Sardine Canyon at the nearly 6,000-foot elevation Sardine Summit. Actually traveling southbound here is where Wellsville Canyon ends and Dry Canyon begins. The real Sardine Canyon is northeast of here.
How that fishy moniker has been affixed to a mountainous area devoid of any truly narrow geography, or fishing areas begs an investigation of history.
That’s especially the case, since today’s highway does not even travel through the original Sardine Canyon of pioneer times.
Various legends peg the Sardine name origin on three different possible sources: 1. That the first settlers ate a lunch of canned sardines in that area en route to Cache Valley; 2. That there were small, sardine size fish spotted in a stream by some of the first pioneers traveling through the area; (1) 3. That there was a narrow section of canyon in the area that inspired the first settlers to affix the sardine title. (2)
What is the truth?
I used to lean to the first explanation, but after further investigation, the only reason that makes sense is the No. 2 possibility. So, it is still a fish tale ...
First of all, a true geographical sketch of the area is in order.
Although place names can eventually become what the general populace calls something, today’s “Sardine Canyon” is not the original Sardine Canyon of pioneer times.
Technically speaking, Highway 89/91, an approximate 18-mile stretch from Box Elder to Cache County, traverses three separate canyons – none of them named Sardine by official U.S. Geological Survey designation, or State of Utah highway maps. The highway departs Brigham City and travels east and north through Box Elder Canyon to the community of Mantua. Next, traveling steeply uphill is Dry Canyon, ending at Sardine Summit (5,899 foot elevation). After a steep downhill segment to Dry Lake, Wellsville Canyon completes the trilogy of canyons into Cache Valley. (3)
It is today’s populace and news media who favor calling all three canyons by the “Sardine Canyon” name that overshadows any geography lesson or official map.
Is there a chance the Sardine Canyon name for U.S. 89 will
ever officially appear on maps?
Barry Napier of the U.S. Geological Survey's National
Mapping Division office in Salt Lake City
once said it's often the case with maps that local
predominant usage over many years can lead
to a nickname being listed on maps.
The road alignment through the area has changed
significantly over the decades. The first Mormon settlers on
the way to Cache County in the fall of 1856 likely traveled
about the same route to Sardine Summit and to about Dry
Lake as we do today. However, then – presumably because
of water sources and an easier route – headed directly east
to Sardine Spring.
Then, they followed the original Sardine Canyon northeast
into Cache Valley and near today’s Hyrum Reservoir and
Mount Sterling Cemetery. That was the original path into
Cache Valley.
The first real road in the area went through the side canyon
that begins just north of Sardine Summit, following part of
the original pioneer route, but then headed east along
today’s Mt. Pisgah Road and into McMurdle Hollow and into
the community of Hyrum. (4)
The first newspaper mention of the “Sardine Canyon” name,
that could be located, was from Logan in the fall of 1880. (5)
A map from Sept. 4, 1878 in the Cache County Surveyor’s
Office, also uses the name Sardine Canyon. (In 1878, there
was a side route possible through Wellsville Canyon, instead
of Sardine, but that was only considered a secondary route
at the time. (6)
A 1915 newspaper article described the experience of
driving a Studebaker “light six” model through the northern
section of the route south into Box Elder County. Mr. L.E.
Dresbach drove the automobile, loaded with five people. It
was previously “regarded as impossible” to make such a trip
in an automobile.
“To Paradise and then west over the Sardine Canyon road
practically in high gear and at the rate of 25 miles per hour
until the top of the cutoff was reached,” it was reported in the
newspaper. (7)
Some decades later – in the 1920s – the next version of
road started about 1,000 feet north of the original pioneer
route. This road wound around the ridge east of Dry Lake. It
is still visible while driving along U.S. 89/91 today. The road,
the first alignment to be paved through the area, eventually
intersected the original Sardine Canyon. Portions of this road
are still paved, but weather is eroding away the asphalt and
sections have been removed. (8)
According to newspaper reports, the second version of the
route to Cache Valley opened in September of 1924, was
24-feet wide and had a maximum grade of 6 percent. It cost
$200,000 to construct this nine-mile section of road, between
Mantua and Wellsville.
This road was also a landmark for the west, marking the
completion of the last link of a highway from Grand Canyon
National Park, to Zion National Park and north to
Yellowstone National Park.
Furthermore, the road with its compact dirt composition and
lower grades, was open in winter much more often than the
original highway through the area. This meant Cache Valley
was not isolated for months during the snow season, but
more like weeks.
“Hundreds of ‘autoists’ who already traveled over the new
road are high in their praise” of the new gravel/hard dirt road,
the newspaper reported. (9)
By the following month, the county believed it had solved
the snow blockage problem in Sardine Canyon by
constructing a special cabin for a winter patrolman who
would live there in the winter and have a ‘two-ton tractor” to
plow the snow. (10)
Despite all the initial praise for the second “Sardine”
alignment, there were serious travel problems in later years.
For example, in January of 1949, this road was closed for a
full month. The winter of 1948-49 was northern Utah’s
combined snowiest/coldest winter season on record. (11)
(Even today’s modern “Sardine Canyon” route can be
plagued by snow and ice. In fact, Sardine Canyon often
makes the news shows, because of periodic winter accidents
reported there.)
The third and final alignment is today's road, built in the
1950s and opened in 1960. It was constructed in part,
because of the shortcomings that the previous road’s
closures in the winter of 1949 highlighted. It traverses down
from Sardine Summit on a straight shot to Dry Lake and
offers a much shorter and smoother route to Cache Valley
than its two predecessors, exiting the canyon into Wellsville.
(12)
By the early 21st Century, this highway had been widened
from two lanes to four.
Now, having established the three variations in the roads
through the area, the examination can now return to the
original query of the name origin of Sardine Canyon and its
three possible beginnings.
In the fall of 1856 the first settlers on the way to Cache Valley stopped near a spring 1.5 miles east of what is now known as Dry Lake today. It is here that one of the legends claim these pioneers ate a sardine can lunch here and hence the name of the greater area more than 150 years later.
Furthermore, some variations of this legend claim that these settlers left the sardine can or cans by the trail near Sardine Spring and so later travelers spotted them and the name was born. (13)
However, did cans of sardines exist in 1856? Could they
have traveled west?
“I think it’s possible,” the webmaster of www.sardineking.com, out of California, stated of cans of sardines existing in Utah in 1856. “I can’t think of why a settler would not have wanted to bring a case of sardines with them if they were traveling by horse and wagon. Canned sardines keep very well.”
Furthermore, it was indicated that while tin cans were
around in 1856, sardines were not canned in the USA until
after that year. So, they would have had to have come from
Europe and would thus be much more rare, than a few
decades later. (14)
(Also, “what if” the pioneers had eaten a different sort of
lunch in the area? How does "Tuna Canyon," or "Steak
Canyon" sound?)
Still, the railroad didn’t reach Utah until 14 years later in
1869. And so, all of the Mormon pioneers prior to the iron
horse had to walk, horse and wagon or handcart some 1,300
miles to Salt Lake City.
Thus, if a pioneer possessed one more cans or sardines
and brought them along, would they have kept them
unopened and uneaten for all 1,300 miles and even weeks
or months after before a future 80-plus mile trek from Salt
Lake to the Cache Valley? That seems unlikely.
They might have saved them in reserve, or as a delicacy for
as long as possible, but logic argues not that long,
In fact, it seems that after several hard winters during the
Mormon pioneers’ early years, all the canned sardines would
Mormon pioneers’ early years, all the canned sardines would
be gone
2. Did the first pioneer settlers headed for Cache County believe one of the canyons in the area between Brigham City and Logan was particularly tight or narrow and hence the sardine name?
Certainly today’s U.S. 89/91 highway alignment offers no
unusually narrow sections. In fact, that’s the main reason
why many have pondered where the sardine name came
from, given the lack of geological support.
However, while the original Sardine Canyon is narrower
than today’s version, it does not appear ‘sardine’ narrow.
An approximate 1910 photograph of the original Sardine
Canyon is contained in the on-line archives of Utah State
University. This picture shows how the stream dominates the
canyon at the time, though the canyon itself is not
particularly narrow, lacking steep walls. (15)
3. Did the presence of tiny, sardine-like fish spotted in a stream along the original Sardine Canyon inspire the canyon’s name?
Several professors of aquatic ecology at Utah State
University lended support to this claim.
“I have heard anecdotally that they (Cache Valley’s first
settlers) saw whitefish (“Prosopium williamsoni”), which
could resemble a sardine to the general public, ,and which
were likely abundant in these areas (and still are in the
Logan River),”
Phaedra Budy, professor and Aqautic Research Ecologist in
the Department of Ecology Center, Watershed Sciences, at
Utah State University, stated.
Charles P. Hawkins, another professor in that Department at
USU, agrees, especially if the water source is perennial, so
that it can support naturally occurring fish. (16)
The first pioneers might have passed by as many as three
different springs in Sardine Canyon – Sardine Spring (which
was the source of year-round water and spawned a stream.
-- “The Pothole Spring” further east; and Hall Spring, a little
further north.
-- In addition, South Grove Spring is located about 1,200
feet north of Sardine Spring and feeds into Sardine Canyon.
(17)
However, water presumably would have been much sparser
in September – late summer – when those first settlers
passed through, than the rest of the year.
Also, since at least 1960, there has been a manmade ditch
draining Sardine Spring, with some underground piping. The
original Sardine Canyon was homesteaded by James and
Margaret Bradshaw in the late 1800s. They had a camp with
milk cows and made butter near Sardine Spring.
The land there is now owned by The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and is part of the Wellsville
Stake welfare farm grazing area. (18)
So, overall, legend No. 3 – sardine-like fish being spotted in
the area – is the most likely possibility of the three.
Also, it should be noted that only one other officially named
“Sardine Canyon” exists in the United States.(19) Strangely,
it is also in northern Utah, located as a side canyon on the
south side of Ogden Canyon, just southeast of today’s
Alaskan Inn (formerly the site of the Hermitage).(20)
This other Sardine Canyon is extremely narrow and since its
beginning is elevated several dozen feet above the canyon’s
paved highway, it is likely often not noticed by travelers.
Since no other sardine canyon name exists in the U.S.,
could these two canyons be connected somehow? After all,
what are the odds that both would end up in Utah and be
only some 30 miles apart?
John W. Van Cott, who authored “Utah Place Names,” cross
referenced the name origin of Sardine Peak to Sardine
Canyon in Cache County, (21)
Why he did this is unknown. (Van Cott died in 2006.)
Sardine Park (elevation 7,485 feet) connects to the other
Sardine Canyon in Weber County, There are also two other
sardine-nicknamed places in that Weber County area, Just
north of Snow Basin Resort –“Little Sardine Peak” (elevation
5,970) if often referenced.
The nearby Ogden River may have also contained tiny,
sardine size fish in it and hence a possibility for that other
sardine canyon name.
Also, “Sardine Hill” (elevation 5,461) is nearby. (22) Today,
this Weber County “sardine” area has its own high
popularity, with a popular mountain biking loop through the
area.
-Photos by Lynn Arave. "Fish" drawing courtesy of Utah State University.
Article REFERENCES:
(1) John W. Van Cott, Utah Place Names (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1990), 331.
(2) Brittny Goodsell Jones, “Sardine Canyon: The name’s a bit fishy,” Logan Daily Herald, Oct. 12, 2008.
(3) U.S. Geological Survey, “Mount Pisgah, Utah” quadrangle map, revised 1996.
(4) Lynn Arave, “What if Cache Valley Settlers had eaten a difference lunch?” Deseret News, March 29, 1993, C1.
(5) Logan Leader Newspaper, Sept, 24, 1880.
(6) Brittny Goodsell Jones, “Sardine Canyon: The name’s a bit fishy,”
(7) “A Studebaker goes …,” Box Elder Newspaper, June 3, 1915.
(8) Arave, “What if Cache Valley Settlers had eaten a different lunch?”
(9) “New Highway is complete,” Box Elder Newspaper, Sept, 9, 1924, p. 1.
(10) “Road to be Free of Snow,” Box Elder Newspaper, Oct. 14, 1924, p. 1.
(11) Kristen Rogers, “Some Snow!! The Unforgettable Winter of 1948-49,” Utah State History, http://history.utah.gov/experience_history/glimpses/winter48-49.html
(12) Arave, “What if Cache Valley Settlers had eaten a different lunch?”
(13) Lynn Arave, “Sardine Canyon has fishy history -- 3 times over,” Deseret News, Sept. 5, 1991, C1.
(15) “View in Sardine Canyon, Utah, about 1910,” Utah State University on-line library, digital.lib.usu.edu
(16) E-mail correspondence with Utah State University’s Department of Ecology Center, Watershed Sciences, Oct. 6-7, 2011.
(17) U.S. Geological Survey, “Mount Pisgah, Utah.
(18) Arave, “Something Fishy about those Sardine Canyons,” Deseret News, Nov. 29, 1983, C1.
(19) Brainy Geography, www.brainygeography.com
(20) U.S. Geological Survey, “Ogden, Utah” quadrangle map
(21) John W. Van Cott, Utah Place Names, 332.
(22) U.S. Geological Survey, “Snow Basin, Utah” quadrangle map,
--ADDITIONAL SARDINE CANYON NAME INFORMATION:
-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
--ADDITIONAL SARDINE CANYON NAME INFORMATION:
(From "Treasures
of Pioneer History” book by Kate Carter, Daughters of Utah Pioneers):
"The Sardine road took off eastward from
the Summit over the present road to Paradise. At a short distance on this road,
the Sardine road took off to the north and wound around the basin rim to a cold
spring of water at the bottom of the hollow. This spring became a favorite
camping place for all those who used this road to and from Cache Valley by way
of Brigham City. The road followed the little valley to the north and then
eastward into Cache valley where Wellsville (Maughan's Fort) was located in September
1856. Later on, water from the spring was used to irrigate the crops in the
little valley and was a water hole for the livestock which grazed in this area.
Robert Baxter, an old freighter from Wellsville and later Hyrum, who hauled
freight between Corinne and Montana and between Cache Valley and Brigham City
and Corinne during the early seventies, states in his diary that the heavy
loads were hauled over the pass west of Petersboro into the Great Salt Lake
Valley since Sardine Canyon was too steep in places. Mr. Baxter is the
authority for the statement that the Sardine road was named Sardine because the
spring was the resting place for the travelers and freighters. In those days
canned salmon and sardines were the main canned foods. Sardine and salmon cans
were always scattered around this camping place. There was not much regard for
sanitation so the name Sardine has stuck to the Sardine Canyon to the present
day."
-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
