Tuesday, December 26, 2017

A Proposal in 1912 to add mystic charm to S.L. with various names changes -- Lone Peak, Cottonwood Canyons




JUST over a century ago, there was a brief effort to try and change some Salt Lake area geographical names, "to add mystic charm" and avoid the commonplace.
The Salt Lake Herald newspaper of July 25, 1912 stated that Joseph E. Caine suggested a change in some titles for the area during a speech given at Liberty Park.
City Creek and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons were particularly mentioned as being too commonplace of names for an area so rich in pioneer history and effort.
"With such a world of romance in our history we should not have given to that magnificent gorge of the Wasatch so commonplace a name as Big Cottonwood Canyon. City Creek, Big and Little Cottonwood and Mill Creek Canyons, Twin Peaks and Lone Peak are all misnamed," the story reported. 
"There are a thousand cottonwood canyons in the western United States and as many mill creek canyons.Let us give to these and other great works of nature names that will mean something in the history of our state and that will carry with them the romantic charm of the days of the trail blazers."
Caine also suggested that Timpanogos be returned as the name for Utah Lake, as the Spanish explorers and Father Escalante had titled it.
He said more unusual name changers could "add to this state a mystic charm that will live forever in poetry, in painting and in song."
Sadly, Caine's suggestions were not heeded, or perhaps the commonplace names he wanted changed were already too permanent in the minds of Utahns.
And, certainly in the 21st Century, such names have well over a century of use.
Perhaps the "lone" example of a name Caine suggested that actually had an effort to alter it, was Lone Peak. For at least a few years in the mid 1910s, there was a temporary renaming to "Mount Jordan" instead. (Lone Peak is a distinctive, solitary peak at the far south end of the S.L. Valley.) The new name didn't stick, but it was used in many a newspaper story of that decade, including the S.L. Herald of Sept. 6, 1915.
Caine also neglected to mention that there are three sets of "Twin Peaks," found just along the length of the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake County. Why that name repetition? Who knows, but "Double Peak" and North and South Twin could at least have been a little less confusing set of titles.




-Regarding Lone Peak, it was thrown back into public notice at the end of 1936 when a plan crashed on that mountain and yet could not be found for almost six months.
On Dec. 13, 1936, a Western Air Express transport plane crashed some 43 minutes before it was due at the Salt Lake Airport.
In  early June of 1937, some hikers found some airmail blown around near the top of the mountain and that led to finally locating the plane wreckage and the remains of its  four passengers and three crew members, finally ending the tragic suspense of the disaster.
An elevation of 11,000 feet above sea level, an arctic-like weather made location and recovery vert difficult.
It was believed, according to the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper of June 7, 1937, that it the aircraft had just been another 20 to 25 feet higher, it would have cleared the granite mountaintop safely.

-Lone Peak was back in the news about 18 months later when four Salt Lake men climbed Lone Peak's summit in a record three hours and 58 minutes.
Orson Spencer, Odell Pedersen, W.C. Kamp and Keith Anderson made the speedy climb from the Alpine side, They are members of the Wasatch Mountain Club and their exploit was reported in the Telegram of Oct. 3, 1938.

(-Other sources: “Utah Place Names,”: by John W. Van Cott and the Salt Lake Tribune, May 28, 1916.)

-Originally published in the Deseret News on Dec. 26, 2017.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Brigham Young used bodyguards too at times

                                   A statue of Brigham Young.

THERE'S probably not a single family in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that boasts a lengthy history dating back to the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith that doesn't claim that at least one of their ancestors was a bodyguard to the Prophet.
However, Brigham Young, the successor to President Smith, also used bodyguards at times.
For example, the Deseret News of May 2, 1877, reported that "a guard of about 25 young men" accompanied President Young from St. George to Beaver. This was an army of protection for the church leader.
"The President has deemed this precaution necessary, it is said, on account of threats made by the sons of  John D. Lee," the Deseret News story stated.


A trio of unusually titled mountain ranges in Utah -- San Francisco, Wah Wah and Confusion



                                              Kings Peak, center, highest point in Utah.

UTAH boasts a fleet of lofty mountain ranges. There are the kingpin of tall ranges -- the High Uintas, the La Sals, the Wasatch and the Tushar range.
However, the Beehive State also contains dozens of shorter mountain ranges, some remote and others far lesser-known.
For example, Utah has its own San Francisco Mountains, located west of Millard. And, in that same are are the Wah Wah Mountains. This particular area has a colorful mining history that dates back to the 1870 and the Wah Wah Range rises to more than 8,400 feet above sea level. The downside to this area is that it is very dry, with few regular sources of water.
Found west of Delta is another unusually name mountain string -- the Confusion Range. This mountain terrain was first publicly mentioned in an 1894 newspaper account and rises to a maximum of 7,430 feet.
-There are also periodic efforts in Utah to rename some natural features that are sometime deemed offensive in the 21st Century era of political correctness.
For example, Squaw Peak in Provo Canyon is one of these possibly demeaning titles.
However, there is also a same-named "Squaw Peak" located west of Milford. And there is also a "Squaw Springs" found in the La Sal Mountains.



'Kolob' -- A unique Utah name




KOLOB is certainly one of the most unusual of titles in the Beehive State.
In Mormon (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) scripture, the word refers to the closest known residence in the heavens to where God resides.
Since Utah territory was settled by Mormon pioneers, the name Kolob is affixed to some natural features.
Southern Utah pioneers first began naming some of the impressive formations around today's Zion National Park with that title and it stuck and eventually became official monikers.
"Kolob Peak" and "Kolob Canyon," both located at the west side of today's Zion Park, were first mentioned in newspaper accounts in 1889 by the Salt Lake Herald (Dec. 25 edition).
The Iron County Record newspaper of Feb. 28, 1957 reported that the name Kolob Arch was approved by Zion Park officials that year. This large arch was first discovered in 1928 by Dr. Herbert E. Gregory and the name Kolob for the 300-foot-plus span was used early on.
Today, the Kolob Canyons drive, off I-15, between Cedar City and St. George, accesses this northwestern section of Zion National Park.


                            An upper section of the Kolob Canyons drive.


Wednesday, December 6, 2017

1937: When the Skyline Drive, between Farnington and Bountiful, opened



THE Skyline Drive/backway mountain dirt road, between Farmington and Bountiful, Utah, first opened on August 29, 1937.
"Connecting last link and route of new mountain highway" was an Aug. 31, 1937 headline in the Davis County Clipper newspaper.
For the first time on Aug. 29 that year, an automobile traversed the entire 27-mile stretch between the two cities.
James E. Gurr, supervisor of the Wasatch National Forest and J.P. Martin, regional engineer for the Forest Service in Ogden were the first two to travel the road.



The road was built by CCC crews and transient labor, over five years, from 1933-1937. Besides the scenic nature of the road, it also gives firefighters easy access to the area.
The Farmington Canyon portion was stated in the story as the most difficult. Drilling was required through solid rock to create thjat 7.5-mile portion of the road -- most of it "on a precipitous and rocky hillside." Two bridges over Farmington Creek were also required there.
The road tops out at 9,150-foot above sea level in the Bountiful Peak area.


                             Farmington Canyon can be blocked by snow well into summer.

The road was also built because of the flooding problems in the area during the 1920-1930s time period. Erosion control dykes were also established, to better control runoff.
-The Sunset Picnic/Campground area in Farmington Canyon was dedicated on May 23, 1939 by the U.S. Forest Service. Located six miles up the Canyon, the area was previously the Farmington junction camp, used to camp road workers.


                       The FAA's portion of the road to Francis Peak.

-According to the Davis County Clipper of Dec. 6, 1968, a section of road off the Skyline Drive was planned to go down into the Morgan area, on the east side of the Wasatch Mountains. However, that was never built.
It was also hoped that there could be a ski resort established on Farmington Flats. That never materialized either.
-An aerial tramway was also planned up Shepard Canyon to Francis Peak in the 1970s. Although there was little opposition to this plan (Davis County Clipper Aug. 5, 1977), it also never happened.
Original funding was $1.1 million for the tram and it would have been able to carry up four men and 3,000 total pounds. The tram ride would have taken but seven minutes, as compared with 1.5 miles to drive the dirt road to the Radar Domes. It would have featured 12 towers up the mountainside, to the 9,500-foot elevation summit.
The tramway was considered very cost effective, as compared to keeping the dirt road passable all winter. In fact, the study showed the tram would have paid for itself in eight years, since the Francis Peak station is manned year-round.
The tramway plan's environmental study got bogged down in its own federal red tape and its construction costs skyrocketed and mean the project never happened.


  The junction up Farmington Canyon, where the road splits, north to Francis Peak or south to Bountiful Peak.


-All photos by Roger Arave.

The first Tony Grove reports in Logan Canyon



                                        Tony Grove, Utah.                        Photo by Roger Arave

"Camp at Tony Grove" was an Aug. 15, 1897 report in the Logan Journal newspaper. This may be the first recorded account of camping in the area, just north of Logan Canyon, Utah.
"There is a merry crowd of campers at Tony Grove in Logan Canyon ..." the report stated.
At least 125 people were camped there then, "enjoying the exquisite scenery, the fresh bracing air, the cool days and nights, refreshing sleep, fishing and all the pleasures of an unceremonius canyon existence."
At evening, the crowd gathered for a large bonfire party, with music, singing and games by moonlight. Many of the campers planned to spend another week or two at the resort.


                                                                    Photo by Roger Arave

Indeed, according to the book, "Utah Place Names," by John W. Van Cott, the Tony Grove name originated from the loggers and cattlemen of the 1880s who would observe all the well-to-do "Tony" people who could afford to camp and stay in the area for long stretches in the summer. The name eventually transitioned from the people to the place.
The Ogden Standard-Examiner on June 29, 1924 reported the largest excursion ever to visit Logan Canyon, with up to 600 students and faculty of the Utah Agricultural College converging at Tony Grove.
The group spent the day hiking and playing games. They even explored a remote cave on the mountainside, being descended by rope's to its opening. It was said to be located above Logan Cave. They hiked to area landmarks, like White Pine Lake, Gog and Magog and Mount Naomi (highest point in Cache County).
The college had sponsored such a day to Tony Grove since at least 1920.
-Access to Tony Grove is 19.2 miles up Logan Canyon,  east of Logan, Utah, at an elevation of 8,100 feet above seal level. A paved, 7-mile side road winds up the mountainside, passing several cattle grazing areas, to a U.S. Forest Service Campground and the lake. Today, besides camping and fishing, fields of wildflowers and well-maintained hiking trails grace the area.