'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.

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.

Back when the poverty-stricken lived on ‘Poor Farms’ and didn’t receive welfare checks

Where the "Poor Farm" in Weber County used to be, where the Heritage Park Rehabilitation and HealthCare Center is located now, at about 2700 West, along 5600 South in Roy.

ALMOST a decade before Roy, Utah even received its name, Weber County had a poor farm in that locality on what was then known as the “Sandridge” or the “Ridge”  …

From the Salt Lake Herald newspaper of July 21, 1887:

“Weber County has bought a poor farm. The farm consists of eighty acres near the Hooper switch on the Utah Central. The purchase is intended to furnish a self-supporting home for unfortunates who may be thrown upon the public charity.”

The original farms encompassed 80 acres and was located just north of what today would be 2700 West and 5500 South (just west of the Union Pacific railroad tracks and east of the Rio Grande Rail Trail). It was purchased for $1,800.

The farm was surrounded by a barb wire fence and included large fields of produce. There was a small house on the property and more buildings were added later to accommodate the occupants, who were often referred to as “inmates.”

 If a person in Weber County could not sustain themselves, then they lived on the farm and worked as much as they were able to support themselves.

Roy, Utah was first settled in 1873, but didn’t even have a post office until 1894 and so the poor farm predated that. Indeed, the first mention of Roy being the community with a poor farm was in the Davis County Clipper on Aug. 26, 1910.

There was eventually a small cemetery on the property and so if a resident died and had no other means of burial, they were interred there. There were likely 25-30 burials made over the decades there, though what eventually happened to the cemetery is unknown.

(The mystery of the cemetery is explored in detail at www.thedeadhistory.com)

                            Another view of where the "Poor Farm" in Roy used to be.

A June 6, 1911 report in the Ogden Evening Standard featured a visit by Weber County and Ogden area leaders to the poor farm in Roy. The leaders were challenged to eat the same lunch as the farm occupants and they accepted the offer. The report from the poor farm cook was excellent and no one went hungry. The poor farm was mentioned as having vegetable gardens and orchards then, but no cattle, though some other poor farms in Utah did have herds too.

 By the early 20^th Century, the poor farm became known as the Weber County Infirmary. A fire in 1921 destroyed the main building on the property. Later, Weber County sold off property and used it to create other facilities closer to Ogden City, than 7 miles distant.

 In 1960, the Weber County Chronic Disease Hospital opened. Then, the name was changed to Weber Memorial Hospital.

By the 21^st Century, the name was Heritage Park Rehabilitation and HealthCare Center.

                  Still another view of where the {Poor Farm" was in Roy (right side.)

(One of my grandmothers, who lived in Hooper, often joked that she’d end up at the poor farm, if she couldn’t take care of herself. Sadly, when her heart began to fail at age 93, she was placed in Weber Memorial Hospital – at the very site of the old poor farm – and she seemed to lament that, before passing away a few months later.

When the facility had transformed to the Weber Memorial Hospital status in the 1960s, it was the closest medical office to Hooper and all of western Roy. I recall visiting a doctor housed there in 1964.)

Salt Lake County also had a poor farm too. It was located somewhere south of Salt Lake City and was mentioned in a story in the Salt Lake Herald on Aug. 25, 1889.

Box Elder County also had its own poor farm, located on 20 acres, with many fruit trees (from the Brigham City Bugler newspaper of Aug. 1, 1890).

Cache County had a poor farm in Logan also (Logan Journal June 8, 1892) and so did Sanpete County in Manti, one 40 acres (Salt Lake Tribune June 7, 1895).

Salt Lake County also used poor farm residents to perform some road work (Salt Lake Times Aug. 31, 1892) to save money on construction and street repairs.

Nationally, there were poor farms all over the country during the same period. 

The poor farms were all gone by World War II, replaced by sanitariums and other facilities. And, then the welfare system came into prominence…

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.

Back when ‘Frankenstein’ terrorized (and thrilled) Clarkston, Utah

Clarkson is just south of the Idaho border in Northern Utah, as seen on the Utah State Highway map.

 “FRANKENSTEIN” is an iconic fictional monster that was first unveiled in a British novel by Mary Shelly in 1818. Decades later, some plays and several silent movies were made about the creature.

Then, in 1931, Boris Karloff starred as the monster in a major Hollywood movie, “Frankenstein” and the fame of the imaginary beast spread.

Clarkston, Utah, a small town northwest of Logan, in Cache County, had its own version of “Frankenstein” too, or rather a “Frankenstein Masquerade” in the 1940s.

These “sightings” sparked both excitement and fear in the community.

(Surprisingly, a detailed search of Cache Valley newspapers in the 1940s found not a single mention of this “Frankenstein.” Perhaps, no one wanted to encourage an escalation of the sightings?)

Essentially, Dennis Griffin, a young teenager at the time, ordered through the mail an elaborate rubber Frankenstein mask. He and friends would take turns in the evening darkness putting the mask on and frightening mostly persons walking alone.

                                           Clarkston, Utah is very rural, even in 2021.

The boys were wise enough to perceive that frightening groups was somewhat dangerous in too many unpredictable things could happen …

One time Dennis was chased by a policeman rushed home, slipped through his bedroom window, and pretended to be asleep.

Dennis and friends only wore the mask – and only had regular clothes on otherwise.

At one point of time in the 1940s, some youth were so afraid of the monster appearing that they would not attend the LDS Church’s MIA activities at night for a time.

Local leaders did receive complaints of the monster sightings, but Dennis’ recollection was that most knew it was youth pranking and looking for a quick scare.

The neighboring town of Newton also heard of the monster and some were afraid it would appear there too.

Dennis only remembers wearing the mask about 4 times. However, he loaned to friends and eventually other, old boys. One of those boys never returned the mask and Dennis failed to ever get it back. Where it went was a mystery.

He recalls some sightings continued into the late 1940s and perhaps even early 1950s – with or without a mask. Some may have been copycats.

Still, Dennis recalls this pranking lightened some of the mood during World War II and even the concern about nuclear weapons afterward. For a small, dull farming town, the sightings also sparked a little excitement.

-As related on Ancestry.com, Dennis Griffin and his wife, wrote an account of his masquerade of Frankenstein, that must go down in history as one of the best on-going pranks ever in the Beehive State.

-Access the full, original report of “CLARKSTON’S FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER OF THE 1940s"

at:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~utcache/clarkston/stories/index.htm

-NOTE 1: It should also be mentioned too that a few decades later, the town of Clarkston might have had a visit by a real monster, Bigfoot? ---  As something both strange and terrible stomped through town late one night in the early 1970s. Some residents were awakened and frightened by weird screams, according to one resident at the time.

NOTE 2: Clarkson is most famous today for its every other year “Clarkston Pageant – Martin Harris: The Man Who Knew” (performed again in August of 2019).

                                                Martin Harris grave in Clarkston, Utah.

 

 

Mount Nebo: The 1920 hopes for an observatory on its summit

                                                                 Mount Nebo.

MOUNT NEBO is the highest peak in the Wasatch Mountains, at 11, 928 feet above sea level. (Actually, it is three separate pinnacles.)
Nebo was mentioned in the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper of March 25, 1920 as being urged to have an observatory atop its summit. This was to be a "Yankee Memorial," to honor the soldiers, sailors an marines of all wars that the United States had been involved in. 
It was also noted that a radio station could be housed on its lofty summit. Having a searchlight, powered by the streams around the huge mountain, was another proposal.
Of course, none of that ever happened, but it had been a dream of George B. Hobbs, a Nephi, Utah resident. (Nephi is just southwest of Mount Nebo.)
Hobbs felt that the searchlight atop Nebo would be beneficial to aviators flying through Utah.
-"Aloft on Mount Nebo" was a March 1, 1920 headline in the Salt Lake Herald newspaper. "Utah peak has beauty of Alps; Grandeur in view," the story stated.

             The view from atop the southern Mount Nebo, where the official trail ends.

After completion of an official trail to the top of Mount Nebo, 82 hikers made it to the summit on August 6, 1919.
The story reported that Nephi residents wanted to make the Salt Creek trailhead and area "a playground" for all to enjoy.
-"Gov. Dern leads party to the top of Mount Nebo" was an Aug. 19, 1927 headline in the Mount Pleasant Pyramid newspaper. The Governor of Utah and many others witnessed the sunrise on top of the lofty peak.
Later in the day, there was a program with the Nephi High School Band and speeches. At evening time, there was a large bonfire and dance by Miss Dorothy Haymond.
Groups hikes to Mount Nebo continued for some years afterward, but never quite caught on to the extent that Mount Timpanogos Hikes did. This is likely because of the lower population base around Nebo, as well as its lack of glaciers or continual streams flowing on its eastern side.

-NOTE that the trail mentioned above and today, only leads to the south peak of Mount Nebo, at 11,877 feet above sea level. The highest of the three peaks is the north one, with access by a knife edge of rocks, or from the east on a severe incline. The Middle Nebo Peak is third highest at 11,824 feet. 

         A photo from the mountain saddle, clearing showing Mount Nebo's triple peaks.

ALL three photographs above are courtesy of Ray Boren.

1856: When Yosemite was first mentioned to residents of Utah territory

                                                                   Yosemite Valley.


NONE can deny that Yosemite National Park is one of the most incredible of landscapes on the planet. And, when did the early residents of Utah first hear of this fantastic place?
The June 9, 1856 edition of the Deseret News had this headline:
"The Valley of the Yo-Semity, California, and its Stupendous Waterfalls."
The D. News received news from the Mariposa Gazette of a visit by J.M. Hutchings and two other men.
The group started their journey from and Indian village in Fresno, accompanied by two Indian guides.
(Yosemite was believed to have been first discovered by non-Indians four years earlier, in 1851.)
The men described their first view of Yosemite Valley as "singular and romantic" and that "we were almost speechless with admiration at its wild and sublime grandeur."

                                                 El Capitan.


They noticed the "Captain," as it was called by Native Americans (and eventually to be titled "El Capitan." This was a 2,800-foot-tall slab of granite.

                                              Bridalveil Falls.

Opposite of the granite monolith, was a "magnificent waterfall about seven hundred feet in height." (This was likely Bridalveil Falls.) Passing further up the Valley, they noticed more immense walls of rock, one looking light a lighthouse, with pine trees forests all over the area.

                                           Yosemite Falls.

Next, they noticed an even taller waterfall, some 2,200 feet in height -- and they declared it the tallest in the world (definitely Yosemite Falls).
Later, they noticed a third spectacular waterfall, this one about 1,500-feet-high (Perhaps Vernal Falls).
The men said trout, grouse and pigeons were all plentiful in the Valley.
(NOTE that Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in the U.S., but not the world, though in the 19th Century, it was believed to be No. 1.)
-In the summer of 1888, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that one of its correspondents has visited Yosemite. He boasted of 350-foot-high trees and of a 2,000-foot-tall waterfall, highest in the world, as printed in the Aug. 24, 1888 edition of the newspaper. This is the first report of someone from Utah actually visiting Yosemite.