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Show United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Liberty Wells Historic District (Boundary Increase) Salt Lake County, Utah Name of Property County and State Developmental history/additional historic context information (if appropriate) The development of the Liberty Area occurred in fits and starts related to land uses and technological advances. From its beginning as an agricultural area used to support the population of the city's developed downtown area to a collection of streetcar suburbs that sprang up after trolley lines reached outlying lands, the ebbs and flows of the Liberty Area's development were strongly tied to outside forces. The Liberty Area shares much of its history with the existing Wells Historic District. The nomination form for the Wells Area presents a complete developmental history of the area vii. To avoid redundancy, the history common to both the Liberty and Wells areas will not be repeated here. The history presented below will consists primarily of information that is unique to the Liberty Area. Farms and Fields (1847 to 1870) In the mid-nineteenth century, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons, emigrated from Illinois and headed west, seeking self-sufficiency and freedom from religious persecution. On July 22, 1847, the Mormons arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, where they camped at what is now known as First Encampment Park, located in the existing Wells Historic District. Shortly thereafter, the Territory of Deseret and the City of Zion were established, known later as Utah and Salt Lake City, respectively. Within a few days of the pioneers' arrival in the valley, the basic layout of Salt Lake City was in place. The city was laid out in plats designed in a grid of 10-acre blocks and eight lots in each bock. viii,ix The original plat for the city extended as far south as 900 South. The area to the south of this was platted in much larger lots of between 5 and 80 acres and was commonly referred to as the Big Field. The Big Field, which encompasses the Liberty Area, was designated primarily for agricultural activities to support the residents living in the developing heart of the Salt Lake City. The smallest lots in the area, those of 5 acres, were to be located in the northern portion of the area closest to the platted portion of the city and were to be used by "mechanics and artisans." x The larger lots, which were platted in 10-, 20-, 40-, and 80-acre parcels, were to be allocated to farmers, most of whom lived within the platted city but farmed in the Big Field. xi One of the Big Field lots was assigned to Isaac Chase in 1847. Chase established a farm and grist mill on the property. xii The mill was the first grist mill established in Utah and provided Salt Lake City residents with flour. xiii The current mill building, which is still extant, was constructed in 1852. xiv Chase also built a two-story adobe house on the property in 1853 and 1854; the house is also still standing. xv A spring was located near Chase's property and contributed to the growth of a grove of locust trees on the farm. xvi The locust grove gave the farm its name, as the farm was referred to as Forest Park, Locust Patch, and Mill Farm during this period. xvii Chase's property is now encompassed by Liberty Park. In 1850, Salt Lake County's boundaries were expanded. xviii The Compromise of 1850 granted territorial status to the recently established communities in the region. This status was welcomed, and many considered it a step toward statehood. The new territorial government, however, experienced difficulties and obstacles to statehood from the beginning. Tensions between the Mormon leadership of the Utah Territory and the federal government escalated, eventually leading to the Utah War in 1857 and 1858. The federal government sent new officials to Utah to replace the vii Murray-Ellis, 2009. Alexander, Thomas G. Utah, The Right Place, The Official Centennial History. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs-Smith Publishers, 1996. ix Sillitoe, 1996. x McCormick, John S. The Gathering Place, An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2000. xi Ibid. xii Haglund, Karl T. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Liberty Park. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah State Historical Society, 1979. xiii Ibid. xiv Ibid. xv Ibid. xvi Ibid. xvii Ibid. xviii Sillitoe, 1996. viii 21 |
