Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, January 1995 One of the most colorful, if brief, chapters in western history was the Pony Express, which carried the Overland Mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, from April 1860 until October 1861. Utah Territory occupied a central position along the route, and many Utahns played a role as trailblazers, riders, agents, …
Bountiful
Patricia Lyn Scott Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Bountiful is Utah’s second settlement and was named for one of the ancient American cities described in The Book of Mormon. Bountiful was settled not long after Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Perrigrine Sessions explored the area just three days after his arrival. In September 1847 Sessions gathered his family …
Military in Utah
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, The Right Place Condensed by Brittany Nelson During the 1850s and 1860s relations between Salt Lake and Washington continued to deteriorate. On the one hand, Mormons still wanted to be masters in their own house; on the other, they sought to have advantageous economic links with the outside. Brigham Young had announced a policy in 1852 …
The Utah War
Richard D. Poll Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 The Utah War, 1857–1858, was a costly, disruptive and unnecessary confrontation between the Mormon people in Utah Territory and the government and Army of the United States. It resulted from misunderstandings that transformed a simple decision to give Utah Territory a new governor into a year-long comedy of errors with a tragic potential. …
Camp Floyd
Audrey M. Godfrey Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 On 9 November 1858, amid gun fire and patriotic music, the soldiers of Camp Floyd, Utah Territory, raised the United States flag above their newly completed garrison. Named for Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, the post housed the largest concentration of U. S. troops to that time, in what immediately became the …
Colonel Charles F. Smith
Miriam B. Murphy History Blazer, April 1996 The 1858-60 diary of Captain Albert Tracy, an officer in Johnston’s Army, contains many enlightening glimpses of life in an army camp. The author’s vivid descriptions and understated humor make it a delight to read. Born in Buffalo, New York, on April 28, 1818, he spent some of his boyhood in Canada. He …
Utah’s First Large Factory Opened in Provo in 1872
Sharon S. Arnold History Blazer, August 1995 The Golden Spike was barely driven when pioneer leaders chose a likely site for a large factory. With the coming of the transcontinental railroad, the massive machinery needed to start large-scale manufacturing could be shipped to the territory, and local products could be sold from coast to coast. LDS church leaders had a …