How well do you know the Golden Spike story? Chinese Arch and the 1942 'undriving' of the Spike are lesser known gems

THE Golden Spike National Historic Site is in the middle of nowhere, at 32 miles west of Brigham City. 

                  The official countdown clock in the visitor's Center.

In 2019 (May 10), it will be the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike here -- and the countdown is already on.
How well do you know the Golden Spike story?

                    The famous engines that meet for the Golden Spike.

It is well documented, but instead of spending the usual 30 minutes at this site, as in past visits, I took an hour and even drove one of the dirt roads nearby.
Here's what I found ...

-I was surprised to realize that there was an "undriving" of the Golden Spike ceremony held on Sept. 9, 1942 there was a ceremonial undriving of the spike held. Since the Lucin Cutoff had opened in 1904 (a direct railroad route across the Great Salt Lake form Ogden, instead of heading northwest around the lake), the train tracks around Golden Spike were on minimal importance to transportation. Hence, the "undriving" and then all the steel rails were removed in the area and used for the American efforts in World War II.  

                  The Chinese Arch, as viewed from the west side.

-The oldest natural relic in the Golden Spike area is the Chinese Arch. Composed of 300 million year old rock, this formation is believed to have been formed thousands of years ago by the wave action of being under Lake Bonneville.

                           An eastern view of the Chinese Arch.

 This arch is but a few hundred yards away from the original railroad line leading to the Golden Spike. It is presumably named in honor of the many Chinese workers who made the national railroad connection possible.
It is accessible by a one-way, narrow dirt road ("East Grade Auto Tour"), that's fine for passenger cars and well worth the extra drive. 

This road is best accessed on the way FROM Golden Spike and then it merges with the main paved road a mile for so further east.

-I also took the 20 minutes to watch the historic movie on the Golden Spike's history at the visitor center and it is excellent, putting the railroad's biggest-ever event in context with American history. 

The new normal: A high and dry Spiral Jetty -- But still worth a visit

The Spiral Jetty, with Great Salt Lake water sitting hundreds of yards away, to the west.

THE new normal for the Spiral Jetty, in a northeast corner of the Great Salt Lake at Rozel Point, is a piece of rock art that's high and dry.

The GSL is not so "great" anymore and its shore was sitting some 600 yards away from the Spiral Jetty in August of 2018.
So, why would someone drive 50 minutes, one-way on a washboardy gravel road from the Golden Spike Historic Site to visit a waterless relic?
The peace, quiet and solitude here is deafening and yet appealing. 

                     The Spiral Jetty from above the parking lot.

Other than some pesky flies zipping around, this desert place seems lifeless of animals. But with just myself and my son, Taylor, there during our 90-minute visit, we weren't disappointed.

                    The center of the Jetty, high and dry in the summer of 2018.

During my only other visit there in about 2003, the lake's water lapped partially around the Jetty. Your shoes did get a little wet walking on top of it.
When Robert Smithson of New Jersey directed the creation of the Jetty in April of 1970, the GSL level was 4,195.15 feet above sea level. During my visit, it was down to 4,192.3 -- almost 3 feet lower. That may not seem like much, but in a shallow lake, it represent a significant amount.
During out visit, it was hard to believe that in 1986, the lake reached an all-time high of 4,211,85 feet. That likely means that the top of the Jetty itself was covered by about 15 feet of salty water.

                                    Bushes now growth in the sand atop the Jetty itself.

A surprising find was that there were several bushes now growing atop the Jetty itself. Without the thick salt water present to prevent growth, there will likely be more such bushes appearing future years. Sandy soil is also accumulating atop to Jetty, partially obscuring its unique blackness on the salt flat.
Also, just a dozen yards west of the Jetty there is a thick salty plain, leftover from the receding lake.
Obviously in the spring, or following a storm, the Jetty could be temporarily wet.

                                              The salty plain, west of the Jetty.

And, in the bushes below the parking lot above the Jetty is a 100-foot-tall wooden pole sitting among the rocks. If some storm decades ago heaved the pole up to its present location, it must have been quite the violent act of nature.

                              The old pole, near the Spiral Jetty.

Smithson paid thousands of dollars to have more than 6,000 tons of black basalt rock -- very common in the area -- moved and cemented to create the Jetty. It is a counterclockwise coil, some 1,500 feet long and about 15 feet wide. (Some of the rocks are secured at the bottom by concrete, which will likely lengthen its lifespan.)
Smithson, after about 5 days of work, had his artwork redone in another several days. He apparently loved this remote area and chose it in particular for his unusual creation.
A $9,000 art grant financed some of his hired work. (That's more than $59,000 in 2019 dollar values.)
This isn't the typical type of artwork, as in a museum. This is a hands-on/foots on, giant piece of art that is best appreciated by interacting with it. If you've driven that bumpy road to reach the Jetty, the final touch is to walk the 100 yards down a rock slope to experience the Jetty up close and personal by walking atop it.
(If you can't physically do that, you can still savor it from the nearby parking lot.)

                                The new monument, near the Jetty.

In 2014, an Eagle Scout project, added a nice monument on the hillside, east of the parking lot.

                                       The plaque on the monument.


To reach the Spiral Jetty, take the I-15 exit at Brigham City to Corinne and the Golden Spike National Historic Site and head west. The Jetty is some 50 miles from Brigham City.
Be prepared that just past the Golden Spike headquarters the road turns to gravel. Although the road is now well-signed, it is very washboardy in places and for the last 1.5 miles (near a large corral), the road is dominated by terrible such ruts and requires a passenger car to slow down to 10 mph at times to not shake apart. Also, be sure to slow down for the several cattleguards along the route. Trucks are the best vehicle for this bumpy road and they can also likely travel at the fastest speed too.

                   Note the many "washboardy type ruts in the road to the Jetty.

Also, respect the privately owned grazing land and do not trespass there on either side of the road.
Although a sign along the road states it is 15.7 miles to the Jetty on the gravel road, it seems more like 19 long, long miles. The road ends at the parking lot above the Jetty.
The nearest gas station in the area is in Corinne. The only water and restrooms are at the Golden Spike Headquarters -- and only when the site is open.
Note too, that cell phone coverage is also unreliable in the area, west of Corinne. Anyone experiencing an emergency in the Jetty area would have to scale to tallest  hill in the area and hope to receive a signal ...

Why does Utah have a 'Hurricane' town?

                                        -Wikipedia Commons photograph, by Ben P.L.

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.)

At least 6 men were living in the territory when the Mormon Pioneers arrived

The Miles Goodyear Cabin, oldest structure in Utah, in a Utah State Historical photograph.

                                              The Miles Goodyear Cabin today.


MOST HISTORIES of early Utah would have you believe that Miles Goodyear was the lone non-Native America living in Utah territory when the Mormon Pioneers arrived in 1847.
However, there may have been at least FIVE others living in the region before the pioneers, bringing the total to 6.
Details on these 5 men are sketchy, but according to a Deseret News article from Dec. 15, 1906, under the headline of: "Utah Legends, Indians, Trappers and Pioneers," ...

-1. A mountain man, Peg Leg Smith was living in the Bear Lake Valley before the pioneers arrived there. He told the settlers many Native American tales about Bear Lake and also operated a trading post at Dingle (Idaho), on the north end of the valley.

-2-3. Two brothers, by the last name of Goodall operated a horse and goat ranch in the Ogden "Flats" area and had to be bought out too, like Goodyear did.
William H. Kimball, Heber C. Kimball's oldest son, was sent by Brigham Young in 1848 to buy out the Goodall's. They apparently had 750 horses grazing on 10 square miles. Kimball moved the horses to Antelope Island ("Church Island"). Although no purchase price to the Goodall's was recorded, they told Kimball that they had secured the land from Mexicans, who had started a mission there.

-4. Barney Ward was also mentioned as another mountaineer who was living in the Ogden area when the pioneers arrived. He dealt in tobacco and liquor sales, products not much in demand by Mormon settlers.

(-In addition, Ogden Canyon supposedly originally contained a dugout and a cabin that was reputed to have been built by Peter Skene Ogden.)

-5. Finally, "Daddy Stump," another non-Indian, was living on Antelope Island when the Mormon Pioneers started exploring the Isle in 1848. That’s also the first mention of the man. Stump, believed to be a mountain man and perhaps also known as a bear killer, had built a small cabin and had a small orchard of peaches on Antelope Island. (from the LDS Improvement Era Magazine of 1907.) 

Daddy Stump has other historical references, as does Peg Leg Smith, but the other three men remain mysterious, with the single mention in history. Sadly, the 1906 Deseret News article did not list its source or sources on the men's existence. But assuming there is some accuracy to the account, then the area was certainly not deserted when the pioneers arrived, as is so often envisioned.

(-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.

Another 'Sardine Canyon' is also found in northern Utah -- Up Ogden Canyon

                                     The late Hermitage Inn in Ogden Canyon.

IT has to be more than a coincidence that both of the Sardine named canyons in the entire United States are located in the State of Utah .... and only some 30 miles apart.
There's the well-known Sardine Canyon along the well-traveled route of U.S. Highway 89, between Brigham City and Logan.
And, then there's the little known and hardly visible Sardine Canyon, located off Ogden Canyon, south of the Alaskan Inn and not far from where the original historic Hermitage Inn was found.
The Hermitage hotel opened in August of 1905. It boasted 25 rooms and cost some $30,000 to build. Soon after, a second story was added to the motel, with another hotel 16 rooms. Horse-drawn buggies carried passengers to the resort before a rail line was built in Ogden Canyon.

Trout and chicken dinners are the specialty of the rustic Hermitage. Boating was also popular on the Ogden area, near the hotel. (Two of the owners' own children drowned in a boating accident there.)
The Hermitage had a short run of some 34 years. An explosion and fire leveled the resort in January of 1939 and it was never rebuilt.
-In fact, the Hermitage received all of its original water from Sardine Canyon, according to the Ogden Daily Standard of Nov. 5, 1912.

William "Billy" Wilson, who built the Hermitage out of lumber in the area, also made a dam in Sardine Canyon to supply his business with ample, yet independent water, according to the Standard of May 17, 1912.
-This other Sardine Canyon was also famous for another event -- it was the site of the first open air (non-Mormon) Christian religious services in Utah. According to the Ogden Daily Standard of May 30, 1913.
Christians from Brigham City to Salt Lake City gathered at the Hermitage and then traveled up the trail to the nearby Sardine Canyon for their outdoor services. 

                    The Alaskan Inn, about half-way up Ogden Canyon.


-Today, part of Sardine Canyon, as well as Sardine Peak, are accessed by a popular mountain bike loop trail.
-The "why" the two canyons have the same name is somewhat of a mystery.  The Ogden Canyon Sardine version is indeed a narrow and small canyon, deserving of a sardine-can type title.
The Highway 89 Sardine Canyon name has a lengthy history that is explored in detail elsewhere on this blog.

        The other Sardine Canyon, along Highway 89, between Brigham City and Logan.

-Historic black and white photos are from "History of Ogden, Utah in Old Post Cards," by D. Boyd Crawford.