Why does Utah have a 'Hurricane' town?

UTAH doesn’t ever get hit by any real hurricanes, as it is too far inland. All it ever receives are occasional rain storms from hurricane aftermaths. However, Utah does have its own town named Hurricane – in the southwest section of the state.

According to: www.utahsdixie.com ---

“Visitors traveling through Hurricane might wonder why a town in southern Utah shares its name with a tropical cyclone – a type of storm that never has and never will make “landfall” in the inland desert. The curious name dates back to the early 1860s, when a whirlwind blew off the top of a buggy carrying a group of surveyors led by Mormon leader Erastus Snow. “Well, that was a Hurricane,” exclaimed Snow. “We’ll name this the Hurricane Hill.” The nearby fault, mesa, and, later on, the town, took the same moniker. How residents say the name might catch many off guard. Locals pronounce it “Her-ah-kun,” which is the British pronunciation.”

That pronunciation is likely because many of the area’s early residents had immigrated from England.
However, checking with some present day immigrants from Britain to American, they all pronounce hurricane like the standard, "hurra-cane." So, British pronunciation has apparently changed over time.

The book, “Utah Place Names,” by John W. Van Cott, states basically the same name origin for Hurricane as does Dixie.com.

Van Cott just adds that Snow was the LDS Church leader in charge of its “Dixie” mission to grow cotton.

(The Paiute Indians, first known inhabitants of the Hurricane area, used to call place, “Timpoweap,” meaning “Rock Canyon.” )

Tidbits of Mormon Pioneer history: Salt Lake 'forsaken place,' First rattlesnake encounter and more

                   The original "This is the Place" monument  marker.

NOT every pioneer expressed excitement over the first view of the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

For example, one pioneer, Mrs. Harriet Young said, “Weak and weary as I am I would rather go a thousand miles farther than remain in such a forsaken place as this.” (-From "Utah in Her Western Setting" book, by Milton R. Hunter, page 118).)

After all, none of the previous emigrants to the west (outside of Miles Goodyear or a few trappers) had thought the Great Salt Lake Valley was worth settling in. To many, it was a country that God forgot. (-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 11 and page 27.)
Still, once LDS Church President Brigham Young said that the Salt Lake Valley was the right place, all the pioneers accepted that and settled there.
(There were 147 members of the July of 1847 vanguard pioneer group, including three women and two children. None of the first group died -- all made it safely to the Salt Lake Valley, after a 1,031 mile trek.

-However, another pioneer had an excited response with his first view of the Great Salt Lake Valley. Also, he experienced one of the first confrontations with nature by the pioneers, as he encountered a coiled rattlesnake.
Erastus Snow recorded this account during his first view attempt of the GSL Valley, on July 21, 1847:

“The thicket down the narrows, at the mouth of the (Emigration) canyon, was so dense that one could not penetrate through it. I crawled for some distance on my hands and knees through the thickets, until I was compelled to return, admonished to by the rattle of a snake, which lay coiled up under my nose, having almost put my hand on him; but as he gave me the friendly warning, I thanked him and retreated. We raised on to a high point south of the narrows, where we got a view of the Great Salt Lake and this valley, and each of us, without saying a word to the other, instinctively, as if by inspiration, raised out hats from our heads, and then, swinging our hats, shouted.” (-From “Utah in Her Western Setting,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 112.)

-The reason why the Mormon settlements in San Bernardino, Las Vegas and Lemhi, Idaho were abandoned was because of the coming of Johnston’s Army in 1857. Brigham Young recalled all settlers and they were never sent back to these places. (-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 79).

-Some of the more grisly of details in the deaths found in the handcart companies was that survivors of the Martin and Willie companies were so cold that they sat around and on the bodies of the deceased until the heat had left the bodies.

Even among the wagon trains of Mormon emigrants, sleeping inside a wagon at night was considered the coldest place to be. So, most emigrants slept on the ground and some even atop the charred ground of where the campfire by been.

(-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 107).

-Mention “Forty-niners” and the California gold seekers commonly come to mind. However, Brigham Young boasted his own variation of 49ers too. Yet, his frontiersman sought coal and iron and not gold, in a more practical quest to improve life. (-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 182).

                        Miles Goodyear's cabin, oldest structure in Utah.

 -The gold used by the Mormon pioneers to purchase the Ogden area from Miles Goodyear in 1848 did NOT actually come from the income of the collective Mormon Battalion soldiers, but from Captain James Brown’s own earnings only, in his military service – including some gold he earned as a business gain while in California.

And, because food was very scarce during that period in northern Utah, crops from the Goodyear land were shared with all settlers.

Also, even though it was Brown’s gold that purchased the Ogden area, not a single settler paid anything to Brown for land purchased from Goodyear.

(-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, pages 202-205).

-Mormon pioneers were commonly taught to marry within their own race and religion. However, when the pioneers settled Fort Lemhi (Idaho) on the Salmon River, that usual advice was not the case.

In a Church meeting on May 10, 1857 in Lemhi:

“Perhaps the most stirring bit of advice was given by Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells, when they urged the young men to ‘marry native (Indian) women, that the marriage tie was the strongest tie of friendship that existed.” However, President Young modified that advice to the extent that they should not be in a hurry, and should marry young girls, if any.”

The groups of Mormons at Fort Bridger and Fort Supply (Wyoming) were also given similar marrying advice.

Notwithstanding, there were few such mixed marriages at any of the locations.

(-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 337).

-Payson, Utah was originally named “Peteetneet.”

It was titled for the creek in the area and after a local Indian chief. Later, the branch of the LDS Church was named Peteetneet too. Then, the town was renamed after James Pace, a settler who led the emigrants there. At first it was spelled “Pacen” and later “Payson.”

(-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, pages 230-231).

The first 20 Mormon colonies settled:

 1. Salt Lake City, July 24, 1847.

 2. Bountiful, Sept. 29, 1847.

 3. Farmington, fall of 1847.

 4.Parley’s Park, fall of 1847.

 5.  Pleasant Green, fall of 1847.

 6. Ogden, January 1848.

 7. Big Cottonwood, spring of 1848.

 8.East Mill Creek, spring of 1848.

 9. Sugar House, spring of 1848.

 10.   Centerville, spring of 1848.

111.     Bingham, August 1848.

112.   Mound Fort, fall of 1848.

113.      South Cottonwood, fall of 1848.

114.      North Jordan, December of 1848.

115.      West Joran, December of 1848.

116.       Kaysville, spring of 1849.

117.       Provo, spring of 1849.

118.        Genoa/Mormon Station, June 1849.

 19.       Union/Little Cottonwood, 1849.

  20.       Lynne/Bingham’s Fort, 1849.

(-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 361.)

-President Young's general rule of thumb regarding the Native Americans was that it was cheaper to feed them than to fight them. So, often the Mormon pioneers gave the Indians food.
In fact, in late 1849, they gave the mostly ill Sanpitch Indians in the Sevier River area "a supply of tea, coffee, sugar, bread and meat, and some food medical advice."

(-From “Brigham Young the Colonizer,” by Milton R. Hunter, page 40.)

-Obviously, if the pioneers had some coffee and tea, at least some Church members were drinking these "hot drinks" themselves, as the "Word of Wisdom" was still somewhat voluntary at this time period.

(-The first portions of this blog were previously published in the Deseret News on July 21, 2018.)

Mantua, Utah -- A town that could have been underwater

                              Kayaking on today's Mantua Reservoir.

MANTUA, Utah is a small town east of Brigham City in Utah's Box Elder County. It was originally known as Flaxville and Little Valley. That is, before LDS Church President Lorenzo Snow visited it and said the peaceful little valley reminded him of his birthplace in Mantua, Ohio. Then, the new name stuck.
It is also somewhat surprising that Mantua even exists today. That's because in 1914 there was a proposal to put a reservoir in the valley and displace all 300 residents of the community.
According to the Ogden Daily Standard newspaper of April 16, 1912, a "Big reservoir in Box Elder Canyon" was planned.
The story stated: "The (Salt Lake) Tribune says that if plans now being fostered by Salt Lake and Utah capitalists are carried out, another irrigation project will be started in Utah which will involve and expenditure of more than a million dollars, and which has an one of its incidentals the wiping out the entire village of Mantua in Box Elder County."
Arthur J. Chadfield, a Salt Lake engineer, was one of the chief proponents of the plan, which would also take away some choice farmland east of Brigham City. On the other hand, it would be one of the west's largest reservoirs and could irrigate 10,000 acres around the greater valley below the Wasatch Mountains.
It was also estimated that it would have cost $600,000 just to buy out the Mantua residents and gain title to the land.
Of course, this project never happened. But in 1915, a large reservoir was proposed to the south of Mantua and a year later work began on that project.
However, a May 10, 1920 headline in the Ogden Standard Examiner stated, "Brigham City threatened by flood from reservoir which may give way at any moment."
This other reservoir was six miles south of Mantua, just off the dirt road today that leads to Willard Basin. This reservoir was built by Chadfield at a cost of only $65,000 and covered 90 acres.
Fortunately, this dam didn't break and the reservoir was drained and abandoned some years later.
Then, in 1962, today's Mantua reservoir was completed. This project didn't displace most of the residents of the town, though it did mean a loss of farmland.

                         Today's Mantua Reservoir.

The Scoop on Wheeler Canyon, off Ogden Canyon

    The mouth of Wheeler Canyon, at the far east end of Ogden Canyon.  Photo by Whitney Arave.

WHEELER CANYON is the first canyon below Pineview Dam. It is southwest of the Dam itself.
Today Wheeler Canyon is best known as a mountain bicycle trail. However, use of the canyon dates back to 1866. Levi Wheeler, an Ogden area pioneer, located a sawmill on the stream in Wheeler Canyon that year and he is the origin of its name.
The sawmill materials had been hauled across the plains  to Utah. Calvin Wheeler, son of Levi, told the Ogden Daily Standard Newspaper of Sept. 20, 1919 about the origin of the canyon's name. He also said that when he lived near the canyon in the 1860s, he recalled traveling some 16 miles from Huntsville to kill 16 elk for food, to get through the winter.
-Also, a century ago, the area in Ogden Canyon near Wheeler Canyon's mouth was called "Pine View" and hence the name of the today's dam there.
-A Boy Scout troop of 24 boys, led by Scoutmaster Charles E. Fisk, hiked up Wheeler Canyon in the fall of 1922. They then climbed to the top of Mount Ogden -- with no trail to follow. Then, the descended down the left-hand fork of Taylor Canyon -- again with no trail to follow. Despite encountering cliffs and two inches of snow, there were no mishaps.
The Scouts reported seeing lots of blue grouse and willow grouse and even the tracks of a wolf. They returned to Ogden City after a 13-hour hike that covered some 25 miles. (-From Ogden Daily Standard, Oct. 23, 1922.)

-In the 1920s and up until the construction of Pineview Dam, there used to be the "Power Dam" at the head of Wheeler Canyon. This dam was built in 1897 and was some 40 feet deep and 300 feet long.
Ogden City got most of its drinking water from the artesian wells in Ogden Valley and also from Coldwater Canyon -- before Pineview Dam came along, in 1937.

What are the Names of the Mountain Peaks and Canyons in North Davis County?

                                                                       Above, Whitney Arave photographs and lettering.

THE Wasatch Mountains, east of Layton City, are majestic landmarks most people probably take for granted each day. However, what are the names of the mountain peaks and canyons viewed regularly?

Surprisingly, the majority of the mountain peaks lack official names. Some long-time residents have opted to nickname a few of the nameless peaks. Even some of the smaller canyons are not even titled.

(Officially naming geographical features is often a complicated and lengthy process.)

And, those features that have names, there is usually a story to tell about their titles.

Of course, residents of the City’s east side have a much different view of the mountains than those on the west end.

From Weber Canyon to Farmington Canyon is the width of the main mountainous panorama that most Layton residents enjoy.

                                      Thurston Peak

-Kingpin of those mountains is Thurston Peak, at 9,706 feet above sea level.

However, this loftiest of peaks in those two counties wasn't even officially named until 1993 -- it was previously listed as a benchmark on maps, "Francis VABM" previously on all older maps.

There's now a permanent monument of Utah granite has been erected on the peak with a brass plaque, encased in concrete, that reads:

"Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson Thurston, a Centerville resident who viewed the virgin valley of Morgan from the summit of the mountain in 1852 and recognized its potential for colonization. Realizing its disadvantage was its inaccessibility, in 1855 Thurston influenced others to assist him to carve a passible wagon road through Weber Canyon. He was among the first to settle in Morgan Valley and is acknowledged for bringing about its colonization."

It took a five-month-long effort by the Morgan Historical Society to name the peak in 1993.

The fact was it is named for Thomas J. Thurston is very fitting, because that man and his family had lived in both Davis and Morgan counties as one of their earliest settlers.

It was a June 10, 1992 article, headlined, "Either way you look Francis is Tallest," in the Deseret News, that drew attention to the prominent peak as having no official name and created the spark for it to finally be named.

The view of the top of "North Francis Peak" in 1991, before the peak was named or had a monument on its lofty summit -- it was just a pile of rocks and some posts.

Thurston Peak is also the tallest Wasatch range peak between Willard Peak on the Weber-Box Elder county line and Big Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake County.

                          Francis Peak, complete with two radar domes.

-The other prominent part of the north Davis County section of the Wasatch Mountains is Francis Peak, adorned by two geodesic domes.

Francis Peak was named Francis in honor of Esther Charlotte Emily Wiesbroddt Francis, an early pioneer woman who settled in Morgan in 1863. Her expert knowledge of mathematics, particularly calculus, drew many to seek her help. She assisted early surveyors and, among other things, helped organize Morgan City into blocks, lots and streets.

It was customary in early settlements of the West to name a landmark after a person in recognition of services rendered or contributions made. Sometimes a first name was used. In the case of Francis, her last name probably sounded like a better name for the most prominent mountain peak in the area than her first name.

Brigham Young himself is reported to have honored Francis by naming the mountain after her.

Francis Peak was once Davis County's craggiest mountain summit. However, some 22,000 cubic yards of material and 32 feet of the peak's height were removed to level the site for the radar domes.

While most maps list Francis Peak's elevation at 9,547 feet, that was its original height and doesn't account for the loss in height during the $2 million construction in 1958-59.

The natural height is now 9,515 feet, making it the fifth-highest peak in the county. The facility's base adds 55 feet and the radar domes chip in another 60 feet for a total of 115 feet in artificial height - making the peak, some could argue, 9,630 feet above sea level.

The FAA originally wanted to locate the radar site above Salt Lake City, near Alta or Snowbird. But the National Guard was already using a temporary facility at Francis Peak, so that became the joint location.

Workers at the peak's construction site had to wear thick, long boots and carry sticks or pistols: Although snake experts said the reptiles can't live that high, someone forgot to tell the rattlers.

There were numerous nests of rattlesnakes uncovered in the building process, despite the site's almost 2-mile-high elevation.

In the late 1970s, a tramway was proposed as a quicker and more convenient access up Shepard Canyon to Francis Peak than traveling up Farmington Canyon. However, the FAA's approval for the site got caught in environmental red tape and never became a reality.

                                   "Layton Peak," center.

-For some unclear reason, only two of the 10 highest peaks in Davis County have names - at least official monikers approved by the Utah Geographic Names Committee.

-“Layton Peak” (unofficial name) is the first peak to the left, or north of Thurston Peak and is 9,571 feet above sea level. This peak is also tied with another unnamed one to the north as the second-tallest summit in Davis

County.

“Layton Peak” is 0.7 of a mile north of Thurston

Peak and lines up with Antelope Drive. Like most tall

peaks in Davis County, the “Layton” summit also

straddles the Davis County-Morgan County line.

The “Layton” Peak rises approximately one vertical mile away the valley floor.

Over time, popular usage of such geographical nicknames often become the standard, official titles of unnamed features.

-“Ed’s Peak,” an unofficial title, was named after Ed Ford, who lived in a hollow down below in Kaysville, east of the City Cemetery.

-Note that “Bair” is the correct spelling of the canyon and creek. John Bair was the namesake of the two natural features, but his name has been misspelled “:Baer” and even “Bear” at times, (See the Deseret News of Dec. 29, 1995 for a full explanation.)

-In addition, there are three small lakes — Smith Creek Lakes — hidden on the east slope of the Wasatch Mountains east of Layton and Kaysville. (A jeep trail , the right fork just past Bair Canyon, leads to these secluded bodies of water.

NOTE: By Lynn Arave and previously published in "Layton Today," by Layton City and the Davis County Clipper.

SOURCES: Deseret News Archives, USGS Maps