stories of why the land where neighborhoods and shopping centers now stand used to be called Coonville, Millstone Point, Point of West Mountain, Ragtown, and Dinkyville. Today the Township of Magna is what appears on our maps, but there is certainly more than meets the eye to this small town with a rich history.

[1] Robert Goble, “Pleasant Green: The Town That Had Forgotten Its Name — Episode One.” YouTube, December 24, 2018.

[2] Linda Sillitoe, A History of Salt Lake County, Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, UT, 1996, 153.

[3] Howard Stansbury, Cartographer, Surveyor, J. W Gunnison, Albert Carrington, Charles Preuss, Millard Fillmore, and Grambo & Co Lippincott. Map of the Great Salt Lake and adjacent country in the territory of Utah: surveyed in 1850 under the orders of Col. J.J. Abert. [Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., New York: Ackerman Lith, 1852] Map.

[4] Collier & Cleaveland Lith. Co. Map of Salt Lake County, Utah. [Denver and Salt Lake City: Collier & Cleaveland Litho. Co, 1890] Map.

[5] Brigham Young, The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star. Volume XII. 1850, 245. BYU Library Digital Collections.

[6] L. Stewart Radmall and Mark E. Walker. “Pioneer Monuments of the Sons of Utah Pioneers.” Internet Archive. Sons of Utah Pioneers, January 2, 2021.

[7] U.S. Census Bureau. “U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Magna Metro Township, Utah.” United States Census Bureau Quickfacts, May 3, 2022.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources

Collier & Cleaveland Lith. Co. Map of Salt Lake County, Utah. [Denver and Salt Lake City: Collier & Cleaveland Litho. Co, 1890] Map.

Stansbury, Howard, Cartographer, Surveyor, J. W Gunnison, Albert Carrington, Charles Preuss, Millard Fillmore, and Grambo & Co Lippincott. Map of the Great Salt Lake and adjacent country in the territory of Utah: surveyed in 1850 under the orders of Col. J.J. Abert. [Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., New York: Ackerman Lith, 1852] Map.

Secondary Sources

Goble, Robert. “Pleasant Green: The Town That Had Forgotten Its Name — Episode One.” YouTube. YouTube, December 24, 2018.

Radmall, L. Stewart, and Mark E. Walker. “Pioneer Monuments of the Sons of Utah Pioneers.” Internet Archive. Sons of Utah Pioneers, January 2, 2021.

Sillitoe, Linda. A History of Salt Lake County, Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, UT, 1996, p. 153.

Sadler, Richard W. “The Impact of Mining on Salt Lake City.” Utah Historical Quarterly 47, no. 3 (1979).

U.S. Census Bureau. “U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Magna Metro Township, Utah.” United States Census Bureau Quickfacts, May 3, 2022.

Young, Brigham. The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star. Volume XII. 1850, p. 245. BYU Library Digital Collections.

The Old Rock Granary

Published May 4, 2022 / by James Delliskave / Leave a Comment

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Write-up by James Delliskave

Placed by: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, No. 100 (1), National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, No. 33 (2)

GPS Coordinates: 40° 38’ 54” N, 111° 52’ 13” W

Historical Marker Text (1):

As early as 1845 Brigham Young advised the saints to store grain. December 14, 1876 Bishop Joseph S. Rawlins asked the sisters living in this vicinity to store wheat. February 8, 1877 the first donations were received. A temporary bin was built later. Later, a tract of land 20 rods wide was given for the granary. On July 13, 1877 Mary Rawlins was made chairman of the building committee. Some of the young men were asked to haul the rock. On May 17, 1878 the granary was completed.

Historical Marker Text (2)

This area, 56th South and Vine Street, known as South Cottonwood, was one of the early religious and social centers for the church in the Salt Lake Valley. To the north of here about 600 feet was a campground used by the stone haulers for the Salt Lake Temple, the site being approximately halfway between the quarry and the temple ground. Also, may it be remembered that for those sturdy men who struggled here, the summer heat, spring and fall mud, and inadequate equipment made the task difficult. But they prevailed.

Extended Research

South Cottonwood was a former town that now comprises the eastern portion of the City of Murray. Part of the western area of South Cottonwood was used as a rest stop at the approximate halfway point for the stone-haulers of the Salt Lake Temple on the way from Little Cottonwood Canyon.¹ This work began in 1860, when granite was excavated from the canyon’s quarry and hauled to Salt Lake City by up to four yokes of oxen over a period of three to four days.² However once the railroad was constructed in 1873, the rock was almost exclusively transported by rail.

Years after the site was used as a rest stop, on December 14, 1876, Bishop Joseph S. Rawlins of the South Cottonwood Ward met with the members of the Relief Society, the charitable women’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and had indicated that grain storage was not being done within the ward.³ Less than three months earlier in the October 15, 1876 edition of The Woman’s Exponent, the newspaper published by and for members of the Relief Society,Brigham Young asked the Relief Society sisters “to build storehouses for the storing of grain in the sections of country as they shall divide off”.⁴ Young counseled the men of the various communities to assist the women in the construction and financial backing of the construction of granaries. Emmeline B. Wells, the head of the Church’s general Relief Society captained the operation, and all grain storage activities were administered under her direction.⁵

However, issues in many Latter-day Saint wards or congregations began to arise regarding the storage of grain. Church bishops, who were the male leaders of each congregation, often sought to wrestle the control of grain storage facilities from the Relief Society so that they could distribute it to the poor and to serve the needs of the ward. Many bishops would continue to do so even when rebuked. This tug-of-war between Relief Society women and Latter-day Saint priesthood authorities would be constant and continuous.⁶

In the South Cottonwood ward, the members of the Relief Society gleaned in the local grain fields, and held fundraisers from the selling of household items, as well as holding a party, which collectively raised $32.50, the equivalent of $853.95 in 2022, for the purchase of the initial grain which they then stored. Local leaders then put Mary Rawlins in charge of the granary building committee on July 13, 1877, and in the meantime the grain was stored in a temporary bin in the granary personally owned by Bishop Rawlins. The Relief Society then purchased an additional $50.35 ($1322.97 in 2022) worth of wheat.

View facing the Northwest corner

Under the direction of Mary Rawlins, the committee selected a A 20-rod (330 feet) wide tract of land on September 13, 1877. Charles Walters, who had previously constructed the temporary bin in Bishop Rawlins’s granary was responsible for the carpentry on this structure, and Joseph Thompson performed the overall work on the building. The young men of the ward were tasked with hauling the granite needed for construction. The granite was sourced from the Little Cottonwood Canyon quarry and from stones found around the area. To pay for the granary itself, the Relief Society held a fundraising dance.⁷

View facing west, showing granite exterior mixed with local rocks.

The finished structure was, upon its completion on May 17, 1878, 10 feet by 20 feet with an 8 foot ceiling. The walls were 18 inches thick and consisted of an interior layer of brick, with an exterior of granite and initially held 195 bushels of wheat. The grain stored was used to help people affected by war, poverty, and famine.

At the end of World War I, the war had caused food shortages in Europe. The United States government asked for grain and other foodstuffs to alleviate the suffering. The LDS Relief Society sold 205,518 bushels of wheat and earned the thanks of Herbert Hoover, the then head of the US Food Administration. Many years afterward the Relief Society program of storing grain was officially terminated in 1978, and the money that would have been directed toward storage was instead diverted toward Church welfare and health services.⁸

View facing the southeast corner

The granary itself is the last surviving pioneer-era building located in this particular section of South Cottonwood, at the time it was constructed it was adjacent to an 1856 adobe church near a cooperative store, a cemetery, a hospital, and a dairy.⁹ In 1995, the granary was restored and a small commemorative park was established.

View facing east

“South Cottonwood Temple Granite Rest Camp Park Dedication Program October 22, 1995.” (Murray, Utah, 1995).
Don F. Colvin “Quarrying the Temple Granite.” Ensign 5, No. 10. (1975)
Murray City Museum, “The Rock Granary DC0392.” (1995).
“Sisters Be in Earnest,” The Woman’s Exponent, 5. (1876): 76.
Jessie L. Embry, “Grain Storage: The Balance of Power Between Priesthood Authority and Relief Society Autonomy,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15, No. 4: 60.
Embry, 61-62.
Murray City Museum, “The Rock Granary DC0392”. (1995).
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “A Call to Save Grain.”
Murray City Museum, “DC410”. 1995.

For Further Reference

Primary Sources

“Sisters Be in Earnest,” The Woman’s Exponent, 5. (1876): 76.

Secondary Sources

Colvin, Don F. “Quarrying the Temple Granite”. Ensign 5, No. 10. (1975).

Embry, Jessie L., “Grain Storage: The Balance of Power Between Priesthood Authority and Relief Society Autonomy,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15, No. 4: 60.

Murray City Museum, “The Rock Granary DC0392”. 1995.

Murray City Museum, “DC410”. 1995.

“South Cottonwood Temple Granite Rest Camp Park Dedication Program October 22, 1995.” (Murray, Utah, 1995).

Utah and the Civil War

Published May 4, 2022 / by Dylan Fawson / Leave a Comment

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write-up by Dylan Fawson

Placed by: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, No. 270

Utah Civil War Monument in front of the Utah State Capitol. Phot Credit: Dylan Fawson

GPS Coordinates: 40° 46′ 36.1″ N, 111° 53′ 25.5″ W

Historical Marker Text (1):

Utah and the Civil War

This monument honors the Utah men who answered the call to protect the mail and telegraph lines along the continental route during the Civil War. April 25, 1862 acting governor of Utah, Frank Fuller, called for volunteers from the Nauvoo Legion. The next day twenty-four men under Col. Robert T. Burton left for their assignment. Two days later Brigham Young received an authorization from President Abraham Lincoln, through secretary-of-war Stanton, for a company of cavalry to serve ninety days protecting the same route. One hundred and six men responded for duty under Captain Lot Smith. Later some Utah men joined the 3^rd Regiment, California Volunteers, stationed at Fort Douglas, Oct. 1862 – July 1866. Other pioneers served in the Civil War before coming to Utah.

Top plaque of the Civil War Monument. Photo Credit: Dylan Fawson

Historical Marker Text (2):

Utah Civil War Casualty

Lieutenant Henry Wells Jackson (March 10, 1827 – May 27, 1864), was the only Utah battle fatality of the Civil War and the first-known Latter-day Saint to be killed in a U.S. national conflict. Jackson marched in the Mormon Battalion, Company D, musician; panned for gold at Mormon Island (now Folsom Lake), California; and used gold to pay for his wedding. He and Eliza Ann Dibble were married in Salt Lake on February 3, 1850, by Brigham Young. Henry and Eliza started a family and helped establish settlements in Tooele Valley and San Bernardino, California. In 1858, Henry carried mail for George Chorpenning on the Overland Mail Route, a precursor to the Pony Express. Due to bad management, Henry was owed $1,300 in back pay for his mail service. He decided to go back East to try and collect the money. Payment was delayed, so Henry took employment as a wagon master and was ultimately captured by the Confederate Army and held as prisoner for three months. He was later released in exchange for Confederate prisoners. Because of the way he was treated he decided to fight for the Union. Henry enlisted with the First Regiment, District of Columbia, Volunteer Cavalry and was commissioned as a lieutenant due to his previous service in the Mormon Battalion. On May 8, 1864, Henry took part in the Battle of White Bridge near Jarrett’s Station, Virginia, and was shot. Due to infection, he died on May 27, 1864, leaving behind his wife and three children. Henry Wells Jackson is buried in Hampton National Cemetery and is remembered for his great sacrifice and love for family and country.

Extended Research:

When the Civil War began, a major worry of President Abraham Lincoln was communication between the eastern and western halves of the country. Although telegraph lines spanned the length of the country, attacks by Indian tribes sometimes left the telegraph lines down for several days. Although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been weary of the government in the past, Brigham Young said that “Utah has not seceded from the Union, but is firm for the Constitution and laws of our once happy country.” Utah’s geographical location, as well as Brigham Young’s recent declaration of loyalty to the Union, made Utah and the Mormon Militia a convenient option to protect the telegraph lines.^[1]

On April 25, 1862, acting governor of Utah Frank Fuller sent a telegram to Daniel H. Wells, the militia commander over the Utah Territory, requesting a group of volunteers to guard mail and passenger routes from the “depredations of hostile Indians.”^[2] The volunteers, under the command of Colonel Robert T. Burton, left Salt Lake City the following day and traveled due east along the United States mail route. The Burton company consisted of 24 men. On April 28, three days after the original telegraph, Brigham Young received another communication, this time from President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln allowed Young to raise another cavalry for 90 days of service. This company, which consisted of 105 men, was placed under the command of Captain Lot Smith. This company, in addition to guarding overland mail lines like the first company, would also be in charge of guarding telegraph lines, between Fort Bridger and Laramie, Wyoming. Because of delays in getting equipment ready for the expedition, this company did not leave Utah until May 1.^[3]

Although Brigham Young swore loyalty to the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War, many in the United States had lingering distrust about Mormons, largely because of two events in the years preceding the Civil War: the Utah War and the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Although the Utah War, which happened between 1857 and 1858, fell short of violence between Utah and the federal government, a tense relationship between the two resulted in the United States army marching west to Utah. The Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 was much more extreme.

In September of 1857, during a time of reformation for the Mormon church, the Fancher-Baker party was traveling westward through Utah in route to California. After a reported verbal confrontation in Cedar City, Utah, between the party and local Mormons, the Fancher-Baker party continued west. After an initial attack by a Mormon militia and Paiute Indians killed several members of the party, the party pulled their wagons into a circle and were besieged by the militia. Four days after this attack, on September 11^th, 1857, the Mormon militia convinced the party to surrender and handover their weapons, claiming they would march the party back to Cedar City. The Mormon militia proceeded to massacre the party. Save for those they deemed too young to be able to remember, militiamen killed some 120 men, women, and children.^[4] It was because of these two events that the two companies were only chosen for 90 days of service, and was also a major reason why a third group, led by General Patrick Edward Connor, would be sent to Utah.

These two companies did not do any fighting and did not have much trouble along the way other than bad weather at times. In a letter to Brigham Young in June of 1862, Lot Smith informed him that “the Company are all well, some few exceptions of cold and slight fever, the Brethren who have suffered are now fast recovering.”^[5] At the time of Smith’s correspondence, they’d had four pack animals stolen from them and one horse had frozen to death.

In addition to the two groups of Utah volunteers, a volunteer group from California was formed under the command of General Patrick Edward Connor, with the same purpose of guarding telegraph lines.^[6] Connor’s company, stationed in Utah, established Fort Douglas as part of Connor’s attempt to keep an eye on the Latter-day Saints. Connor, like many at the time, was distrustful of the Saints because of earlier events. While stationed in Utah, Connor and his men traveled north to Idaho where they committed the Bear River Massacre, killing hundreds of Northwestern Shoshone.^[7]Other troops removed from the conflict in the East committed similar atrocities, such as the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29, 1864.

However, not all interactions with Native Americans were hostile. In a telegram dated July 13, 1862, Lot Smith described how a Colonel Collins traveled over 300 miles to meet with a Shoshone leader by the name of Washakie.^[8]Although Washakie told them that he was no longer acknowledged as the Head Chief and could not agree to terms, he made his men return a stolen horse and gave Collins group 25 pounds of flour for their return trip.

According to a letter from Brigham Young to George Q. Cannon, dated August 6, 1862, Lot Smith’s company made it back in late July or early August, with some members of the group taking a detour in an attempt to catch some horse thieves.^[9]

After Lot Smith’s company returned, Utah and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints experienced little involvement in the Civil War, but that is not to say they were not affected by the events taking place. Many Latter-day Saints had family in the East who were affected by the war. The war was also troublesome for members making the pilgrimage to Utah. Many Mormon companies crossing the Great Plains were stopped and asked to pledge allegiance to the Union, while ships carrying converts overseas were often stopped by Confederate ships.^[10] Despite the Civil War happening, mainly in the East, both Union and Confederate newspapers throughout the country continued to publish stories about Utah, mainly about Mormonism and polygamy. Nationally, Mormonism continued to be a popular topic throughout the remainder of the 19^th century.^[11]

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources:

Brigham Young, Correspondence to George Q. Cannon, August 6, 1862, Brigham Young Office Files, CR 1234 1, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Departure of the Company for the Protection of the Mail and Telegraph Lines,” Deseret News, May 7, 1862.

Lot Smith, Correspondence to Brigham Young, June 16, 1862, Brigham Young Office Files, CR 1234 1, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lot Smith, Correspondence to Brigham Young, July 13, 1862, Brigham Young Office Files, CR 1234 1, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Secondary Sources:

Barnes, John. “The Struggle to Control the Past: Commemoration, Memory, and the Bear River Massacre of 1863.” The Public Historian no. 1 (February 2008), 200-211.

Boone, David F. “The Church and the Civil War.” In Nineteenth-Century Saints at War, edited by Robert C. Freeman, 113-139. Provo: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2006.

Generous, Tom. “Over the River Jordan, California Volunteers in Utah During the Civil War.” California History 63, no. 3 (Summer 1984).

Hartley, William G. “Latter-day Saints Emigration During the Civil War.” In Civil War Saints, edited by Kenneth L. Alford, 237-265. Provo: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012.

Kenneth, Alford L., and Joseph R. Stuart. “The Lot Smith Cavalry Company: Utah Goes to War.” In Civil War Saints, edited by Kenneth L. Alford, 127-141. Provo: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012.

Kenneth, Alford L. “Utah and the Civil War Press.” In Civil War Saints, edited by Kenneth L. Alford, 267-283. Provo: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012.

Turley, Richard E. “The Mountain Meadows Massacre.” In Mormonism: An Historical Encyclopedia, edited by W. Paul Reeve and Ardis E. Parshall, 95-100.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Creek_massacre

^[1] Kenneth L. Alford and Joseph R. Stuart, “The Lot Smith Cavalry Company: Utah Goes to War,” in Civil War Saints, ed. Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 127–41.

^[2] David F. Boone, “The Church and the Civil War.” In Nineteenth-Century Saints at War ed. Robert C. Freeman (Provo: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2006), 132.

^[3] “Departure of the Company for the Protection of the Mail and Telegraph Lines,” Deseret News, May 07, 1862.

^[4] Richard E. Turley, “The Mountain Meadows Massacre,” in W. Paul Reeve and Ardis E. Parshall, Mormonism: An Historical Encyclopedia (Santa Barbara: California: ABC-CLIO, 2010), 95-100.

^[5] Lot Smith, Correspondence to Brigham Young, June 16, 1862, Brigham Young Office Files, CR 1234 1, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

^[6] Tom Generous, “Over the River Jordan: California Volunteers in Utah during the Civil War,” California History no. 3, (Summer 1984): 200-211.

^[7] John Barnes, “The Struggle to Control the Past: Commemoration, Memory, and the Bear River Massacre of 1863,” The Public Historian no. 1, (February 2008): 81-104.

^[8] Lot Smith, Correspondence to Brigham Young, July 13, 1862, Brigham Young Office Files, CR 1234 1, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

^[9] Brigham Young, Correspondence to George Q. Cannon, August 6, 1862, Brigham Young Office Files, CR 1234 1, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

^[10] William G. Hartley, “Latter-day Saint Emigration During the Civil War,” in Civil War Saints, ed. Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 237-265.

^[11] Kenneth L. Alford, “Utah and the Civil War Press,” in Civil War Saints, ed. Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 267–83.

First Public Building – Fremont, Wayne, UT

Published May 4, 2022 / by Parker Wood / Leave a Comment

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Write up by: Parker Wood

Placed by: The Daughters of Utah Pioneers, No. 242. Erected in 1957.

GPS Coordinates: 38° 27.383′ N, 111° 37.319′ W

Pictured above is the plaque and the First Public Building in Fremont, Utah.

Historical Marker Text: In the year 1878 William Wilson Morrell and William Taylor erected this structure, the first public building in Wayne County. It was 20×30 feet, built of logs, and used by the people of Fremont community as a church, school house, and public meeting place. Years later it was moved to the site of the new school house on the public square and used only for church purposes. In 1894 the building was again moved to its present location. Plastered, painted, and covered with siding. It is the home of the Relief Society.

Extended Research:

As a child my grandmother took me and my siblings to Fremont’s First Public Building, since it was important to her that she show us the work they had done on the building. She grew up a block away and attended school, church activities and community events there. But to know the history of the First Public Building in Fremont, Utah, it is important to first understand the histories of the indigenous people who lived there, and the histories of settlers who later colonized land in the 1870s. There were different bands of the Paiutes in the area who were nomadic in nature. They lived in small family bands, hunting and gathering on the land. There are limited sources regarding these bands of Paiute, but historians know that they eventually moved on to other parts of the region as they were driven out by Mormon colonizers. In the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, right next to them there are five Native Americans buried. They have been marked within the last five years by a local mortuary to commemorate their lives. As a child I was never told of the Indigenous people who had lived on the land before my ancestors colonized. It was as if they had just “disappeared.” While there are efforts being made today, the histories of these people may never be told.

Rabbit Valley was a very remote settlement area that encompassed different towns such as Loa, Thurber (now Bicknell), Torrey, Lyman, Fremont, and Teasdale. In most of the towns the Latter-day Saint colonizers established public buildings that served many purposes. Fremont was established in 1876 in the northern end of Rabbit Valley in a very remote part of the Utah Territory. Historian Miriam Murphy noted that Fremont is tucked right up next to the Fishlake Mountains. Rabbit Valley has a very high elevation of roughly 7,000 feet above sea level which is challenging as there is a very short season for crops and other farm goods. The bulk of people have cattle ranches or work for the forest service and other public entities.

Fremont is one of the towns in the county to have a public building. It is also rare that it has stayed intact for so many years, even after it moved in 1894. The foundations for the building itself was built by William Wilson Morrell and William Taylor. William Wilson Morrell is my 3^rd great-grandfather and he was a skilled craftsman. As the Latter-day Saint colonizers were building towns he played an important part in the construction of many buildings. He had moved from Ohio to Utah in the 1850s as he had converted to the LDS church. In a nearby historic marker, No. 414 that was placed by the DUP, the first Saw Mill of Rabbit Valley (pictured below) is also remembered. It states that William Wilson Morrell brought a water powered saw mill with him from northern Utah when he moved to Wayne County in 1877. A year later he and William Taylor completed the First Public Building of Fremont. The building was a gathering place of those in the community for church activities, schooling, and other town meetings.[1] My grandmother also mentioned that she attended school in the building as a young girl. My father also remembers going to church activities in the building as child.

The building served multiple purposes. It was a spiritual center where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered to worship on Sundays. Many of those same citizens would gather during the week in the same building for public meetings. Children attended school there as well. While Morrell offered his skills in craftsmanship, Taylor owned the land where the building was first located.[2] As the town developed, the building was moved to the town center next to a newly built school so they could both serve as school houses. A new Rock Church was built in 1907 which then took a lot of the activities from the First Public Building. The citizens of the town wanted to make more of a town square which is the reason why they moved the First Public Building to its current location where it served for many years as the Relief Society building, the women’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3]

The building itself is a very basic construction pattern with a traditional roof and rectangle shape for the foundation. The saw mill that Morrell brought with him from Northern Utah proved to be a very important resource which he used for building the First Public Building along with homes and other buildings in the area. Today the building is not used as much as it was in the past mostly due to its age and the preservation that is taking place.

For Further Reference

Murphy, Miriam B. A History of Wayne County. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1999.

Snow, Anne. Rainbow Views: A History of Wayne County. Springville, UT: ART CITY Publishing Company. 1977.

The First Sawmill Historic Marker, No. 414, Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Fremont, Utah. 1981. Wood, Renon Jenson. Personal Journals regarding family history.

[1] Murphy, Miriam B. A History of Wayne County. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1999, 98.

[2] Murphy, A History of Wayne County, 101.

[3] Snow, Anne. Rainbow Views: A History of Wayne County. Springville, UT: ART CITY Publishing Company. 1977, 145.

Suicide Rock and Reservoir Historical Marker

Published May 4, 2022 / by Sam Scott / 2 Comments on Suicide Rock and Reservoir Historical Marker

2 Replies

Suicide Rock and Reservoir Historical Marker

Write up by Samuel Scott

Placed by: Sons of Utah Pioneers Holladay Chapter, No. 79, dedicated 1996

Location of the Historical Marker near Suicide Rock

Latitude 40°42’34.67″N

Longitude 111°47’49.57″W

Historical Marker Text:

SUICIDE ROCK & THE RESERVOIR

“One of the foremost sights that met the eye of the early travelers when they reached the mouth of Parley’s Canyon before entering into the valley of the Great Salt Lake, was a huge mass of red rock which stood in the middle of the mouth of the canyon. It consisted mainly of red sandstone and had stood as a sentinel for centuries.

For hundreds of years, it stood as a watchtower for the Indians until, as the story goes, an Indian maiden upon learning of the death of her brave, leaped from the top, to her death on the rocks below, giving it the name of Suicide Rock. Now, it is a billboard for the youth who dare to climb its heights with a paint brush or spray can.

In the settlement of the valley with a constant increase in population, the water from the various canyon streams of the Wasatch Range provided irrigation as well as culinary water for the people. In order to free up more of the canyon water for culinary use, a canal was built from Jordan Narrows conveying Jordan River water to the east bench of the Salt Lake valley. The Jordan and Salt Lake City Canal was begun in 1879, and completed in 1882, and has remained in constant use since. The canyon streams were thereafter enhanced with reservoirs to catch and retain the spring runoff, for use in the drier seasons.

In about 1891 a reservoir was built on the east side of Suicide Rock to help contain the spring run-off from washing out the farms west of the canyon mouth, as well as to help provide a way of getting water from the stream to where it was needed. From this reservoir, and ditches from the canyon stream above the reservoir, culinary along with irrigation water was conveyed to the various farms below as well as up to the plateaus on the north and south sides of the hollow which were located above the canal. This reservoir served for many years until an extremely wet spring one year washed out part of the reservoir and some of the railroad tracks and roadway in the canyon. Culinary water supplies had been further enhanced by this time and a direct connection was made to use Parley’s Canyon water, so the reservoir was never replaced.

Of the stream, the roadway, and the railroad line that ran in the narrow spaces between the rock and canyon sidewalls, only the stream remains.”

Site No. 79 Holladay Chapter, Sons of Utah Pioneers Dedicated 1996

Suicide Rock on February 9, 2022.

Extended Research:

Suicide Rock is located at the mouth of Parleys Canyon, a canyon named after the Mormon pioneer Parley P. Pratt who had scouted the canyon in 1848.[1] The sandstone rock formation that is known today as Suicide Rock was also known as Sentinel Rock, because it is thought that it was used as a lookout point for American Indians long before the arrival of Mormon settlers. The name Suicide Rock became more popular after a story circulated about an American Indian maiden who threw herself off of the rock out of the grief of losing her brave lover. A similar story is told about “Squaw Peak” in Utah county of “one squaw killing herself falling from a precipice” following a military skirmish, and Suicide Rock in Idyllwild, California bears a legend of an American Indian princess and her lover committing suicide rather than being separated. The popularity of this trope over a wide variety of areas makes it unlikely to be factual, and it possibly emerged as a response to Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel Ramona, published in 1884, which popularized the tale. Various locations across the country picked up on the theme and used it in order to promote tourism.[2]

In 1892 Salt Lake City officials built a reservoir adjacent to the rock in order to supply culinary water from Parleys Creek to the valley. It was Utah’s first municipal culinary water storage reservoir.[3] The construction of the reservoir would have negative consequences for a community named Mountain Dell. The water provided by the reservoir during this time was unfiltered, which meant that contamination could easily lead to widespread illness. Since the community of Mountain Dell lived upstream from the reservoir they suddenly posed a threat of contaminating Salt Lake City’s drinking water with their animals and waste. This was confirmed in 1903 when a typhoid outbreak afflicted hundreds in Salt Lake City. The source of the epidemic was traced back to water from Parleys Creek, and a local farm situated upstream.[4] According to historian Cullen Battle, “In Mountain Dell, the city began buying up properties with animal lots and outhouses next to the creeks. The small landowners were the first to go, and the village quickly de-populated. Soon, the post office closed, and the school district and ward dissolved. By about 1907, most residents had given up their homes and farms, and Mountain Dell became—and remains today—an area devoted to watershed protection.” Nevertheless, the process of buying out and removing landowners on Mountain Dell lasted until 1920, and a case involving Seymour B. Young went as far as the Utah Supreme Court in 1915, ultimately ruling in favor of Salt Lake City officials.[5]

The reservoir eventually fell out of use after it experienced flooding, and advancements in technology along with the construction of Little Dell Reservoir led to its demise. Since then, Suicide Rock has become a popular recreation spot for young adults. Many of Utah’s high school and collegiate students continue the tradition of spray-painting, or “tagging,” the rock each year, rendering it into an ever-changing illustration of the times. In addition to this, one might also discover the not-so-well kept secret pastime of “shooting the tube” within walking distance of Suicide Rock. A rite of passage for some, anyone looking to cool off can temporarily dam up the entrance of a tunnel carrying Parley’s Creek water under the freeway. When the makeshift dam is pulled, the sudden rush of water propels thrill seekers through on a ride to the other side! A link to a video of the activity is included below. [6]

Utahns preparing to “shoot the tube.”[7]

“Waterworks at mouth of Parleys Canyon, circa 1900. Salt Lake City built this reservoir seven miles downstream of Mountain Dell in the early 1890s to supply drinking water to city residents. C. R. Savage Photo.” [8]

“Image shows Suicide Rock at the base of what was once Parley’s Canyon Reservoir.” [9]

“Water flows over a remnant of the wall of the old Parley’s Canyon reservoir.” [10]

Aerial view of Parley’s Canyon Reservoir[11]

“Parley’s Creek – Suicide Rock, Flood Damage” Ca. 1910 [12]

Spray paint decorates the entirety of Suicide Rock

Photo by Joe Penacoli[13]

For Further Reference

Secondary Sources

Battle, Cullen, “Ghosts of Mountain Dell: Transportation and Technological Change in the Wasatch Mountains,” Utah Historical Quarterly 86, No. 1 (2018).

Farmer, Jared. On Zion’s Mount : Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008.

“First Ascent of the Nose, Suicide Rock,” semi-rad.com, (accessed April 8, 2022).

Pugh, Jeremy. “A Unique Utah Summer Tradition: ‘Shooting the Tube,’” Salt Lake Magazine, July 27, 2018.

“Summit Signature: 27J Suicide Rock,” Hundred Peaks Section, Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, accessed 03/29/2020.

Primary Sources

“Parley’s Creek – Suicide Rock, Flood Damage,” University of Utah, J Willard Marriot Digital Library. Last modified May 6, 2021.

Korn, J. Roderic, “The Golden Pass Road,” Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 19 (1951).

“Parley’s Canyon Reservoir P.13,” University of Utah, J. Willard Marriot Digital Library, Last modified May 6, 2021.

[1] J. Roderic Korn, “The Golden Pass Road,” Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 19 (1951), 229-236.

[2] “Summit Signature: 27J Suicide Rock,” Hundred Peaks Section, Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, accessed 03/29/2020.

Jared Farmer, On Zion’s Mount : Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape, (Harvard University Press, 2008), 274-275.

[3] Cullen Battle, “Ghosts of Mountain Dell: Transportation and Technological Change in the Wasatch Mountains,” Utah Historical Quarterly, volume 86, no. 1 (2018).

[4] Cullen Battle, “Ghosts of Mountain Dell: Transportation and Technological Change in the Wasatch Mountains,” Utah Historical Quarterly, volume 86, no. 1 (2018)

[5] Cullen Battle, “Ghosts of Mountain Dell: Transportation and Technological Change in the Wasatch Mountains,” Utah Historical Quarterly, volume 86, no. 1 (2018)

[6] Jeremy Pugh, “A Unique Utah Summer Tradition: ‘Shooting the Tube,’” Salt Lake Magazine, July 27, 2018.

[7] Jeremy Pugh, “A Unique Utah Summer Tradition: ‘Shooting the Tube,’” Salt Lake Magazine, July 27, 2018.

[8] Cullen Battle, “Ghosts of Mountain Dell: Transportation and Technological Change in the Wasatch Mountains,” Utah Historical Quarterly, volume 86, no. 1 (2018).

[9] “Reservoir at Parley’s Canyon, Inspecting Conduit,” J. Willard Marriot Digital Library, The University of Utah, Last modified May 6, 2021.

[10] “Parley’s Reservoir,” J. Willard Marriot Digital Library, The University of Utah, Last modified May 6, 2021.

[11] “Parley’s Canyon Reservoir P.13,” J. Willard Marriot Digital Library, University of Utah, Last modified May 6, 2021.

[12] “Parley’s Creek – Suicide Rock, Flood Damage,” J. Willard Marriot Digital Library, University of Utah, Last modified May 6, 2021.

[13] “First Ascent of the Nose, Suicide Rock,” semi-rad.com, (accessed April 8, 2022).

Liberty Park

Published May 4, 2022 / by Pablo Gonzalez / Leave a Comment

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Write up by – Pablo Gonzalez

Placed by: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, No. 130

GPS Coordinates: 40.746445, -111.874916

Historical Marker Text:

The original five acre plot, located in the Big Field Survey, was assigned to Isaac Chase, a pioneer of 1847. A spring of clear water made it a verdant spot. Later he purchased three other tracts and planted seeds of locust trees around his home and mill.

In 1860, it became the property of Brigham Young who added varieties of Mulberry, Cottonwood, and other trees. In Pioneer Days, it was known as the Mill Farm, Forest Park, and Locust Patch.

In 1881, Salt Lake City purchased the land from the Young Estate. On June 17, 1882, it was formally opened as a recreational area and officially named Liberty Park.

Extended Research:

Liberty Park is an 80-acre lot located in the heart of Salt Lake City. Today the park is a recreational area where many memories have been created with all of the activities that this place offers. People go to Liberty Park to be active, learn history, relax, and to simply hang out with friends and family. The park itself is a great historical marker because it has history dating back to 1847 and has seen major changes throughout time.

This area originally belonged to Isaac Chase, who was among the second group of Latter-day Saints to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Isaac Chase who was a successful miller in New York state, started building a mill on this property and it was finished being built in 1852.¹ In 1854 Brigham Young, being his son in law, also became Isaac Chase’s business partner. In 1859, Isaac Chase gave this land to Brigham Young in exchange for a cabin in Centerville. Before Brigham Young’s death in 1877, he stated that he wished that the land on which the mill stood would be sold to the city for the lowest possible price.²

On April 20th, 1881 Salt Lake City bought 100 acres of land from Brigham Young’s estate for $27,500.³ This land that originally belonged to Isaac Chase still contained his grist mill. This mill is also currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also the only remaining mill in Salt Lake City that is still in its original location. When Salt Lake City bought this land, their primary intention was to create the farm area into a park for the city. This is because parks during this time “were seen as important factors in civilizing America’s increasingly industrialized cities and improving the moral character of their inhabitants.”⁴ This is the reason why the following year after the land was bought, they started improving the park under the control of a Swiss man named Arnold Schultes.⁵ In 1882, the land was officially opened as a recreational area and was formally named Liberty Park.

When the Park first opened up, it had a road that went right through the middle of the park dividing it in half.⁶ The city eventually closed that road to traffic. Liberty Park was viewed as a great addition to the city but it had some controversy over clean air. People believed that smelter smoke was damaging the park and the neighboring residential areas. In 1908, Salt Lake Mayor John Bransford said that smoke reduction was the city’s most urgent need.⁷ This project was a success and the air quality around Liberty Park got significantly better.

The first playground opened in Liberty Park by 1912, and it remained Salt Lake City’s largest park until Sugar House Park opened in the early 1950s.⁸ The park, and many of the features that are still present within it, were well established by 1920. The park was a popular attraction for Salt Lake City residents.

In 1911, Liberty Park opened up a zoo by adding monkeys and deer to the park and by 1916 they added their first elephant.¹⁰ The zoo stayed operational until 1931 when the zoo moved to what we know today as Hogle Zoo in Emigration Canyon.¹¹ A 1931 report on parks and recreation centers describes the park this way: “Broad driveways bordered by colonnades of shade trees; lawns, flowers, lakes, playgrounds, tennis courts, concerts, and the municipal zoo have long been the outstanding attraction of this extensive park.”⁹

In the 1930s Tracy Aviary was added to the park when Russel Tracy donated a large collection of birds and equipment.¹² This was a huge success since it brought a lot of attention to the park. By the 1980s, Liberty Park added new playgrounds, a carousel, and the road that split liberty park was no longer there. In fact, the road is how we know it today as having a one-way loop around the entire park.¹³ More recently, changes to Liberty Park include restrooms, a concession building, Wilson Pavilion, and several monuments. Activity areas recently constructed include: the Seven Canyons water feature, playgrounds, and bocce ball courts, lighting, fencing, signage, street furniture, mechanical boxes, and new sidewalks.¹⁴

Today Liberty Park is still what it was intended to be when it first opened up in 1882. It is a large area meant for recreational activities. The park itself is a very spacious place where people can do a variety of activities like walking/running, swimming, play tennis, be on paddle boats, go to the children’s amusement park, playgrounds, picnic facilities, and they have plenty of room for recreation or relaxation.¹⁵ The park itself also hosts many events for the general public like a firework show during Pioneer Day.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources:

Liberty Park, Site Planning Workshop Report, Aviary & Concession Areas. Final report, June 2014. http://www.slcdocs.com/parks/Liberty/140702-Liberty%20Park%20Report.pdf

Bailey, Tom. Liberty Park, S.L.C. P.45. Print Photograph. Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah. 01/16/2009.

Secondary Sources:

Chase Barfuss, Brigham Young University. “Isaac Chase Mill.” Intermountain Histories. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/386.

“Liberty Park Has Been an Oasis in City since 1881.” Deseret News. Deseret News, October 18, 2010. https://www.deseret.com/2010/10/18/20147492/liberty-park-has-been-an-oasis-in-city-since-1881#interior-of-the-historic-chase-mill-is-now-cluttered-with-old-equipment.

“A Look Back: Liberty Park (and Its Kangaroos), 1935-51.” The Salt Lake Tribune, June 10, 2011. Accessed February 3, 2022. https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=51939982&itype=CMSID.

Donner-Reed Memorial Museum and Early Bldgs.

Published May 4, 2022 / by Alex Mower / Leave a Comment

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Write-Up by Alex Mower

Placed By: Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association (Now overseen by the Sons of Utah Pioneers)

GPS Coordinates: (40.6019445, -112.4738719)

Historical Marker Text:

This property was within the walls of the Willow Creek Fort, (Grantsville), which was built shortly after the first white settlers arrived. The main building was erected in 1852. J. Reuben Clark II purchased the property in later years and restored the building. The site was eventually donated to Grantsville City for use as a museum. The log cabin and blacksmith shop were placed here in later years.

This museum is named for the Donner-Reed Party. In 1846 they stopped at nearby Twenty Wells to let their animals rest and gain strength before continuing their ill fated trip. While crossing the Salt Desert they lost many wagons and other belongings on the mud flats east of Pilot Mountain. The hardships suffered in Utah delayed their journey. Winter overtook them in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, resulting in their well known catastrophe. Some of the articles left by the Donner-Reed Party are displayed in the museum, along with other pioneer and Indian relics.

This monument contains cornerstones and markers from early Grantsville buildings. Refurbishment of the area began July 1975 and was completed July 1976. Funds were from Utah American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and Grantsville City Corporation.

Extended Research:

The highly publicized story of the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party is one of America’s truly great cautionary tales. Having left the midwest en route to California in the spring of 1846 for greater economic opportunity, the group of pioneers officially set out on the dangerous journey many other Americans would attempt both before and after them.^[1] Taking direction from Lansford Hastings’ The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California, a guide written more based on theory than experience, the group set off for the west, utilizing a “shortcut” through Utah and the Salt Desert. After delays forced them to winter high atop the Sierra Nevada mountains, the group was compelled to resort to cannibalism to survive.

While no one in the group participated in cannibalism while they traveled across Utah, many of the delays the party incurred were the direct result of the group’s decision to blaze the “shortcut” through the Salt Lake Valley and forge their way through the muddy trenches of the Salt Desert.^[2] Over ten days in 1846, the Donner-Reed Party created and navigated a road through Emigration Canyon that Mormon pioneers traveled through and enhanced the next year when they entered the valley for the first time.^[3] After navigating the canyons, the group endured more delays in the Salt Desert, setting them even further behind on their journey west. On the salt flats, the Donner-Reed Party left behind material goods like wagon parts, animal equipment, and gun fragments. These artifacts now reside at the Donner-Reed Memorial Museum.

The building housing the artifacts has served many different purposes over the years. Known locally as the “Old Adobe Schoolhouse ” it was, unsurprisingly, originally built as a school. It was later adapted to function as a meetinghouse for religious services before eventually serving as the town’s city hall and jail from 1894 to 1917.^[4] The building was then sold by Emma Burmester to J. Reuben Clark, Jr. in 1941, who gifted the building for use for meetings by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.^[5] In 1969 the building came under the ownership of Grantsville City. It then began its life as a museum, and the home of many pioneer artifacts, including but not limited to those of the famed Donner-Reed Party.^[6] The building has become a landmark for the community, and was added to the National Register as a Utah Historic Site in 1995.

Inside the museum, patrons can view a wide array of Donner-Reed and other pioneer relics. From guns to wagon remnants, artifacts in the museum tell a story of cost and loss for the Donner-Reed Party as they traveled across the salt flats, and it was possibly the most costly leg of the journey before the group would make it to the Sierra Nevada mountains, as the group experienced many delays in the Salt Desert. Not only was the desert larger than they had anticipated, it also proved more difficult to traverse than expected. On the Salt Desert, with water and grass all but impossible to acquire, the group was forced to abandon several wagons and lost an estimated 36 oxen.^[7] Because of the Salt Desert’s “mud that never dries,” the Donner’s “Pioneer Palace Car” embedded itself and its wheels deep in the desert floor, and was left behind; it was one of many wagons that would reach the same demise in the desert.^[8]

The delays in both the Salt Lake Valley as well as the Salt Desert would contribute directly to the group’s late arrival to the Sierra Nevada mountain passes, which would ultimately lead to so many of their unfortunate and untimely deaths. The artifacts found in the museum help to ground one of the nation’s most hazardous tales to its connection to the state of Utah, and highlights the role played by the environment of the state in the tale of the Donner-Reed Party.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources:

Hastings, Lansford Warren, Newberry Library, and Adam Matthew Digital. The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California : Containing Scenes and Incidents of a Party of Oregon Emigrants; a Description of Oregon : Scenes and Incidents of a Party of California Emigrants; and a Description of California; with a Description of the Different Routes to Those Countries; and All Necessary Information Relative to the Equipment, Supplies, and the Method of Traveling. Selected Americana from Sabin’s Dictionary of Books Relating to America. Unit 170 ; Fiches 14,252-14,253. 1845.

Secondary Sources:

Hardesty, Donald L. The Archaeology Of The Donner Party. Wilbur S. Shepperson Series in History and Humanities. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1997.

Hawkins, Bruce R., and Madsen, David B. Excavation of the Donner-Reed Wagons : Historic Archaeology along the Hastings Cutoff. Paper ed. 1999.

Johnson, Kristin. 1996. Unfortunate Emigrants. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press.

McGill, Sara Ann. Donner Party. 2009.

National Register of Historic Places Registration: Grantsville School and Meetinghouse https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/95001432_text

Stookey, Walter M., 1869. Fatal Decision : The Tragic Story of the Donner Party. Utah: Desert Book Company, 1950, 1950.

Spedden, Rush. The Donner Trail across the Salt Lake Valley. 2008.

All photos taken by Alex Mower

^[1] McGill, Sara Ann. Donner Party. 2009.

^[2] Hardesty, Donald. The Archaeology Of The Donner Party. Wilbur S. Shepperson Series in History and Humanities. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1997. P. 10

^[3] Spedden, Rush. The Donner Trail across the Salt Lake Valley. 2008.

^[4] National Register of Historic Places Registration: Grantsville School and Meetinghouse https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/95001432_text

^[5] National Register of Historic Places Registration: Grantsville School and Meetinghouse https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/95001432_text

^[6] National Register of Historic Places Registration: Grantsville School and Meetinghouse https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/95001432_text

^[7] Hawkins, Bruce R., and Madsen, David B. Excavation of the Donner-Reed Wagons : Historic Archaeology along the Hastings Cutoff. Paper ed. 1999. And Johnson, Kristin. 1996. Unfortunate Emigrants. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. P. 143

^[8] Stookey, Walter M., 1869. Fatal Decision : The Tragic Story of the Donner Party. Utah: Desert Book Company, 1950, 1950. P. 99 And Donald L Hardesty. The Archaeology Of The Donner Party. Wilbur S. Shepperson Series in History and Humanities. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1997. P. 5

Park City Egyptian Theater

Published May 3, 2022 / by Jesse Labastida / 1 Comment on Park City Egyptian Theater

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write-up by Jesus Labastida Munguia

Placed by: Park City Centennial Commission

GPS Coordinates: 40.6425°N 111.495°

Historical Marker Text (1):

PARK CITY

1884

The Egyptian Theater

In the early 1900’s Park City’s social and entertainment needs were served by a number of flourishing theaters and social halls. When the Dewey Theater, originally on this site, collapsed under a heavy snow load, John Rugar replaced it with the Egyptian Theater built in 1926. It was designed to seat 400 and to accommodate both movies and vaudeville. It became the first “sound movie” theater in Park City.

After being remodeled in 1963, the building opened as the Silver Wheel Theater and old fashioned “meller dramas” were performed for the next fifteen years. In 1978 the building’s architectural integrity was threatened by an attempt to change its facade to a western motif. Preservation of its distinctive Egyptian features was achieved, however, when the building became the home of Park City Performances in 1981.

The Egyptian Revival Style represents a unique period architecture which peaked in America around 1930. Egyptian theaters are rare, and this is one of only two remaining in Utah. Originally the interior contained replicas of Egyptian artifacts. This is a masonry structure with a false front shield its hip roof. Tiles at the base of the ticket booth and pilasters in obelisk shape reinforce the Egyptian Motif.

Presented by the Park City Centennial Commission, 1984

Extended Research:

The Egyptian Theater is an iconic fixture of Utah’s Park City community, standing prominently on Main Street. Its edifice is a beautiful representation of its Egyptian Revival architecture. The history of the Egyptian Theater is just as colorful as its outside design. The site where it is located has had a longstanding reputation for being the place in Park City where members of the community could congregate to enjoy entertainment provided through local theater and arts.[1]

The history of the Egyptian theater traces its roots all the way to “the Big Fire of 1898.” The fire tore through Park City’s now historical Main Street creating a site that two businessmen, David Keith and James Ivers, found suitable to construct the Dewey Theatre– the very first iteration of the Egyptian Theater. The Dewey Theater was known for showcasing the best professional fighters and travelling theatrical troupes of the time. The old Dewey Theater even boasted a barbershop, a candy store, and a state-of-the-art floor that could be raised and lowered to suit the needs of the theater. Sadly, the reign of the famous Dewey Theater would come to an end in 1916 after a heavy snowpack that accumulated on the roof caused it to cave-in. Fortunately, the collapse took place after closing time and no one was injured.[2]

In 1926, a new theater was constructed at the old Dewey Site under a $50,000 contract.[3] The theater was designed in the style of Ancient Egyptian architecture and motifs, heavily influenced by a craze in Egyptology following the discovery of King Tutt’s tomb. The Egyptian theater offered picture shows as well as theatre performances for enjoyment. The erection of the theatre was heavily dependent on the growing demand for entertainment in Park City. John Ruger spearheaded the development project and maintained ownership until 1948 when he sold the theater to Russ Dodderman. Shortly after several changes in management, owners renamed the playhouse the Lu Ann Theater for a period thereafter.[4]

City Officials in Front of the Silver Wheel Theater.

Much like the rest of the nation in the 20th century, Utah saw developments of movie theaters across the state. Many theaters of the early 20th century utilized the previous playhouse and opera house buildings and revamped the theater’s edifice with attention grabbing design motifs ranging from Spanish Colonial revival to Neoclassical architecture. This sudden possibility of movie-going ushered in a new era of connection to Main Street. The Egyptian Theater in Park City is one of two remaining Egyptian Revival theaters in the state, the other is the Peery’s Egyptian Theatre in Ogden, Utah. The attention-grabbing Egyptian architecture seen at the Egyptian Theaters are reflective of the novel craze of movie-going that took place across the United States; it is loud, exciting, and demands the attention of all who walk by it.[5]

By 1959, Art Durrant purchased the playhouse and ran it for a little more than three years before he became burnt out from managing the theater. He subsequently sold the property to a theater management company named Silver Wheel Enterprises. Silver Wheel Enterprises decided to change the name of the location once more to the Silver Wheel Theater for its opening in 1963. The Silver Wheel Egyptian theater would go through many similar changes in management and changes in entertainment, eventually becoming home to the Park City Performances (PCP), a local community theatre organization.[6]

In the twenty first century the Egyptian Theater is a historical testament to Park City’s love for entertainment. The theater today is used for community performances and film viewing, as it is one of Sundance Film Festival’s most desirable venues, where highly praised filmmakers are invited to showcase their films.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources:

City Officials in Front of the Silver Wheel Theater (Egyptian Theater), Park City, Utah (2 Views). Photograph. Accessed May 2, 2022.

“Dewey Theater Changes Hands.” Salt Lake Tribune. February 20, 1910.

“Egyptian-American Theaters Change Hands.” Park Record. March 11, 1948.

“New Silver Wheel Enterprises Buys Lu Ann Theater in Park.” Summit County Bee and Park Record. March 4, 1963.

“New Theatre Will Be On Dewey Site.” Park Record, July 2, 1926.

“Silver Mill, Theater Group near Agreement on Egyptian.” Park Record. September 22, 1983.

Secondary Sources:

“About Us.” Park City Shows. Egyptian Theatre, December 11, 2021.

Carter, Thomas, and Peter L. Goss. “Egyptian Revival 1920-1930.” In Utah’s Historic Architecture, 1847-1940: A Guide, 135–35. Salt Lake City, UT, Utah: Center for Architectural Studies, Graduate sic School of Architecture, University of Utah, & Utah State Historical Society, 1991.

Roper, Roger. “Going to the Movies: A Photo Essay of Theaters.” Utah Historical Quarterly 67, no. 2 (1999): 111–22.

[1] Carter, Thomas, and Peter L. Goss. “Egyptian Revival 1920-1930. In Utah’s

Historic Architecture, 1847-1940: A Guide, 135–35. Salt Lake City, UT, Utah: Center for

Architectural Studies, Graduate sic School of Architecture, University of Utah, & Utah

State Historical Society, 1991.

[2] “New Silver Wheel Enterprises Buys Lu Ann Theater in Park.” Summit County Bee and Park Record. March 4, 1963.

[3] “New Theatre Will Be On Dewey Site.” Park Record, July 2, 1926.

[4] “New Theatre Will Be On Dewey Site.” Park Record, July 2, 1926.

[5] Roper, Roger. “Going to the Movies: A Photo Essay of Theaters.” Utah Historical Quarterly 67, no. 2 (1999): 111–22.

[6] “Silver Mill, Theater Group near Agreement on Egyptian.” Park Record. September 22, 1983.

Benson Grist Mill

Published May 3, 2022 / by Dean Church / Leave a Comment

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Write-up by Dean Church

Placed by: The Benson Grist Mill Restoration Volunteer Committee

GPS Coordinates: N 40° 39.033 W 112° 17.834

Historical Marker Text:

BENSON GRIST MILL In 1850 L.D.S. Church Apostle, Ezra Taft Benson, was authorized by President Brigham Young to develop a mill site at Twin Springs Creek to serve Mormon communities in Tooele County. In 1851 a sawmill commenced operating and in 1854 the Lee brothers, skilled pioneer artisans, were hired to build the mill. The mill’s large mortised timbers were hauled by team and wagon from the nearby Oquirrh Mountains.

In 1855 the millsite community became known as “Richville” and served as the County Seat until 1861, when Tooele City was designated.

In 1860 the “E.T. Benson Flour Mill” had one male employee and one run of millstones which produced 1,200 barrels of flour, 72,000 pounds of bran and 56,000 pounds of corn meal, together valued at $17,000. In the same year, Brigham Young acquired the mill, when E.T. Benson moved to Cache Valley.

By 1862, the mill was referred to as “Young and Rowberry’s,” Bishop John Rowberry being an early resident of the Milltown (Richville) area. The mill that year reportedly processed 200 bushels of wheat per day under a 250 horsepower capacity.

In 1922, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. (A U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and later an apostle in the Mormon church) purchased the mill. Earlier it’s original wooden waterwheel and millstones had been replaced by a metal turbine and imported free-standing “grain breakers.” After finally ceasing flour-milling operations in 1938, the mill was used several years for grinding animal feed.

A volunteer committee was organized in 1983 to acquire and restore the historic mill, which was donated by Terracor Corp. to Tooele County.

Photo Credit: J. Willard Marriott Digital Library (accessed on 3.2.22)

Extended Research:

Apostle Ezra Taft Benson, the original founder of the mill, was one of the first to arrive in Utah alongside Brigham Young’s pioneer company in 1847. After arriving in Utah, he was shortly sent back to Missouri where he helped prepare more Latter-day Saints for the trip to Utah.[1] He stayed in Missouri for two years until he eventually made his permanent move to the Salt Lake Valley in 1849. Ezra Benson would then help settle what we now call the Tooele Valley.

Cyrus Tolman is also important in this early history of the Benson Mill, as according to local history Tolman brought a load of straw and shingle timbers to Brigham Young to show the natural resources located in Tooele Valley.[2] This helped convince Brigham Young to sign off on milling and timber rights to Ezra Benson, Anson Call, Josiah Call, and Judson Tolman. In return these men promised to help develop roads to the new facilities. Due to the rich supply of timber, and grain grown by early settlers, milling operations were quickly attracted to the Tooele Valley

Benson hired brothers Cyrus and Judson Tolman, along with millwright Phineas Wright to find locations for mills and to begin construction. New Settlers to the area built their first homes around Benson’s sawmill in an area they called Settlement Canyon. These shelters were quickly abandoned, as a “Fort” was created due to hostilities with nearby Native Americans.[3]

Latter-day Saint carpenter Thomas Lee and his brothers constructed the Benson gristmill in 1854. John Rowberry supervised construction and then maintained the mill for the owners, a group of people that included Rowberry, Ezra Benson, Benjamin Crosland, and other church leaders.[4]

Settlers relied heavily on the Benson Mill in its early years, with reports describing workers there grinding as many as 6,000 bushels of wheat, 1,000 bushes of corn, and 228,000 pounds of flour.[5] To the right is an ad in the Deseret News written in 1857 advertising the Benson Gristmill. It mentions short notice grinding at any time of the year.[6]

Ownership of the Mill has changed several times throughout the decades. In 1860, Ezra Benson sold off his two-thirds share to Brigham Young. Young’s brother Lorenzo was interested in the mill and constructed an adobe home across from it. A conflicting story reports that Ezra Benson acquired sole ownership of the mill in 1866. It is thought that this was done in order to protect the ownership of the mill in behalf of the LDS church, as around this time the Church was being investigated by the federal government for polygamy.[7]

J. Reuben Clark Jr., an apostle in the LDS church, then purchased the Gristmill in 1922. Alterations were made to the mill including exchanging its original wooden waterwheel for a metal turbine, and its millstones were replaced with “imported free-standing ‘grain breakers’”. It ran all the way until the 1940’s, being used for grinding animal feed. Terracor, a land development company, then acquired the Gristmill. For roughly 40 years the mill sat abandoned until Terracor donated the building to Tooele County.

The Benson Grist Mill Restoration Volunteer Committee created by Jack Smith, and consisting of members Wayne Shields, Boyd and Ouida Blanthorn, Ray Court, Bob and Marilyn Shields, Douglas Smith and Maxine Grimm, worked hard to return the Gristmill to its current condition. Today, the mill is used as a setting for field trips, weddings, reunions, and other social gatherings. “The site, complete with covered picnic tables, has become a virtual village as well as a roadside park. It hosts a replica miller’s house, historic cabins, a granary, a large barn and all manner of other buildings, plus several wagons.”[8]

[1] Ezra Benson, “Ezra Taft Benson, 1811-1869,” Autobiography of Ezra T. Benson (1811-1869), accessed April 8, 2022, http://boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/ETBenson.html

[2] Ouida Nuhn Blanthorn, A History of Tooele County (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1998), 70-72.

[3] Ouida Nuhn Blanthorn, A History of Tooele County (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1998), 70.

[4] Ouida Nuhn Blanthorn, A History of Tooele County (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1998), 73.

[5] Ouida Nuhn Blanthorn, A History of Tooele County (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1998), 226-227.

[6] “Grinding, Grinding,” Deseret News, 11 March 1857, 7.

[7] Ouida Nuhn Blanthorn, A History of Tooele County (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1998), 73-74.

[8] Ray Boren, “The Benson Grist Mill Is a Rugged Monument to a Dynamic Pioneer Past,” Deseret News, 17 May 2012.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources:

Benson, Ezra. “Ezra Taft Benson, 1811-1869.” Autobiography of Ezra T. Benson (1811-1869). Accessed April 8, 2022. http://boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/ETBenson.html

“Grinding, Grinding,” Deseret News, 11 March 1857, 7.

Secondary Sources:

Blanthorn, Ouida Nuhn. A History of Tooele County. Salt Lake City, UT, Utah: Utah State Historical Society, 1998.

Boren, Ray. “The Benson Grist Mill is a Rugged Monument to a Dynamic Pioneer Past.” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 17, 2012.

The Walker War

Published May 3, 2022 / by Christopher Rich / Leave a Comment

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Write-up by Christopher Rich

Placed by: The monument does not describe what organization placed it. However, according to employees at the Peteetneet History Museum, it was funded by The People Preserving Peteetneet and installed by the Highway Department.

GPS Coordinates: 40.033313, -111.734020

Historical Marker Text:

You are a fool for fighting your best friends, for we are the best and the only friends that you have in the world” wrote Brigham Young to the Ute Indian Chief Walkara in 1853, after the latter had engaged the settlers of Utah in their first major Indian war.

Angered because the whites had put an end to the Indian slave trade in the territory and had encroached upon their lands, the redmen found a pretext for beginning hostilities at Springville, July 17, 1853, when an Indian, while beating his squaw, was killed by a white man. The following day, Alexander Keele, a guard at Payson, was shot by Indians and the war was on. The policy of the white defenders was one of vigilant watch and limited offensive warfare. However before Governor Brigham Young led a peace mission into Walkara’s camp in May 1854 that ended the conflict, 20 whites had been killed including the U.S. Government surveyor Captain John W. Gunnison, who was massacred with 7 of his men near the present site of Hinckley, Utah.

Extended Research:

When the first Euro-American explorers came to Utah in 1776, the Western Ute were a non-equestrian people whose way of life was not very different from other local Indigenous people such as the Paiute and the Goshute. However, over the next thirty years, the Western Ute obtained horses and firearms and were integrated into New Mexican trade networks. The Ute developed a raid and trade economy in which they enslaved non-equestrian Indians in the Great Basin and traded them into New Mexico. In the mid-1820s, they also began to trade with American and British trappers. The Ute band leader Wákara (or Walker) eventually joined mountaineers such as Thomas “Peg-Leg” Smith in large-scale horse raids in California. By the time that Brigham Young led the Latter-day Saints to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Wákara had grown rich in a trade system based on stolen livestock, firearms, and slaves.[1]

Brigham Young hoped that his people could avoid conflict with the Ute. He purposely chose to settle in the Salt Lake Valley rather than on the principal Ute lands in Utah Valley so as not to “crowd upon the Utes until we have a chance to get acquainted with them.”^[2] Nevertheless, a small band of Timpanogos Ute soon began stealing Mormon livestock. In February 1849, a Latter-day Saint posse surrounded the band, and after the warriors refused to surrender, engaged in a two-hour battle in which 4-6 Timpanogos were killed. Soon afterwards a group of Mormon colonists entered Utah Valley to create a permanent settlement. Over the next year, incidence of theft and violence increased around the new Mormon colony at Fort Utah. In one instance, a group of Mormons killed a Ute named “Old Bishop” and attempted to cover-up the crime. After much cajoling by settlers and visiting military officers, Brigham Young finally authorized the territorial militia to carry-out a full-scale assault against the Timpanogos in March 1850. Young was not informed of the murder of Old Bishop, and later indicated that he would not have sent the militia had he known the truth.[3] But for the next year, the Latter-day Saints implemented an aggressive policy against “hostile” bands of Ute and Goshute. By June of 1851, Young abandoned this war policy on both fiscal and humanitarian grounds.

Despite the conflict in Utah Valley, the Mormons entered into an alliance with Wákara’s band of Ute in the summer of 1849. This alliance ultimately lasted for four years. Wákara believed that the Latter-day Saints would provide a local market for the spoils of his raiding activities, and that he could also continue to trade with the New Mexicans. However, the Mormons objected to the trade in Native American women and children that was an important component of Wákara’s business model. In some cases, Mormons refused to purchase children from Ute slavers who would then kill the children. This left the Mormons in a difficult position. They wanted to halt the slave trade, but worried that enslaved Indians were in immediate danger if the Mormons did not purchase them. In the winter of 1851-52, the Latter-day Saints prosecuted a group of New Mexican traders for engaging in the slave trade with the Ute. At the same time, the Utah Legislature passed a law permitting Mormons to purchase Indian slaves and hold them as apprentices for up to 20 years.

By the spring of 1853, Mormon restrictions on the slave trade were causing significant friction with Wákara’s band. This state of affairs was only exacerbated by the continued expansion of Mormon settlements onto Ute land. Threats were exchanged on both sides, but direct hostilities did not break out until the summer. On July 17, a Mormon settler in Utah Valley named James Ivie intervened in a physical altercation between a Timpanogos man and woman, mortally wounding the man. Brigham Young immediately wrote to Wákara and his brother Arapene and urged them to remain at peace.[4] Local Mormons also attempted to negotiate. But the relationship between the Saints and the Ute was too badly damaged. The next day, the Ute retaliated by killing a Mormon named Alexander Keel. Over the next several days, the Ute wounded several more Latter-day Saints in different locations. Militia leaders in Utah Valley quickly organized a punitive expedition and killed several Utes before Brigham Young ordered them to return home. But these events initiated a cycle of revenge that lasted for six months.

During the ensuing conflict, Brigham Young followed a strategy that has been described as “defense and conciliation.”[5] He ordered the militia to refrain from pursuing Ute raiders. Instead, he instructed Mormon communities to build forts and to send excess livestock to the Salt Lake Valley while he attempted to make peace. However, the Saints often ignored these directives and engaged in retributory attacks. On at least two occasions, the Mormons summarily executed unarmed Ute prisoners.[6] At the same time, the Ute relied on guerilla tactics, attacking small parties of Mormons or stealing livestock and then fleeing back into the mountains. The Ute sometimes mutilated the dead, further inflaming passions. One victim, Thomas Clark, was found scalped with his head smashed in and his heart removed.[7] By January 1854, 12 Mormons had been killed as had 24-34 Ute.[8] However, the infamous murder of Captain Gunnison and his mapping party by Pahvant Utes in October 1853 was unrelated to the larger conflict.[9]

Although the struggle between the Mormons and the Ute has come to be known as the Walker War, Wákara’s actual participation in hostilities is disputed. As early as July 22, the Mormons heard rumors that Wákara had counseled his band to seek peace and left the theatre of conflict.[10] By November, the Saints were convinced that Wákara’s band had split and that Wákara had gone south to winter with the Navajo. Other members of his band continued to fight until January 1854. Even so, Brigham Young entered into peace negotiations with Wákara during the spring. Wákara demanded the right to trade with the New Mexicans as before and to receive annual tribute for the occupation of Ute lands. In May 1854, Young and Wákara met in person. Young refused to accede to Wákara’s demands although Young did purchase at least one Paiute captive from the Ute leader. Nevertheless, the two men entered into a peace agreement. Wákara died early the following year. Although there was brief fighting with the Ute band leader Tintic in 1856, the Latter-day Saints and the Ute largely remained at peace for the next decade. In 1865, Western Ute leaders signed a treaty with the federal government in which they agreed to remove to a reservation in the Uinta Basin.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources

Journal History of the Church, 1830-1972. Church History Library. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Young, Brigham. “Brigham Young to Wakara and Arapene,” July [18?], 1853. http://brighamyoungcenter.org/s/byp/item/1057?property%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&property%5B0%5D%5Bproperty%5D=7&property%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=in&property%5B0%5D%5Btext%5D=1853&link=/s/byp/page/documents#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3840%2C-254%2C11398%2C5075.

Secondary Sources

Alley, Jr., John R. “Prelude to Dispossession: The Fur Trade’s Significance for Norther Utes and Southern Paiutes.” Utah Historical Quarterly 50, no. 2 (Spring 1982): 104-123.

Christy, Howard A. “The Walker War: Defense and Conciliation as Strategy.” Utah Historical Quarterly 47, no. 4 (Fall 1979): 395-420.

Jones, Sondra G. Being and Becoming Ute: The Story of an American Indian People. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2019.

Wimmer, Ryan Elwood. “The Walker War Reconsidered.” MA thesis, Brigham Young University, 2010.

[1] Sandra G. Jones, Being and Becoming Ute: The Story of an American Indian People (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2019), 8-68; John R. Alley, Jr., “Prelude to Dispossession: The Fur Trade’s Significance for Norther Utes and Southern Paiutes.” Utah Historical Quarterly 50, no. 2 (Spring 1982): 104-123.

[2] Journal History of the Church, 1830-1972, 21 July 1847, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, Utah).

[3] Jones, Being and Becoming Ute, 84-87.

[4] Brigham Young, “Brigham Young to Wakara and Arapene,” July [18?], 1853. http://brighamyoungcenter.org/s/byp/item/1057?property%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&property%5B0%5D%5Bproperty%5D=7&property%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=in&property%5B0%5D%5Btext%5D=1853&link=/s/byp/page/documents#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3840%2C-254%2C11398%2C5075.

[5] Howard A. Christy, “The Walker War: Defense and Conciliation as Strategy.” Utah Historical Quarterly 47, no. 4 (Fall 1979): 395-420.

[6] Wimmer, Ryan Elwood. “The Walker War Reconsidered.” MA thesis, Brigham Young University, 2010, 139-40, 144-45.

[7] Ibid, 143-44.

[8] Ibid, 155.

[9] Ibid, 148-49

[10] Ibid, 132-33.

Utah Historical Markers

Making Utah History one Marker at a Time

Category Archives: late 19th century

Early Magna Settlements

The Old Rock Granary

Utah and the Civil War

First Public Building – Fremont, Wayne, UT

Suicide Rock and Reservoir Historical Marker

Liberty Park

Donner-Reed Memorial Museum and Early Bldgs.

Park City Egyptian Theater

Benson Grist Mill

The Walker War