A sampling of the evolution of early Utah place names and town monikers

                  Angels Landing and the Walter Wiggles part of the trail.

THERE were many original Utah place names that didn’t stick and were replaced by today’s modern titles. Here are some of them:

-Angels Landing: El Gobernador was its first title, in honor of William Spry, Utah Governor. But the name was superseded by a comment made during a Zion Park visit by Ogden Reverend Frederick Vining Fisher, who said that only angels would land there, as they paid respect to the throne of Deity, the Great White Throne, located across the Zion Canyon.

-Antelope Island: It had three early names, Antelope, Buffalo and Church. Osborne Russell, a trapper in the area in 1841 made a diary reference to the presence of antelope and buffalo on the Isle; Church Island was because the LDS Church owned it at one time.

                           Two dead trees on Antelope Island.

-Bountiful: Probably no City in Utah had more early names. It was settled in 1847 and Calls Settlement was the city's first name, for Anson Call, a visitor to the area. Sessions Settlement was its next title, followed by Mill Creek Canyon Ward and North Canyon Ward. By 1854, the first post office was titled North Canyon Settlement. The name Stoker, in honor of John Stoker, the first Mormon bishop there, also reigned for a time. Finally, in 1855, Stoker himself proposed Bountiful, the title of an ancient city in the Book of Mormon and that became official on Feb. 27, 1855.

-Centerville: This city was first known as Deuel Creek for Osmyn M. Deuel, who settled on a creek there. Next, it was Cherry Settlement for pioneer Benjamin Cherry. The Centerville name was a geographical reference to its center location between Bountiful and Farmington — the two oldest settlements in Davis County.

-Delicate Arch: Was known to early cowboys in the area by such names as "Cowboy Chaps" “Schoolmarm’s Bloomers” and "Mary's Bloomers." Delicate Arch superseded those range titles.

                               A group poses at Delicate Arch.           Photograph by Liz Arave Hafen

-Farmington: Farmington — Hector Haight was the first settler and Haights Bench, North Cottonwood Creek and Miller's Settlement were earlier names of the community. On Feb. 18, 1852, the Farmington name was officially applied, as a reminder to the fertile soil that made it a good farming area.

-Farr West: Was known as West Harrisville at first. Then, Farr West came along because it was both west of Farr’s Fort (named for Lorin Farr, first LDS Stake President in the area) and also because of early settler Chauncey W. West.

 -Fremont Island: Its first title was Disappointment Island, during John C. Fremont’s 19843 government survey. Then, Castle Island, for the distinctive shape on its northern end. Some dubbed it Miller’s Island, for the sheep herder owner. Then, it was even Wenner Island when that family lived there for four years. Finally, the Fremont name became universal.

-Hooper: It was Muskrat Springs at first, for a spring with the animals nearby. Next came Hooperville and then shortened to Hooper, in honor of Captain William H. Hooper, an early Utah delegate to Congress, who had cattle there.

                                Hooper historical sign.

-Morgan: It was oddly named “Monday Town Hollow” at first. The name came from the fact that many settlers moved in on a Monday. But, residents later called it after the middle name of LDS Church leader Jedediah Morgan Grant.

-Magna: "Ragtown" was its original name and then "Pleasant Green". However, some felt there were too many “Pleasant” titled towns in Utah already, so Magna, either the name of a local mine or a Masonic phrase, became the title.

-Morgan: It was strangely named “Monday Town Hollow” at first. The name came from the fact that most settlers moved in on a Monday. But, residents later titled it after the middle name of LDS Church leader Jedediah Morgan Grant.

-Mountain Green: Named as such in 1859 by settler George Higley for the its beautiful meadows, hills and valleys. Yet, “Deserter Point” was its original moniker, as in May of 1825, a disagreement over territory and pay meant that 23 trappers from Peter Skene Ogden’s group deserted and went over to the rival Johnson Gardner trapping party.

-Ogden: Was originally named Fort Buenaventura, before the Pioneers arrived. It was then known as Brownsville, in honor of Captain James Brown of the Mormon Battalion, until 1850 when it became Ogden, honoring Peter Skene Ogden, early trapper.

-Peterson: It was first settled in 1855 as Weber City, being along the Weber River. The name was later changed to Peterson, in honor of early settler Charles S. Peterson.

-Riverdale: Was known as Stringtown at first, because its early homes were strung along a single road leading to Ogden. Then, it was Jack Thompson settlement, named for an early settler. Finally, its proximity to the Weber River inspired its title.

-Stoddard: The town received its title after Judson L. Stoddard settled there in 1860. However, “Rumpus Town” was later a temporary nickname after many disputes over water rights and usage. Farmers were said to need three essentials during their water turns in that rugged era: hip boots, shovel and sidearm.

The first recorded climb of Angels Landing in Zion National Park?

                Just past Scout Lookout, this shows the final climb to Angels Landing.

By Lynn Arave

ANGELS Landing is defined by Zion National Park as one of its strenuous hikes. It is 5.4 miles roundtrip and climbs a total of 1,488 feet. "Not for young children," according to the National Park Service, the final mile of the hike is dominated by sheer vertical cliffs and dropoffs. This trail is not for the faint of heart, or for those fearful of heights.
In fact, metal chains were added decades ago for additional safety as something solid hikers can hold on to. Many steps have also been cut into the rocks.

                    Roger Arave shows some of the early on cables to hold on to.

The Washington County News newspaper of Dec, 25, 1924 contains what may be the first recorded climb up Angels Landing. Not that others before hadn't climbed it -- this was possibly the first one publicly recorded -- and, of course -- happened BEFORE there were any chains to grab on to, or prior to any safety improvements.
This newspaper story reports that Park Ranger Harold Russell is believed to have been the first to stand on the Angels Landing summit in 1923. Russell was also a guide, along with David Dennett on this climb reported in the St. George, Utah  newspaper.

                                  A section of Refrigerator Canyon.


The climb up and through Refrigerator Canyon were not described as anything harsh. Pretty much only a 15 degree lower temperature than the surrounding area was reported in the narrow canyon by the hiking group. Today much of the lower Angels Landing trail is paved, but back then white sand dominated much of it. 
There were also no Walter's Wiggle switchbacks, located above Refrigerator Canyon in 1924 either -- they had not been built yet.
Some of the hiking party dangled from ropes in thin air to reach the summit of Angels Landing.
Frederick Vining Fisher, an Ogden resident and former pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Ogden, named Angels Landing and two other Zion Canyon landmarks during a visit there in 1916.

                                 The summit of Angels Landing.

-Here's the St. George newspaper report by R.B. Gray on the climb past Scout Lookout to Angels Landing. (It was originally published in Union Pacific Magazine.)
All photographs are by Liz Arave Hafen. Highlights are in bold type:
(Note the archive copy is difficult to read and it has been transcribed as accurately as possible. If you try to read this on your own at a digital newspaper site, it will be garbled and the left margin often cut off ) ...

                             Going down the Angels Landing upper trail.

"The crest of the ridge, as it lay before us, first descended to a rugged point, then swept up in a great craggy ... curve to the haunt of the Angels; the summit, in fact, appeared lofty and inaccessible that the legend of the angels seemed wholly credible and some of us timidly deliberated the possibilities of joining their ranks. It is relatively easy going down to the gap; beyond that point the ridge narrowed from ten feet to ten inches.

                                     Steep and rocky path.


"It became dizzily steep, and occasionally presented little cliffs of thirty or forty feet that required slow and careful progression by means of ten fingers, and prayerful exclamations, assisted by the abdominal muscles. All of the arts of crawling .... were imitated. But there were places too steep for all but experts in rock work. A helping hand would clutch an inch thick ledge, put a bit of weight on it and find the friable sandstone as soft as a pie crust; A flat slab grasped ... had an exasperating habit of falling down on one's head. "There were five hazardous stretches which the guides and several experienced climbers of the mountain scaled unassisted; but the remainder of the party required the aid of ropes let down by these pioneers anchored to their bodies. At some interesting spots the climber dangled over some 1,6000 feet of pure mountain air and all of them seemed not displeased when their feet rested again in level rock.

                                            Dizzy heights.

                                          Sheer cliffs and narrow trail.

"The apex of the monolith broadens out to a sloping platform of some twenty feet at its widest and one hundred feet long, capped by a pogoda-like cone. There a cairn of stones was erected, a scroll of names placed therein, and to its top was fastened the skull of a steer brought from the Tinted Desert north of the Kaibab Forest.
 "Angels Landing projects far into Zion Canyon and tho panoramas from its peak are of the highest grandeur, immediately below us was the Great Organ; opposite in the east, tho stupendous mass of The Great White Throne, soaring 1,200 feet higher.
"Northward we looked into the dizzy walled red amphitheatre called the Temple of Sinawava and beyond to the Narrows where the ethereal white cone of the Mountain of Mystery rises above the gory precipices. Behind us loomed the majestic, reposeful white cliffs of the upper rim.
"Southward, the vision included the entire sweep of the east wall Red Arch Mountain, the Mountain-of-the Sun and the Twin Brothers, glowing in the sun.
"Such visits are part of the enduring enchantment of Zion; its magnificent, sculptured masses, displaying all the tones of red from peach blossom pink to the deepest carmine known to lipsticks, and onward through Indian lake and maroon to reds that the shadows turn black; its atmospheric moods of bulk and color; its infinite variety; its unlimited opportunities for pioneer exploration with the reward of matchless vistas of scenes never beheld before by civilized man. 

                    The spectacular view southward from the Angels Landing summit.

"Those of the artistic temperament who seek scenic effects not to be had elsewhere on earth will find Zion satisfactory. It is said that a safe trail may be made at small cost to the spot where the angels land and this will probably be done by next season. The splendid vermillion butte will then become a favored observation point for Zion's increasing throng of visitors." -Originally from Union Pacific Magazine.

-NOTE: The author, Lynn Arave, is available to speak to groups, clubs, classes or other organizations about Utah history at no charge. He can be contacted by email at: lynnarave@comcast.net

Zion Canyon overflowing with heavenly titles

                      Angels Landing, center,  with the Great White Throne behind it.

By Lynn Arave

ZION National Park is Utah’s premier outdoor treasure. Visited by some 3 million people annually, Zion is actually steeped in religious overtones, with a total of two dozen Biblical, Book of Mormon and even Native America spiritual names dominating its unusual landscape.

Surprisingly, Ogden City, though it is some 350 miles from Zion, has a strong connection to at least two and possibly three of the Park’s most famous landmarks – The Great White Throne, Angels Landing and the Three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

And, this trio of names didn’t originate from a Mormon either. Frederick Vining Fisher, an Ogden resident and former pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Ogden, named these rock monuments during a visit there in 1916 (or perhaps even earlier in 1914, as one early Zion Park brochure from the late 1930s claims.)

Fisher, actually an early non-Mormon apologist, made a trip up Zion Canyon (then called either “Little Zion,” “The Heavenly City of God,” or “Mukuntuweap,” meaning “Straight Canyon” to the Southern Paiute Indians). Fisher was accompanied by two locals, Rockville LDS Bishop David Hirschi and his son, Claude Hirschi.

Frederick Vining Fisher.  Utah State History photo.

The afternoon sun gloriously illuminated the Great White Throne and inspired Fisher to reportedly say: “Never have I seen such a sight before. It is by all odds America's masterpiece. Boys, I have looked for this mountain all my life but I never expected to find it in this world. This mountain is the Great White Throne.”

Dr. Fisher (then going by an educational, rather than a religious title) also noticed a large rock formation on the opposite side of the narrow canyon, just northwest of the Great White Throne, and once again made a religious connection. He surmised that angels would never land on the nearby Great White Throne — that was a seat for deity — but would instead reverently perch on a nearby footstool to pay their obeisance. Hence, the Angels Landing name and what is today one of the most popular and exciting hikes in the National Park.

       The summit of Angels Landing with The Great White Throne in the background.

                                                                            Photo by Roger Arave.

The Three Patriarchs’ name origin is indefinite. Some accounts say Fisher named it and others point to Claude Hirschi.

Fisher had lived in Alaska prior to coming to Ogden and he had also visited other outdoor gems -- Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Still, he referred to Zion as a “wonderland of nature” and gave frequent lectures during the 1910s across the nation highlighting Utah as “the Crown Jewel of the Continent” with its outdoor treasures.  Fisher also often spoke in the Ogden LDS Tabernacle and was good friends with David O. McKay, then an LDS Apostle.

Overall, Zion is indeed an unusual National Park where most visitors are provided with a brief Biblical and Book of Mormon education whether they want it or not, because of the many religious titles there.

Ride the shuttle buses in Zion and the audio recordings will recite some of this religious history as the heavenly landmarks along the way are pointed out.

(Ironically, Temple Square in Salt Lake City and Zion National Park are by far the top two tourist attractions in the Beehive State and both are religious oriented.)

Local Native Americans had for centuries known of and revered Zion Canyon, a dark and narrow place where they often feared entrance.

Mormon settler Nephi Johnson was the first non-Indian known to visit Zion Canyon in 1858. A Joseph Black visited the canyon in 1861 and called it "Joseph's Glory," after the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith. 
Another Mormon pioneer, Isaac Behunin constructed a log cabin at today’s Springville in January of 1862. By the summer of 1863, he had built another cabin and farm, this one near where today’s Zion Lodge resides. Behunin promoted the “Little Zion” name for the area and supposedly proclaimed, “A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as in any man-made church – this is Zion.”
Behunin was also reputed to say: "Why go to Zion (Salt Lake City) and worship in a temple when he have God's own temples here? This is as much Zion as Salt Lake. We'll call it little Zion."
Behunin used to sit in front of his cabin and admire the spectacular canyon walls.
The name "Little Zion" took hold for a time.
However, LDS Church President Brigham Young hearing of this, later stressed to early settlers in the Springdale area that the canyon was not Zion, despite their heavenly descriptions.

Some of the settlers then began sarcastically calling the area "Not Zion.”

(Behunin Canyon, northwest of the Emerald Pools, is named in the pioneer’s honor.)

Joseph S. Black, still another Mormon pioneer, was so excited by the Canyon’s beauty that he provided what others considered to be unbelievable descriptions of the place. Some skeptics then sarcastically dubbed the area "Joseph's Glory."

                          Another view of Angels Landing.

 
Here are some of the other religious names in Zion National Park:

-Kolob Canyons and Kolob Arch get their titles from the Pearl of Great Price, an LDS book of scripture, that mentions a star, Kolob, as nearest the residence to God.
-Mount Moroni is named for a Book of Mormon prophet. Orderville Canyon was named for the nearby town of Orderville and the LDS Church’s 19^th Century United Order plan.
-Zion, the park's overall name, too has roots in both the Bible and other LDS scriptures. Zion is a Hebrew word referring to a place of safety or refuge.

-There's also Tabernacle Dome, The Organ (originally “The Great Organ”); Church Mesa; the North and South Guardian Angels; Tabernacle Dome; the Altar of Sacrifice; The Pulpit; Cathedral Mountain; and Canaan Mountain.

- Explorer John Wesley Powell visited Zion in 1872 and applied the Indian names, like "Mukuntuweap" to the North Fork of the Virgin River and "Parunuweap" ("Water that Roars") to the East Fork.
Yet even Powell felt spiritual there, since he named the East and West Temples.

-The Virgin River was either named by Spanish explorers in honor of Mary, the Mother of Jesus; or for a mountain man, Thomas Virgin, who traveled with the legendary explorer Jedediah Smith.

-The Temple of Sinawava was named by Douglas White of the Union Pacific Railroad to honor “Sinawava, the Paiute’s Coyote god or spirit. Mount Kinesava is named for another Paiute deity.

REFERENCES: Ogden Standard-Examiner Archives; “A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks,” by Angus M. Woodbury; Utah Historical Quarterly, Fall 1987; www.nps.gov/zion; Zionpark.org; “Utah Place Names,” by John W. Van Cott; and various Zion Park and quadrangle maps; Deseret News Archives.

-NOTE: The author, Lynn Arave, is available to speak to groups, clubs, classes or other organizations about Utah history at no charge. He can be contacted by email at: lynnarave@comcast.net