FRED FROM REDROCK! St. George, Utah |
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Toll Free: 1-800-429-4466 Cell: (435) 703-1182 |
Frederick III Dumas, REALTORŪ GRI |
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Utah History : Utah's Unique Origins Utah's diverse landscape and elevations vary as much as the average tempratures with the valleys and mountains being cooler and the deserts of southern Utah being very hot with a record temperatures rangely in the 100 degree range on many days. As diverse as the temperature is so is the amount of moisture deposited upon the various areas of the state. The northern climes in the mountainous regions of the Wasatch and Uinta getting the lions share of the rainfall with up to or more than 60 inches in average rainfall. The average annual rainfall is between 10 and 15 inches per year for the entire state. Historic Indians of Utah Similar in lifestyle the Ute, Goisute, Southern Paiute and Shoshone lived primarily by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plant for food. Among the food gathered was the pinyon nut as particularly flavorfull fruit from the pinyon pine tree. The Ute, Goisute, Southern Paiute and Shoshone now live on reservations in Utah, Colorado, Nevada and Idaho although prior to white settlement, they ranged all across the Great Basin and Intermountain West. The Navajo culture was based upon herding sheep, goats, and cattle. Explorers, Trappers, and Traders Twelve years later, in July 1776, at the start of the American Revolution was beginning a 10 man exploration started their journey leaving Santa Fe, New Mexico under the leadership of two Franciscan priests, Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Veléz de Escalante. This expedition would later be known as the Dominguez - Escalante Expedition. The goal of the Dominguez - Escalante Expedition was to discover a route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Monterey, California. The expedition crossed the Wasatch Mountains by way of Diamond Fork and Spanish Fork canyons visiting with the Ute Indians camped near Utah Lake. Early snows forced them to give up their attempt to reach Monterey. The expeditions important members two stand out: Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco and a twelve-year-old Ute indian boy named Joaquin. The map drawn by Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco was the first map of the area. Joaquin, the only Utah native in the group, aided the expedition during their 1,700-mile trip. Two very important historical documents came out of the Dominguez -Escalante expedition. One is the map made by Miera. The other is the detailed diary kept by Father Escalante. In it he describes plant and animal life; geography; and the appearance, dress, and foods of the Ute and Paiute Indians. The Rivera journals, the Escalante diary, and Miera's map are the first documents in Utah history. The 1820s were the time that trappers explored most of Utah's rivers, valleys and some of the desert land. One of the great explorers, Jedediah Smith, made several significant journeys through Utah. His rediscovery of South Pass in Wyoming allowed thousands of immigrants to travel west by wagon during the great mormon wagon and hand cart migration from the eastern United States. The first time the Great Salt Lake was sighted and recorded was by Trapper Jim Bridger in 1824. Fort Buenaventura was established on the Ogden River in 1845 by Miles Goodyear. Mountain mens presence in the area in the 1840s waned as the beaver pelt trade declined in the west. At about the same timeframe the US government explorers and settlers heading for California arrived in Utah. One among the most famous explorers during this time was John C. Fremont adding even more data about the Utah area by mapping trails and describing land, plant, and animal life of Utah's Great Basin. The Mormons subsequently arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 aided by the experiences of the many people who had come before them. Territorial Days The federal government and Utahns had conflicts in the late 1850s. The primary reason for the discord resided in the fact that the government and the Mormons did not trust each other. Presiden Buchanan sent troops into Utah under the command of Albert Sidney Johnston in 1857 up report that Utahns were in rebellion, Alfred Cumming was also named as the new territorial governor by President Buchanan. A peace commission came to Utah in June 1858, meeting with Brigham Young and working out a solution. Disturbed by the troops many Salt Lake Valley residents temporarily moved to Utah Valley in 1858. The federal troops remained in Utah for about three years overseeing the stabalization of the territory under Govenor Cummings. Governor Cumming endeavored to treat Mormons and non-Mormons fairly and equally. He wrote, "A community is seldom seen more marked by quiet and peaceable diligence, than that of the Mormons." Statehood Polygamy still held the country's attention. Congress passed the Anti-bigamy Act (1862), but it was generally not enforced. Finally, in 1887 the Edmunds-Tucker Act brought an end to the church corporation and threatened the survival of all Mormon institutions. Additionally, women, who had the vote under territorial law, did not have the right to vote by this act. Clearly something dramatic had to be done to reverse this trend. In September 1890 Mormon church president Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto. It stated that Mormons no longer accepted polygamy. Next the Mormon church sold some businesses it owned, so they no longer had a business monopoly (muh-NAH-po-lee). In 1891, the Democratic and Republican political parties were organized in Utah. With each of these steps, Utah moved closer to becoming a state. Careful teamwork by Mormons and non-Mormons in Washington, D.C., and positive statements by the Utah Commission led to the passage of the Enabling Act. Signed by President Grover Cleveland, this bill allowed Utahns to hold a constitutional convention and apply for admission to the Union. That convention came in 1895. On January 4, 1896, Utah became the 45th state. Utah women campaigned successfully for the return of their right to vote. They received a full equal rights provision in the new state constitution. |
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