Curated in 1997 by Linda Thatcher During the 1800s more than 500,000 emigrants crossed the Western plains hoping to find a new and better life for a variety of reasons. One of the largest groups to move west was the Mormons. From 1847 to 1868, 70,000 Mormon pioneers made the trek on foot, in wagon trains, or handcart companies to …
Fillmore
Patricia Lyn Scott Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Fillmore was Utah’s first territorial capital and was named for U. S. President Millard Fillmore in recognition of his courage in appointing Brigham Young Utah’s first territorial governor. On 4 October 1851 the Utah territorial legislature passed a joint resolution creating Millard County from a portion of Iron County known as “Pahvant Valley;” …
Gardner Mill and the Birth of Salt Lake Valley’s West Side
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, November 1995 In the past two decades Salt Lake Valley’s West Side has come into its own, with booming population and economic growth. Yet few people know moving “over Jordan” is a valley tradition that began with “Archie” Gardner and his gristmill. Canadians Archibald and Margaret Livingston Gardner were not the first couple to cross the …
The Virgin River Doused Cotton Mission Settlers’ Hopes
W. Paul Reeve History Blazer, October 1995 In 1861, Mormon church President Brigham Young called hundreds of families to relocate to southwestern Utah to help establish a Cotton Mission. The principle objective was to produce enough cotton to supply church members’ needs and thereby end reliance upon eastern markets for that product. The influx of settlers strengthened existing communities in …
Some Utahns Went for the Gold in California
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, November 1996 Some young men in Utah naturally hankered toward the California gold fields discovered just six months after the Mormons arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. But Brigham Young, favoring an agrarian rather than mining economy, firmly discouraged them: “If you Elders of Israel want to go to the gold mines, go and be damned.” On …
Ensign Peak
Lynn M. Hilton and Hope A. Hilton Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Ensign Peak is the summit of a hill just north of downtown Salt Lake City (1.4 miles north of the Salt Lake Temple); in fact, Salt Lake City was built exactly south of Ensign Peak. The peak rises 1,080 feet above the valley floor and stands out as a …
From Pioneer Fort to Pioneer Park
Julie Osborne Beehive History 22 After traveling many long weeks in wagons or pushing handcarts to their land of Zion, the Mormon pioneers first stopped at what became known as the Old Pioneer Fort–later Pioneer Park. There they met with others, rested, and learned of their ultimate destination before moving on to establish homes. Does this mean that Pioneer Park …
Pestiferous Ironclads: The Grasshopper Problem in Pioneer Utah
Davis Bitton and Linda P. Wilcox Utah Historical Quarterly, 46 #4 One of the most dramatic and famous moments in Mormon history occurred in 1848 when the first crop in Utah was threatened by a plague of crickets. Fearing the loss of food needed for survival, the settlers fought the ravenous insects by every possible means. Then, when it appeared …
Forty-Niners in Salt Lake Valley
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, January 1996 In the winter of 1848 word spread through the eastern states that gold had been discovered in California’s Sierra Nevada. The following spring over 25,000 fortune hunters headed west. This number increased the next summer to 50,000. In 1851 it fell to 5,000 when more realistic reports stated that 19 out of 20 miners …
Settlement and Exploration
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, The Right Place Some judgments can be made on the valley from Fremont’s descriptions, from the experience of the Mormon pioneers, and from later explorations such as those by Howard Stansbury and John Wesley Powell. The deposits dropped by Lake Bonneville and by mountain streams provided fertile soil for Euro-mountain streams provided fertile soil for Euro-American …