Jay M. Haymond Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 The Pony Express mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, was a short-lived business venture operated by the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell. The firm was well known as a freighting outfit using the central route in east-west transportation, which followed the general path of present-day Interstate 80. For freighting, …
ZCMI
Martha Sonntag Bradley Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution, known as ZCMI, the “People’s Store,” is what one historian called America’s First Department Store, and was founded in March 1868. By that date the Latter-day Saints had lived in the Great Basin for little more than two decades but had already foreseen a new threat to their peace …
The United Order Movement
Dean L. May Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 The United Order Movement was a program of economic and moral reform begun in 1874 under Brigham Young. It drew upon earlier efforts of the Latter-day Saints to organize cooperatives in Ohio and Missouri and though of little discernible impact in the 1870s, provided the ideological underpinnings for subsequent church poor relief, especially …
Minor Gold Rushes, Major Gold Production
Miriam B. Murphy Beehive History 16 Gold can be found in trace amounts in almost all rocks and even in ocean water, but finding it in quantities large enough to make mining profitable is rare. Erosion often washes gold out of surface rocks. Gold particles are about seven times heavier than rock particles of a similar size. As a result, …
Colonel Connor Filled a Varied, Dramatic Role in Utah
Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, May 1995 An Irish American named Patrick Connor was a seminal figure in late 19th-century Utah. Often called “the father of Utah mining,” he was involved in military, economic, and political activities in the territory from 1862 until his death in 1892. Patrick Edward O’Connor was born in Ireland in 1820 or 1821. Along with …
Coins and Currency
Leonard J. Arrington Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Until the Civil War, the United States had no national currency, and most of the coins in circulation were privately minted. In order to provide a satisfactory circulating medium for the early settlers of Utah, Brigham Young and his associates in the LDS church established a church mint in 1848, and also placed …
Deseret
Richard D. Poll Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Deseret was the name given to the region for which the Mormon pioneers sought territorial status in 1849 and to the quasi government that they carried on for the next two years. It also designated the state they repeatedly sought to have admitted to the Union, and it also designated the shadow government …
John Pulsipher: A Policeman in Early Salt Lake City
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, November 1996 In 1848 a bashful, oversized 21-year-old by the name of John Pulsipher crossed the Plains with his parents and settled in Utah. He found Salt Lake City to be a very quiet settlement consisting of only two blocks of houses joined as two forts. “Besides these forts,” John wrote in his diary, “there was …
Courageous Emma Lee Endured Many Hardships in Pioneer Utah
Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, July 1995 The life of Emma Batchelor Lee French was often one of hardship, struggle, and loss. In her 61 years she witnessed and participated in some of the most memorable and important events of Mormon and western history. Her story—like that of so many women on the western frontier—was also one of hard work, …
The Salt Lake Cutoff and the California Trail
Lyndia Carter History Blazer, December 1996 In the summer of 1848 Samuel J. Hensley made a discovery that greatly affected Utah history: a route from Salt Lake City to the California Trail near the City of Rocks in Idaho that would be followed by thousands of argonauts on their way to California. These gold seekers passing through Utah interacted with …