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Show OMS No 102-4-001 fl. NPS Forrn United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. §_ Page ~ Price Main Street Historic District, Pr ice, Carbon County, UT the north-south corridor of the \\lasatch Front, but soon communities \Vere established in regions in the central and southern areas of the tenitory, as well. As a largely agrarian culture, the LDS settlers prefened areas that were \Vell-\vatered and advantageous for raising food crops and livestock. The \Vasatch Front and central valleys of the tenitory, such as the Sanpete and Sevier valleys, met these criteria, and early settlements were establisl1ed in these feTtile areas. "Missions" or settlements were also established in less favorable environments, such as the desert southwest comer of the tenitory and the Uinta Basin to the east, but not until the 1870's did Morn1on pioneers begin settling eastern Utah in relatively large numbers. By the time of the death of the LDS prophet and colonizer Brigham Young, in 1877, the more fertile parts of the tenitory had been colonized, and the systematic pattern of settlement established by Brigham Young had largely run its course. For tenitory residents or later immigrnnts seeking land or less-crmvded conditions 1han the earlier settlements afforded, opportunities existed mainly in the less-favored regions, and thus it was that some of these adventurous individuals settled in the Price River Valley, beginning in 1877. Jn contrast to the well-planned grid-like town planning of the earlier Mom1on communities, early Price-area residents settled along the Price River, where \vat er could be readily obtained for crops. Within only tYvo years, however, the completion of the first railroad in Carbon County 1 altered the character of the region, and instead of an isolated fam1ing community, Price quickly became a planned community with regular streets, and rapidly rose to also become the dominant commercial center in the area. The discovery of coal in the mountains north, east and west of Price prompted the construction of the first railroads in the region. The Utah and Pleasant Valley Railroad, organized in 1875 and completed in 1879, connected Utah Valley with Pleasant Valley, northwest of Price. Jn 1881, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad proposed to construct a line through the area to connect Denver with Salt Lake and Ogden. Consequently, the D&RGW purchased the Utah and Pleasant Valley Railroad, and in May, 1883 anived in Price \vith much fanfare. The railroad made the extraction and transpo1iation of coal from the region commercially viable, and Castle Valley Junction, as Price \Vas then known, experienced its first economic boom as an important regional transportation hub. The railroad and coal-mining industries significantly shaped the development of Price as a community, from the early settlement years into the latter half of the 20 1h century. With the coal mines and railroad came immigrants from many countries, pmiicular]y Italy and Greece. While most lived and \vorked in the mining towns, or "coal camps," some became merchants and businessmen and established themselves in Price. Early immigrants also included a number of French, who were mainly sheepherders and \Vool growers. The business district was the center of activity for railroad workers, coal miners, and other transient inhabitants, most of whom \Vere not Mom1ons, while the more pennanent residents tended to be Morn1on fanners and ranchers. However, the two groups learned very early to tolerate one another, and cooperation became a hallmark of Mannon and non-Mannon relations in Price. 1 Emery County originally included what is now Carbon County. Carbon County was created from th€ northernmost portion of Emery County, in 1894. |
