Short history of the Uintah Basin, Utah

Typescript history of Utah's Uinta Basin, including exploration and settlement, relations with the Ute Indians, establishment of Indian reservations, and the development of mining in the basin. A bibliography follows.

F\()jcl ,\. () 'l~ l ~D~ C. \hom?son A SHORT HISTORY OF THE UINTAH BASIN, UTAH The Uintah Basin is an elongated depression with an east-west axis. Uplifts on the south and north lead to upland and even high mountain areasc Geologically, the Uintah Basin is one of the most interesting in the nation with such features as Split Mountain, Gilsonite dyke veins, and Dinosaur National Monument with its yield of ancient fossil remainsc The area has an unusual pattern of watersheds. The Green River flows into the basin from the north through the Uintah Mountains in a rough and dramatic area. It is the only major supply of water into the basin from another geographic area. The Green River is also the only source for the exhaust of water from the county, and indeed the entire Uintah Basin. Two important tributaries of the Green River flow from the east, the Yampa and the White Riverse The White River rises in the Colorado Rockies and empties into the Green in Uintah County (see map). The largest tributary of the Green River is the Duchesne River which joins the Green near Ouray, in the west--central port.ion of the county. other water courses are of importance: Several the Uintah and Whiterocks Rivers, Rock Creek, Yellowstone River, Lake Fork River, Strawberry River and dozens of creeks. Several deposits of minerals and petroleum are to be found in the Uintah Basin.. Gold, silver and other mi.nera·ls associated in both quartz are to be found in north-eastern Uintah County, coal in the Uintah and Duchesne Counties, gilsonite veins reaching irregularly across the Basin in an east-west axis, oil and natural gas in several places, and copper 2 in the west-central part of Uintah county near the Green River. Asphalt has been mined near Vernal, and some deposits are found elsewhere in the area. Sand and gravel of high quality are in great abundance, and stone of high quality can be quarried, although, little has actually been utilized. Potash deposits have been extensively developed in the northern portion of Uintah county. Some minerals of lesser importance are also to be found there. The Uintah Basin was and is the homelandrof the Ute Indians. (See map) A small group of Ute people called the Uintah-ats occupied the area. Subsequent events moved far more Utes to that location, however. Several bands of Utes were in intimate contact with the Uintah-ats. To the eastward were the Yamparika and the Parianuc (now White River); to the west were the Tumpanuwac and the Cumumbas (now Uintah). To the south and southeast were the Taviwac and Sheberetches (now Uncompahgre). Among these groups there was regular association which was close and friendly. Intermarriage was very common, and it was.also common for the various groups to get together for celebrations such as the Bear Dance. 1 The first of the Europeans of record to enter Uintah County were a group of explorers from Santa Fe, New Mexico under the direction of Fray Atanasio Dominguez. In the party was an excellent diarist, a priest from Spain named Velez de Escalante .Z The party passed through the county from east to west in mid-September, 1776, using a Ute Indian as their guide. The party was attempting to find a route to the newly founded capitol of Alta California, Monterrey. The priests ~ C"i .. . . UINTA .. . . ... .. . . .. .. . . . ~L'\TS e ID e. ... . . YAMPARIKA (White Rivers} .. UMPANUWACHE .z. PARIANUCHE 0 ~ ~ UNROMPAHGRE Tabegauches) 0 -:>~ ••• . II ~ PAHVANT .. 0 CAPOTE MAU CHE HUNTING GROUND . .. . ...... . . . . . . . . . .. . . APROXIMATE LOCA""ION OF .. BANDS .. and their party spent time with the Utes at Utah Lake and met others (Pah-vants) further south. (See map) After this initial visit deep into the Utes lands, pressure to visit and trade grew stronger. Spanish officials forbade trading in Ute territory; it was carried on without official sanction. Indeed, there were instances of trade in Ute areas as early as 1712, and Governor Pedro Fermin de Mendinueta forbade the trade to all under r his jurisdiction in 1775, only a year before the Escalante expedition.~ Thus we see that Spaniards may well have entered what is now Uintah County before Escalante's journey. How far into the Ute territory the illegal trading extended is not known, but twenty-two persons were tried for violating the law against trading with the Utes in 1797 alone. traveled in Ute cguntry for three months in 1811. Jose Rafael Sarracino In 1813, Mauricio Arze and Lagfs Garcia took a party of seven men to the Sevier River Qand Utah Lake where they traded for twelve slaves and 109 pelts. The members of the party were fined for their infraction. '-/ The first intensive use of the Uintah County, Utah area was in the 1820s when fur trappers and traders came from the east and the south.5 Etienne Provost was in Utah in 1824 on a trapping expedition, and may have been in the Uintah Basin. Provost, and indeed many men of French ancestry, operated out of Taos and Santa Fe into Ute country for over two decades, regularly from 1824 to 1844, and even beyond that year. & The Anglo-Americans came into Utah almost simultaneously with the 5 Missouri-French New Mexico-based Americans and their Spanish speaking fellows. The Anglo-Americans came into Uintah County in 1825, under the command of William Henry Ashley. There Ashley and his men met Etienne Provost who helped the Ashley party to the Weber River. Soon a stream of trappers came to the Uintah area. "In 1831, for example, Denis Julien, a trapper who had been in the employ of Francois Robidoux in 1827, inscribed his name on a rock near the Uinta. Along a route that trappers would take to Fort Robidoux (in the Willow Creek drainage, south of Ouray, Utah), carvings on a cliff side reveal the names of Juan Valdes, 'B. Chalifou' (who must be Jean Baptiste Chalifoux), and F. R. B., and a name tha!= looks like 'Acosta.' All were carved in May, 1835!1 Kit Carson was often in the country. He trapped on the Green River in 1831, spent the winter there in 1833-4 in a fort near Ouray and was there at least twice in the 1840s. ~ Antoine Robicj.oux constructed Fort Robidoux or Fort "Uinta" near the present site of White Rocks in the winter of 1837-1838. The Robidoux brothers had traded in the Uintah country before that time, and had established two forts in Ute territory, one on the Uncompahgre River in Colorado and the other in present-day Uintah County. The post became a mecca; not only was it the first white settlement in Utah, but it was the only place of white habitation in a vast domain. Many famous visitors came: Marcus Whitman and Joseph Williams of Oregon fame, Rufus B. Sage, John Charles Fremont, and a very long roster of those who were engaged in the fur trade. Almost forgotten is a trail from Oregon to Santa Fe which was used by Whitman and Williams on their return to the United States in q 6 1842. Williams left a short description of Utah's first settlement as they passed t~rough. We reached the fort about 2 o'clock (July 10, 1842). We had to wait there for Mr. Robidoux about eighteen days, till he and his company and horse drivers were ready to start with us for the U.S. This delay was very disagreeable to me, on account of the wickedness of the people, and the drunkenness and swearing, and the debauchery of the men among the Indian women. One morning I heard a terrible fuss, because two of their women had ran away the night before. I tried several times to preach to them; but with little if any effect. Mr. Robidoux had collected. several of the Indian squaws and young Indians to take to New Mexico, and kept some of them for his own use. The Spaniards would buy them for wives. This place is equal to any I ever saw for wickedness and idleness. The French and Spaniards are all Roman Catholics; but are as wicked men, I think as ever lived. No one, who has not, like me, witnessed it, can have any idea of their wickedness. Some of these people~t the fort are fat and dirty, and idle and greasy./u · Probably a less prejudiced view of Fort Robidoux was left by Rufus B. Sage: Robidoux's Fort is situated on the right bank of the Uintah • . . The trade of this post is conducted principally with. the trapping parties frequenting the Big Bear, Greeri, Grand, and the Colorado rivers, with their numerous tributaries, in search of 'furbearing game. A small business is also carried ort with the Snake and Utah Indians, living in the neighborhood of this establishment. The common articles of dealing are horses, with beaver, otter, deer, sheep and elk skins, in barter for ammunition, fire-arms, knives, tobacco, beads, awls, eac. The Utahs and Snakes afford some of the larges and best finished sheep and deer skins I ever beheld, --a single skin sometimes being amply sufficient for common sized pantaloons. These skins are dressed so neatly as frequently to attain a snowy whfteness, and possess the softness of velvet. They may be purchased for the trifling consideration of eight or ten charges of ammunition each, or two or three awls, or any other thing of proportional value. Skins are.very abundant in these parts, as the - - - _ 'it..1...!LJA IJi - G....__ _ 7 r Uintah_ Agency eFt Thornburgh 1882-1884 Ft. Rob I doux • 1837-1844 •vernal 1876 •Ft. Duchesne 1886 ·I EARLY SETTLEME~TS IN UINTAH COUNTY l \O -. ·······---~} SCALE: COUNTY LINE STAT!! LINI! RIVERS I ? Drawn ........ .....-... --- I j By Suaan l!arn•haw ----- --- .,.__.. - - - - - --.. / 8 natives, owing to the scarcity of buffalo, subsist entirely upon small game, which is found in immense quantities. This trade is quite profitable. The articles procured so cheaply, when taken to Santa Fe and the neighboring towns, find a ready cash market at prices ranging from one to two dollars each.$1 The fur trade of the mountains was at its zenith for only about 25 years. As the prices of fur declined in the 1840s, the Ute Indians were paid less for their furs and hence became increasingly vexed in their relationship with the fur trappers. In 1844, the Utes burned Fort Robidoux while its owner was in New Mexico. time. The interest in fur trapping was not great after that Jv The general disruption that attended the Civil War destroyed trade systems. By the time the war was over, the white settlement of Utah had begun. The Mormons had completed their initial trek westward, and their impact upon the Ute lands was permanent. Al- though the Mormons did not enter and explore the Uintah Basin until August, 1861, their presence along the Wasatch front in central Utah was felt by all of the Utes in the area. As the concentration of new settlers grew, Indian people were displaced. Utes began raiding the farms and ranches. Because the The first armed conflict to beset the new settlers in Utah was an extension of the struggle for food. The Walker War lasted for only a few months. were defeated and sued for peace in 1854. The Utes The white settlers looked for a more permanent solution to the problem. /~ In 1860, several communications with Washington, D.C. indicated the desire 6f the residents to have the Indians moved to a reservation. 9 The Indian Agent for Utah in 1861, Henry Martin, recommended that the Uintah Valley be made into a reservation. Before he would agree to this decision, Brigham Young sent an exploring party to the Uintah area. The group reported unfavorably on the area for further Mormon expansion: "Uintah not what was represented." The exploring and surveying party ... have returned with a very unfavorable report .... The fertile vales, extensive meadows, and wide pasture ranges so often reported to exist in that region were not found.· ... The amount of land at all suitable for cultivation is extremely limitedl4 Following the decided Mormon rejection, Martin telegraphed the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the reservation was established by the Executive Order of President Abraham Lincoln on October 3, 1861. Congress confirmed the designation in May, 1864. The Utes now had a reservation, but they would not move. The officials of the federal government attempted to convince them to 0 go, but because the Uintah area was colder and less productive than their homeland, resistance began. As the white population intensified, the food supply became a crisis. Violence erupted into a new war. fought from 1864 until 1869. The Black Hawk War was During the course of the fighting, negotiations were carried on to remove the Indians. Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Utah, O. H. Irish, and Brigham Young carried on treaty talks with the Utes in June of 1865 at Spanish Fork. By the terms of the treaty, the Utes would occupy Uintah Valley in return for money, supplies, schools, and government assistance. The treaty 10 was not ratified by the U. S. Senate, and the war dragged on. Finally the Indians were defeated; under a new leader, Tabbyto-Kwana (child of the sun)~ they were removed to Uintah. The new reservation included a western portion of what is now Uintah County. The first two attempts to found an agency were in Duchesne County, but the final place chosen was White Rocks in the western portion of Uintah County. JS The first three agents were unable to succeed in creating order and progress among the defeated and demoralized Utes. 1871, John J. Critchlow arrived to take control. In February, He was a mari of great resolve and worked with skill and determination for more than twelve years. At the end of his term in office, the Uintah Agency was a permanent and viable institution. During Critchlow's tenure at the Uintah Agency, the expansion of the borders of the Mormon settlements occurred. One of the new "Mormon" communities was Ashley settlement. The Ashley Valley already had settlers when the Mormon group arrived. Pardon Dodds who had served as the first Agent of the Uintah Agency in 1869, had established a ranch there in 1873. William S. Powell was also there. A few others had drifted in, but the discernabie Utah pattern of Mormon settlement emerged in 1877 and 1878.1(.p The new settlement had a difficult time in 1879 and 1880. hoppers nearly ruined all of their crops. Grass- The neighboring White River Ute Indians in Colorado rose in rebellion against their agent, killed him and part of his staff and fought the U.S. Army, causing alarm in 11 Uintah. Further, the winter was so cold and the snow so deep that stock froze to death and emergency parties had to be sent out to bring in food. By 1880, several dozen families had moved into Ashley Valley; the territorial legislature ~ecognized ment and created Uintah County. as well, at that time. J the success of the settle- Uintah included Daggett county, ~ After the White River Ute Indians were quelled in their uprising in western Colorado, the people of that state demanded that the Utes be expelled. The Uintah Valley Agency was chosen.as the site. In 1881, several hundred angry, remorseful Utes were transferred, with most of them going to Uintah County. In the same year the federal government established a new reservation for another band of Utes who were expelled from Colorado, even though this band was guiltless of any violence. The Uncompahgre Utes were given a major portion (approximately one-half) of Uintah County as their reservation.lg(See map) With the influx of the new Indian population, the federal government decided to found a military post. The original site chosen was at the present location of Ouray, and was called Fort Thornburgh in honor of the commander of the U.S. Troops who had been killed by the White River Utes two years earlier in Colorado. The troops were immediately across the river from the Uncompahgre Utes. forage, and the fact that the agent at the new agen~y The lack of considered the soldiers a moral threat to the Indians caused the Fort to be moved to 12 ...::::"-···· ····. ' '1~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ iK ~ ~ ~ Cl> Cl.. c:(') rt t-'• 0 'p 0 1-h .c . Cf.! I-' 00 00 I-' \ 13 Ashley Creek. In both locations the fort survived only three years. It was never very important to either the Indians or the settlers on Ashley Creek. J q The new Uncompahgre Ute Reservation was remarkably unsuited as a habitation for the newly dispossessed Utes. Their homeland had included the. high San Juan Mountains in the Silverton, Colorado area. were called the "Switzers of America." They To be moved to the remorseless desert from their former surroundings spelled certain failure in the government's attempt to make farmers of the Utes. Neither of the groups who were transferred from Colorado were pleased with their situation. between the Utes. Further, inter-group strife broke out This, coupled with the increase in white settlement, caused the War Department to found .... a new fort. Fort Duchesne was founded in 1886 by Major F. W. Benteen, of fame in the Custer Affair ten years earlier. The fort was to be on the Duchesne River. It was misplaced, but the location was a good one. With the area secure, the settlements in Ashley Valley grew rather rapidly. Along with the growth of Vernal, the county seat, several settlements grew at a slower pace: Naples, Maeser, Jensen, Halls- ville, Glines Ward and other small farming and ranching settlements. The Ashley settlements soon acquired the marks which were characteristic of the Mormon pattern: one larger town in the valley, smaller towns using the central one as the cultural, religious and economic center. The Mormon wards were developed to roughly conform with the political boundaries, with a Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day 14 •\'f!lc'''"_._ 15 Saints founded at Vernal July 13, 1886 dividing Wasatch Stake at Heber, Utah to make the new ecclesiastical division. The founding of enough wards and giving the status of a "Stake of Zion" gave the residents a certain acknowledgement of their success in settlement. Although late in the Mormon settlement pattern, the location was remote, and to move to this new status in less than ten years was a tribute to the efforts of the settlers.~() Transportation has been a major problem~for Uintah County. The settlers in the 1870s used the torturous road over the Uintah Mountains to Fort Bridger and the Union Pacific Railroad for most of their freight and mail. A very long and rough road went from Salt Lake City to Provo to Heber City, and thence over Daniel's Summit into Uintah country by way of the Duchesne River. I In 1881, the U.S. Army improved the road from Park City to Fort Thornburgh as a supply route. Also in the same year, an improved route over the Uintah Mountains was built by Judge William A. Carter and the U.S. Army. Judge Carter and General Crook worked jointly, and army crews worked on the road in 1882 and 1883. The high elevation made the road extremely difficult in winter. :;;;- \ The Army again helped to build a route into the Uintah Basin in 1886. This new wagon road led from Price, a new station on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway which had been completed in 1883. The road was built and improved to provide access to the newly - founded Fort Duchesne. (See map) For· many years, the route from Price was used for mail. The mail WYOMING -·-·-·-·~·-·-·--·--·-· ··--·--·-- ·--·--· . . . . . . . . . ·--·-----j---·J 9 I l I .I oHallsville White rocks • 49 Ashley F 0~ee .~ l . ~ UINTAH f IN DIAN I RESERVATION -i Jo I~ ·o :0 • )> f 8 i J 'UNCOMPAHGRE , , INDIAN ~· ,~ Uintah Basin 1880s ~,~ ;1 . UTE RESERVATION l .I rt ------~~~~~~~------------.. ...... O'\ 17 route was transferred to Salt Lake City when trucks were introduced on U.S. Highway 40. Many changes occurred in Uintah County because of the discovery of a hydrocarbon mineral called gilsonite. Although the presence of gilsonite was well known in the 1870s, it was not until the 1880s that Sam Gilson and Bert Seaboldt publicized the material and found uses for it. To the dismay of the developers, they found that their mineral find was on the Uintah Indian Reservation when Agent T. A.. Byrnes ordered them to leave. Congress for relief. They solved their problem by appealing to On May 24, 1888, Congress removed a triangular "strip" of about 7,000 acres from the eastern border of the Reservation. ~he removal required payment of Utes. ..,""'.,..._-,.,......,T..,, ~20 pe~ ac~~ ~~~ ~~~ -s:-s:- - . -- r'\4= - - t-1-~o Reports were made that the Indian people were bribed with trinkets and whiskey so they would approve the agreement. In September, 1888, the first portion of the reservation was removed from Indian control. As this land was being acquired, larger veins of gilsonite were being discovered on the Uncompahgre Reservation to the southeast. A second attempt to get Congress to open the Reservation was foreseen. The first of the mining camps was built on the Strip. Stories still abound of the lawlessness and immorality of the place. federal territory again but not under the j~risdiction It was of territor- ial or county officials, and the only federal officers in the area were restricted to military posts or Indian reservations. abounded. Lawlessness Major James Randlett referred to it as the "location of a 18 tough class of squatters. Men and women without means of existing z~ except gambling, selling whiskey to Indians and prostitution." The lonely soldiers at Fort Duchesne only one and one-half miles away were often in difficulty for spending time there. At least ten murders were committed there in the first few years. 5 Demand for the gilsonite ore for use in varnish, paint and casting soon grew to 300 tons per month, most of which was taken to Price, Utah by wagon to be shipped on the railroad. The discovery of the largest of all the gilsonite veins, the "Cowboy Vein" in the White River area caused great excitement in the area with the people of Uintah Bas.in expecting a large influx of population and a railroad. Once again the ore was on Indian land. During the 1890s, the people of the area sent constant requests to Congress and the Secretary of the Interior for the opening of the Uncompahgre Reservation. Benjamin Harrison's Secretary of the Interior, tlohn W. Noble, and Grover Cleveland's man Hoke Smith refused to open the reservation. Smith, who was a Democrat, was a great disappoint- ment to the people of the Uintah Basin. They celebrated his leaving office in 1896, shortly before the end of the Cleveland administration. When D. R. Francis became Secretary, he had too short a time to deal with the problem. The rights of the Indians to the minerals was only a minor problem to the residents of the Uintah Basin, but to the federal officials it was a matter of alienating land which was given to the Indians only a few years before. Further, the Indians and the per- 19 sonnel of the Bureau of Indian Affairs were adamant that no more mineral exploitation be allowed at the expense of the Indians. In 1895, Indian Agent for the Uintah-Ouray Agency, James F. Randlett, received instructions from the Secretary of the Interior to begin allotting land in preparation for the opening of the Uncompahgre reservation to white settlement. Commissioner Hoke Smith could not have conceived that in the two million acres, not one-tenth of the tiny band of Indians could be allotted. simply was not agricultural. The land When it was seen that it was totally impossible to give farms to the luckless Uncompahgres, the lands of the Uintah Reservation were opened to ·them. To this action the Uintah Utes especially reacted; their lands were being given to other Indians. The Uncompahgres were to pay $1.25 per acre to the Uintahs, but they objected that they had to do so. The agents and representatives of the government were upraided and cursed by the illtreated Indians. To no avail. The government had its way; the allotments were to be completed by April 1, 1898, and all lands not allotted was to be opened for settlement. The process was not completed that soon. A few scattered homesteads were filed for along the White River, but these white settlers soon failed and moved from the scene. Strangely enough, the gilsonite lands were reserved by the federal government until they could decide how to dispose of them to the advantage of the government. The eager miners were not to get into the veins on the Uncompahgre until 1903. At that time locators from 20 a decade earlier were recognized, and the rest sold. Much fraud and litigation accompanied the opening. As the Indians were dispossessed, there were scattered incidents of violence, but most of the rancor was taken ·out in bitter denunciation of white men and their sense of justice. The military force at Fort Duchesne was too strong for armed protest. The excitement over the opening of the Uncompahgre Indian lands to mineral development, plus the opening of small mines on the Colorado side of the border, led to the speculation about a railroad. The largest of the mining companies, the General Asphalt Company, or as it was usually called the "Barber" Asphalt Company, began a survey in 1903 to determine if a railroad could be brought over the Book Cliff Mountains from the Grand Junction, Colorado· to the new mineral develop-.. ments. Using an old wagon road part of the way, the survey showed that the road was possible but hard to operate and maintain. The Uintah Railway Company was founded in November, 1903. It was a Colorado Corporation and several of the principals were closely connected with the Denver & Rio Grande Railway with which line the Uintah was to connect. Most of the rails, ties and rolling stock was purchased from D&RGW. The rails were mainly used ones which had been torn up from an abandoned D&RGW line. The line was only 55 miles in length, and was an extremely slow and difficult line to operate. However, with the remoteness of the mines and the value of the ore being shipped, the Uintah Railway was an economic success. of building and equipping the line was about $1,750.000. The cost O••: ~ Fl - ---~ _!{~_:__--Vi~ 1'\ c:l/i ... ,~ ·: ··;;,· ,,., "~\~:;: ); SP'°"_,,,..,_. I·; -- CC'·· /i -- L_ _ _ _ _ / ' .:/ ------1I •' / ' - ~·~~~:~~.:~: '""'"""--) ;:;J /'' \ -.. . ~"' ;J - I __) ' . I f'J)·u:·n~ . \ \ ) -::;-. . ~ '..[~·-'.••• , ., . . ~"'~ . '°".. ./ l --; J'-"-~···, I ( j ,, \.... ( ··--~ ( •,. \.•loc' fl'"" ,,,_J ~ ""'' .•no 0 !g / 0~Hi'J<'i"' JUNCTt('l'J f'::t:I"-<: .'1"1 t " I "·" I" :::::iio and the UTAH - COLOR/-\DO RAILROAD PICTURE 1 during the 1920 8 ' I ' ~so~..... r.J L_~ !"'}; crov...ri t; DAv:::: w BP ..~i...'N Fet.:rJtHy 1c1, 197tJ \ '••-- - ,.....f-,...-GUNNiSON-~.-·· ( .J.,GC ..., \ovra1 .,. \ -!\~ \ . ......, j"• ,~Jt\ \ "'O~- .... ~~ C<><•' .... :::; ; ""'' "''\", • \ "-· V<J'.)<O'< ·1 C-1 ··~ ,l~::·::· ~~ -· ''"" .,..,... ""'·· i ,i, '"'L ~ '·1..~5ALID;. ',' -,_c•• '·. • '•'_; iP.''"'' \ , . ··- ..,., .,,(~=--=·· \"' . W", < •.. ):: "'-" -=-:0-:::::""' \ \ 01• \ er'. l -----.,.. '-,:..,·•-r4••"'! ·- .'«, .... - '._,..,., ~· " j 1,, I ~' / '··-~' \ ) / i -- ' ~,,A;-\,_u~ ~'\__ -,~:--:;:.) ~· • . -·-- - --1l__ __ ___ --~ - -liEW.. · '' . J - i ·MFXICO l :-~ . .C:. r \I ~ / ' ' ~J' ... ) \ ..- ... '. . ., ·---------... J l !t".rt . ' " '°\".'C:"< Gr . . > . LEGUl!i st:indYJ ;1oug~ nc'"r; w Q-'JJ~e '"'·;;::~ ·, \G.,.-., ···r· •--~>-O'-~' Co-v_,•~ ,ri.•. , ..... ,.,. . .. "" ;''':'.'. ' • ' ' .. ..r- . "'"l . ·:.~'.'~::~;)'_·;:_. ~:e·, ""- :.t:",'JEC )~~ ·:: - . . ~/ \ o:i:k, \)/ ....... /~ "'~'; '?-'''"" < ........ c:----I-;f---. ./ V '--'-~~..-~-- , . ,. L!; ----;;>_,__ I' -Ji!:"'· .. ~ .(:-;,:.:._c~-.-">:-'\,..!. __,, - '-----._j···r "~'•• ~t;; .~ 1 YG----\ :·----' ( '""' ,.! \'?~fAD\Oi..LE (- \ I THE Uli\JTAH RAILWAY ~_/\. c r r;11:ec. ;-----.._- ~ ~·, ·' "· ·" . Q; I . 11 ~ ~,,_: \ 1· \"··,, 0$'.~) \ ,• .•• ' Scu;g'> -..... -·-··--··-··----·····--/ . II .. ,, , --~ ,-----," ' . -· '"- J I /. - ' ~~-3:<J.~Ooo" y THE UINTA4_E8/LWA - ,;.-- - , .A~,-,-~ yI /,;.._"Q-~7' 1-,.. . I -----r-- -- '[_ )\_!.)"'""''"• "( I WtDAiltfl-_ .. r11 Y r .?~, \• .,,, .,;, (' .. ~·-· · - -·---~ - t; ' - ' \·\ / '» ,,, .. , ; " Formlroolcr. r~ 22 As soon as the Uintah Railroad was finished in 1904, the Uintah Railway Company took its crews and began building bridges, roads and ferries to connect their north terminus at Dragon, Utah, with a toll road to Vernal and Fort Duchesne. The roads were completed in 1905. A man named Joe Goff built ferries across the Green River near Ouray and at Alhandra, a few miles south of Jensen, Utah. The company charged from $2.50 to $3.50 to use the toll roads from Vernal or Fort ,~ Duchesne to Dragon, the railhead. stage coaches along the line. /)( in the line's history. The company operated horse drawn These were changed to motor cars later 0 . . , __";;I I Freight, toll and passenger stations with telephone and telegraph service were inaugurated at Ignacio, Bonanza, Kennedy's Hole, Alhandra, Chipeta and Ouray. These stations were usually operated by one family. As the new railhead proved to be a success, especially with the connecting stagecoach line, the mail contract went to the Uintah Railway Company, and the Price Wagon road was not used for that purpose · again, although a great voltime of freight continued to be hauled over the route. The United States government decided in the 1880s that the Indians should be a1otted small farms, and that tribal existence should end. Congress passed the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887. The Uncompahgre land were lost early, but the pressure of the white population caused the government to begin the process of opening the Uintah Reservation in the late 1890s. The Uintah and White River band resisted any attempt by the government. The federal officers went ahead with land and water L .. -- .~~--;:·;;-··--· ·--··-.-)-· ·--··~·· -- ··~ ··-·--·· --..,~ WYOMING GREAT SALT M N · · OSalt Lake RE.SERVATION ,~~ ~() ~ ' ~ /..... ~ Ft. Duchesne .:::> Independence ·o • 0 r- 0 :ti ·- _:· > _·-:;·~--, 0 0 UINTAH RAILWAY ANO CONNECTIONS s:::.::J TOLL ROAD +-t- RAILROAD CIRCA 1908 1 surveys. The Indians were then asked to vote to allow their reservation to be opened. They steadfastly refused. In desperation, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs sent his best negotiator, James McLaughlin to deal with them. In a series of meetings at White Rocks .tJ~. .~·+- in 1903, McLaughlin failed, evenAhe res~rted to bribery and to counting the votes of children. Congress saw the situation, and passed an act opening the reservation, in spite of the Ute attitude. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Uintah reservation open to white settlement on July 14, 1905. There had been a few settlers on the Uncompahgre, but a flood came to the new lands of the Uintah Reserve. The northern end of the reservation, the South face of the Uintah Range was made a part of the National Forest. The Indians were outraged and furious. In 1906, 700 left the reservation and traveled to South Dakota where they attempted to make an alliance with the Sioux. in 1890. They were in desperate poverty and too poor to offer the Utes hospitality. army.. The Sioux were defeated at Wounded Knee In 1908, the disspirited Utes were escorted home by the So forcefully was the truth of their defeated condition driven home, that by 1912 the U.S .. Army could abandon Fort Duchesne. Utes were then forced to deal with Civil Authorities The .J- ~- As the opening of the Reservation was a disaster to the Utes, it was a boon to many land-hungry white£. took up the lands. White settlers very rapidly By the fall of 1906, moie of the Uintah Basin then could be farmed had been taken as farms by the new influx. abandonment rate was very high in subsequent years. The 25 In the newly opened area towns and small farming conununities were born very rapidly. In Uintah, Lapoint, Tridell, Bennett, Leeton, Alterra, Independence, Wilson, and later Ballard were founded immediately after the opening of the reservation and Leota was founded in 1917: three settlements established by the Federal Government - Fort Duchesne, Randlett, and Ouray - all received new population. The expansion into present day Duchesne County was even more rapid. New communities at Alonah, Antelope, Midview, Arcadia, Bryant, Bonita, Bluebell, Blumesa Crescent, The Basin, Cedarview Montwell Monarch Cataract, Duchesne (at first-Theodore), Fruitland Hayden Hanna, Harper (now Nine Mile), Hartford Hyland, Ioka, Juanita, Lakefork, Mt. Emmons, Mt. Home, Myton, Neola Palmer, Roosevelt, Tabiona, Talmage Utahn, Woodbine and Deep Creek. So rapid was the growth that the Mormon Church was able to establish a stake in 1910. 0 branches were In nearly all of the farming 'communities wards or organized.~l The State Legislature created Duchesne County from part of Wasatch County in 1915. A struggle ensued ove~ the location of the County seat between Roosevelt, Myton and Duchesne. Duchesne was named County seat, Roosevelt was to get the first High School and Myton got nothing. Roosevelt and Duchesne have become.the centers of commerce for the county. The county's economy soon developed around farming, grazing, government employment and some mining, especially gilsonite. Because of the distances involved to markets and to centers of commerce, transportation has been and is an unusual part of the economy of Duchesne 26 and Uintah counties. The farms have not tended to be single cash crop units, but usually diversified family farms with stock raising as an important part. T='~'?"~~···••·"~""'""""·"'.":'::'.:::.;:,:;::.::.:;~;".'.'."';::;~:;.,::.;:,:::_:::,~.:~----·--_:·:. · ,,., -·--. ···- - - - - - · - - ---------------·· :.:___;_: __;;_;_;,:_.:_ ___ ,;;_..;__:_~.c:__:_c~.• --·;_,;;__;;_;,.;_ _ ________:.;;___ .:..:.·.::.:.:.. ..::::.;.:.;:::.:.:•.:'.•.::..:.:..:.'."::.:;;;:;:::'.:;::;:;::=··-=;;.;,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; The two tracts of land known as U-a and U-b were originally a part of the area occupied by the Ute Indians. They were taken from the Utah Utes in 1865, in a treaty signed by the Indians at Spanish Fork, Utah, but never ratified by the United States Government. Payment for the land was given through a United States Indian Collirt of Claims settlement in 1951. The land was given back to Ute ownership in 1881. were given the land were from Colorado, however. The Utes who The land was made a part of the Uncompahgre Reservation by an Executive Order of January 5, 1882. Uncompahgre Reserve EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 5, 1882 It is hereby ordered that the following tract of country, in the Territory of Utah, be, and the same is hereby, .withheld from sale and set apart as a reservation for the Uncompahgre Utes viz: Beginning at the southeast corner of township 6 south, range 25 east, Salt Lake meridian; thence west to the southwest co"rner of townsh~p 6 south, range 24 east; thence north along the range line to the northwest corner of said township 6 south, range 24 east; thence west along the first_ standard parallel south of the Salt Lake base-line to a point where said standard parallel will, when extended, intersect the eastern boundary of the Uintah Indian Reservation as established by C. L. Du Bois, United States deputy surveyor, under his con~ract dated August 30, 1875; thence along said boundary squtheasterly to the Green River; thence down the west bank of Green River to the point where the southern boundary of the said Uintah Reservation, as surveyed by Du Bois, intersects said river; thence northwesterly with the southern boundary of said reservation to the point where the line 27 between ranges 16 and 17 east of Salt Lake meridian will, when surveyed, intersect said southern boundary; thence south between said ranges 16 and 17 east, Salt Lake meridian, to the third standard parallel south; thence east along said third standard parallel to the eastern boundary of Utah Territory; thence north along said boundary to a point due east of the place of beginning; thence due west to the place of beginning. ~ CHESTER A. ARTHUR. , Because the land was so unsuited to the uses of the Uncompahgre Utes, and because the land was deemed valuable for mineral deposits a bill in Congress was enacted on August 15, 1~94 to allot the Uncompahgres and to open the reservation to homestead and mineral entry. The allott- ment went very slowly, and the land was not placed back in the public domain until March 3, 1903. This act only allowed claims if they con- tained no asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite or other like substance except in odd numbered sections - so half of the area was opened and intense mining operations be~an. Following the opening of the Uncompahgre Reserve, the new mass of ore made building a railroad a viable option. Developers from the "gilsonite companies and the Denver, and Rio Grande Western Railway joined to build an independent line from Mack, Colorado to Dragon, Utah, one of the newly opened mines. The same investors built telegraph and tele- phone lines to Vernal and Fort Duchesne as well as toll roads and stage lines to those points. The first station north of Dragon was at Ignacio, on the White River. While the stage stop and bridge were being constructed, the stage went down Evacuation Creek, but had to ford the river several times to get to Wagon Hound Canyon and the road. ~· ~ .. At Ignacio, several small ' ~··· 28 buildings were built to accomodate ticket office, dining room, bedrooms, and a corral and storage barn for a change of horses. The remnants of this facility remain, but in poor condition. They are a good example of the type of architecture used in this part of the late frontier. The Bureau of Land Management is currently preparing documents asking that the area be preserved. The area to be preserved should not be large. In the 1920s as the population intensified, a one-room school was ,.. operated there. But as automobile traffic r·emoved the necessity for the stage stop, the school was abandoned. Homesteads were taken in tracts U-a and U-b. very unfavorable to agriculture. The locations were The improvements may have been made in hope that minerals would later be found. In November 1923, George E. Pope was given deed to site 1, (see map): the north 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of section 14 - range 24, east Salt Lake Meridian (see attached entry). A cabin was built there in the early 1920s. The cabin was made of cottonwood logs with no concrete or stone foundations and fell into disrepair rather quickly. At site 2, the land was deeded under homestead entry to Eugene Pope on May 18, 1923. The east 1/2 of the southeast quarter section of section nine, township 10, south range, 24 east Salt Lake Meridian, Utah (see attached entry). At this location small cabins were also built and some attempts at agriculture were made. 29 At site 3, the land was deeded to Edwin J. Longhurst on November 5, 1921 under a homestead entry. The description is: The northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 17, township ten, south of range 24, east Salt Lake Meridian. At this location cabins and corrals were built and some farming was done. The land appears adaptable to farming if the waters of the White River were controlled. duration. The use of the site as a farm was not of long The area is now used for grazing. Adjacent to this homestead was one given to Gerald Hunting, issued on the same day, November 5, 1921. This homestead entry contained: the east 1/2 of the NW 1/4 and the south 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of section seventeen in township 10, south of range 24, east Salt Lake Meridian. (See attached entry). Here too, farming was done. Cabins remain but the area is now used for grazing. At site 4, the Ute Oil Company bought the land from the federal government, sometime in the 1920~. It is not farming land. owners have held it for mineral and oil exploration. Various (See attached entry). The area of the U-a and U-b tracts is not of great historical significance. The Ute Indians traversed the White River area and a few allottments of land were made to Uncompahgre Utes up and down the White River from the tracts. None were made within the tracts themselves. The area was never a central camping ground or place of particular cultural interest to the Ute Indians. To the non-Indian population the area was seldom sought for any purposes other than economic ones. The 30 lack of a hospitable environment has made the section a relatively lonely spot. 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY Manuscript Materials Bancroft, H. H, "Bancroft Scrapbook of Materials Collected· in the. Preparation of Various Pacific States Handbooks, 1860-64.'' (microfi~m), Vols. 27 & 28 on Utah Counties. Commercial Club, Vernal, Utah. "Available Land for the Homeseeker in the Great Uintah Basin, Northeastern Utah." Vernal Utah: Vernal Express Print, 191?°. Gates, Susan (Young), 1856-1933, "Utah Woman in Polit.ics. 11 16p., n. p., n. d. "· Historical Records Survey, Utah. "Inventory of the County Records of Utah, No. 24." Ogden, Utah: mimeographed, 1940. 11 ·Tyler, Samuel Lyman. of New Mexico." Yuta Indian Material in the Sp-anish Archives n. p., n. d. Writer's Program, Utah. Geological Wonders of Utah. City: 1942) ·, mimeographed, 78pp. (Salt Lak~ Newspapers Deseret Evening News. Dec. 17, 1910.· Roosevelt Standard. Roosevelt, .Utah •. 1955. Salt Lake Tribune. Sunday Magazine Edition. Salt Lake Tribune. May 18, 1938. Salt Lake Tribune. Sunday Magazine Edition, Dec. 5, 1948. May 6, 1950. Periodicals and Journals Huff, Gerald A. "Mining an Unusual Mineral. 11 Vol. 20, No. 2, (Spring, 1970). Our Public Lands, Kay, J. LeRoy. "The Tertiary Formations of the Uinta Basin, Utah. 11 Annals of the Carnegie Museum, XXIII (1934). Periodicals and Journals "Stanolind's Search for Oil in the Vast Uintah Basin." (October, 19 52) • Works Progress Administration. 32 Utoco-Torch Today's Work (1935). Athearn, Robert G. "Opening the Gates of Zions Utah and the Coming of the U. P. R. R." Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 4, (Fall, 1968). Douglas, Earl. "Geological Trip into Uintah Basin." Review, March 15, 1920 and April 30, 1920. Salt Lake Mining Emmons, S. F. "Descriptive Geology: U. S. Geological Exploration 40th Parallel." U. S. Geological Survey_, Vol. 2. "First Missionaries, Trappers and Traders of Uinta Basin." Historical Quarterly, Vol. 9. Utah Hansen, Wallace R. "The Geologic Story of the Uinta Mountains." Geological Survey Bulletin 1291. Kinney, D. M. "Geology of the Uintah Riverbrush Creek Area, Duchesne and Dint ah Counties, Utah." U. S. Geological Survey Bullet in 1007. Kneak, Albert H. "Uintah Basin and Its Irrigable Government Lands." The Railroad Red Book (January, 1917). Marsh, O. C. "On the Geology of the Eastern Uinta Mountains." American Journal of Science, 3rd Series, Vol. I. Owen, Tom J. "Land Management in Action • . • One District's Job." Our Public Lands, Vol. 12, No. 4 (April, 1963). Palmer, Edward (ed.). "Notes on the Utah Utes," by R. F. Heizer. Anthropological Papers, No. 17 (1954). Pedersen, Lyman C., Jr. "Early Penetration of the Uintah Basin." Journal of the West, Vol. II, No. 4 (October, 1972). "Plans Studied for Prospecting 140 Mile Line Extention in Utah." Green Light, Denver and Rio Grande (May 1960). Powell, J. W. "Report on the Geology of the Eas t.ern Portion of the Uinta Mountains and a Region of County Adjacent Thereto." U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey Territories. Wash., D.C.: · G.P.O., 1876. Reagan,. Albert B. "Summary of Archaeological.Finds in the Uintah Basin i:n Utah." Utah Academy of Sciences Proceedings, Vol. X (1933). . . fllr"·' Periodicals and Journals 33 Reagan, Albert B. "Anciently Inhabited Caves of the Vernal (Utah) District, with Some Additional Notes on Nine Mile Canyon, Northeast Utah." Transactions Kansas Academy -of Science, Vol. 36. (1933). ''Some Notes on the History of the Uintah Basin in Northeastern Utah, to 1850." Proceedings of Utah Academy of Sciences, Vol. XI (1934). "Forts Robidoux and Kit Carson in Northeastern Utah." ---New Mexico Historical Review (April, 1935). Sears, J. D. "Yampa Canyon in the Uinta Mountains, Colorado." Geological Survey Professional Paper 374-1. U. S. Standing, Arnold R. "Through the Uintas, History of the Carter Road." .Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 36 (Summer, 1967). "The Uintah Land Opening." Decernber, 1905). American Monthly Review of Reviews (July- "Uinta Railroad (Uintah)." Colorado Magazine (May, 1935). nuintah Basin Rich in Pre-Historic, Ancient and Modern History." The Vernal Express, n. d., n. p. "Utah Issue." Arizona Highways Magazine (1947). Walhquist, Loreen P. "Memories of a Uintah Basin Form." torical Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Spring, 1974). Utah His- Walton, Paul Talmadge. "Geology of the Cretaceous of the Uinta Basin, .Utah o" Structure of the Uinta Mountains. N. Y.: 1944. Winchester, Dean E. "Oil Shale of the Uinta Basin, Northeastern, .Utah, and Results of Dry Distillation of Miscellaneous Shale Samples." U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin. Collett, R. S. "Roosevelt in the Uintah Basin." Book (January, 1917). Public Documents U. S. Statutes at Large. U. S. Government Documents. Serial Set. The Railroad Red Public Documents 34 U. S. Dept. of the Interior. Indian Lands Uintah Reservation, Utah. 57th Cong., 1st Sess., January 28, 1902, Sen. Doc. No. 154. Uo S. Dept. of the Interior. Opening of the Uintah Indian Reservation in Utah. 58th Cong., 2nd Sess., February 15, 1905, Sen. Doc. No. 159. U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Surveys and Examinations of Uinta Indian Reservation. 57th Cong., 1st Sess., June 19, 1902, House Doc • No . 6 71. U. S. Dept. of the Interior. Uintah Indian Reservation. 1st Sess., April 13, 1897, Sen. Doc. No. 32. 55th Cong., U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Report of the Exploring Expedition from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Junction of the Grand and Green Rivers of the Great Colorado of the West, in 1859, under the Command of Capt. J. N. Macomb, Corps of Topographical Engineers with Geological Report by Prof. J. S. Newbe"£!:Y· Wash., D. C., G.P.O. U. S. BIA Planning Support Group. The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation: Its Resources and Development Potential. Books and Pamphlets Arrington, Leonard J. From Wilderness to Empire; The Role of Utah in Western Economic History. University of Utah Institute of American Studies No. I. Salt Lake City, Utah: Univ. of Utah, 1961. ~Bancroft, Hubert Howe. History of Utah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1964. Beal, Merrill D. Intermountain Railroads, Standard and Narrow Gauge. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1962. Beebe, Lucius. Bender, Henry E. California: Narrow Gauge in the Rockies. Berkeley, California: Uintah Railway: The Gilsonite Route. Harnell-North Books, 1970. 1955. Berkeley, Bilton, Ronald Davis. Diane's Autobiographies and Other Personal Documents in Salt Lake City Repositories. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1968, 2nd Ed. Salt Lake City: Univ. of Utah, 1971. Blanch, George T. A Study of From Organizations by Types of Forms in Uintah Basin, Utah. Utah State Agricultural Experimental Station Bulletin 285, Logan, Utah: 1939. Books and Pamphlets Alter, J. C. In the Beginning. 35 Salt Lake ·City. Utah, the Storied Domain, a Documentary History of Utah's Eventful Career, Comprising the Thrilling Story of Her People from the Indians of Yesterday to tEe Industrialist of Today. Chicago and New York: The Am. Historical Society, Inc., 1932. Carter, Kate B., Compiler. Bibliography of Utah Writings and History. Salt Lake City (?): Utah Centennial Commissions, 1947. , Compiler. ---Daughters of Heart Throbs of the West. Utah Pioneers, 1939-51. ___ , Compiler. Our Pioneer Heritagee of Utah Pioneers, 1958, Vol. I. Salt Lake City: Salt Lake City, Daughters r Creer, Leland H. The Founding of an Empire; the Exploration and Colonization of Utah, 1776-1856. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1939. Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Early History of Duchesne County. Compiled by Mildred Miles Dillman. Springville, Utah: Art City Publishing Co., 1948. Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Uintah County. Builders of Uintah; a Centennial History of Uintah County, 1872 to 1947. Springville, Utah: Art City Publishing Co., 1947. Dwyer, Robert Joseph. The Gentile Comes to Utah: A Study in Religious and Social Conflict (1862-1890). Salt Lake City: Western Epics (1971). c Fay, George E. Land Cessions in Utah and Colorado,. by the Ute Indians, 1861-69. Museum of Anthropology, Miscellaneous Series, No. 13. Greeley, Colo." Univ. of Northern Colo., 1970. Froiseth, Bernard Arnold Martin. Froiseth's New Sectional and Mineral Map of Utah. Salt Lake City: 1878. Gillin, John Phillip. Archeological Investigation in Nine Mile Canyon. Salt Lake City: U of U Press, 1955. Gottfredson, Peter. History of Indian Depredations in Utah. City: Press of Skelton Publishing Co., 1919. Salt Lake Hafen LeRoy R. Old Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles. Calif.: A. F. Clark Co., 1954. Glendale Harris, William R. The Catholic Church in Utah, Including an Exposition o~ Catholic Faith by Bishop Scanlan. Salt Lake City: Inter-Mountain Catholic Press, 1909. Books and Pamphlets 36 Hunter, Milton R. Utah, _the Story of Her People, 1540-1947: A Centennial History of Utah. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1946. Jorgensen, Joseph Gilbert. The Sun Dance Religion; Power for the Powerless. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, i972. Judd, Neil Merton. Archeological Observations North of the Rio Colorado. Wash . , D. C • : G.P.O., 1926. Kneale, Albert H. Indian Agent~ Caldwell, Idaho: Co~ton Printers, 1950. Kretchman, Herbert F. The Story of Gilsonite. American Gilsonite Co., 1957. Lambert, Roy. High Uintas, Hi! Salt Lake City, Utah: Kamas, Utah: 'The Author, 1964. Livingston, E. Jeffery. Industrial Bibliography of Utah. Boulder, Colo.: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 1969. Lyman, June and Norma Denver, compilers. Edited by Floyd A. O'Neil and John D. Sylvester. Ute People, An Historical Study. Salt Lake City, Utah: Uintah School District and the Western History Center, University of Utah, 1970. McConnell, Virginia. Ute Pass: Saga Books, 1963. Route of the Blue Sky reople. Denver: McLaughlin, W. W. Agricultural Reconnaisance of the Uinta Reservation, Utah State Agricultural College, Agricultural Experiment Station. [Bulletin No. 93], Logan: 1903. Miller, David E. Utah Historial Atlas. Salt Lake City, Utah: 1968. Mitchell, Ceanne. Uintah County, Utah: An Economic Study. Salt Lake City: Bureau of Econ. and Bus. Research, College of Business, Division for Economic Development and Research, Center for Economic and Community Development, Univ. of Utah, 1968. Morgan, Dale L. Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1953. Nelson, Roger R. A Tourist and Recreation Feasability Study of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Salt Lake City, Utah: Univ. of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research, 1965. Pratt, A. Glen. ~ock Art of the Uintah Basin. Uintah Standard, 1972. Roosevelt, Ut.: Utah.State Documents 38 Utah State Road Committee. "General Highway Map, Uintah County, Utah. 1• Salt Lake City: 194 7. Utah Dept. of Employment Security. Duchesne-Uintah Daggett Counties. "Industrial Patterns as of September 30, 1947 ." Allen, Richard Cardell. "Governor George H. Dern and Utah's Participation i·n the Colorado River Compact, 1922-1933." Thesis, U of U, 1958. Anderson, David W. "Sedimentology of the Duchesne River Formation (Eocene-Ogligacenen?) Northern Uintah Basin, Northeastern Utah. Ph.D. Dissertation, Salt Lake City, 1973. Barber, James V. "The History of Highways in Utah from 1847-1869." Thesis, U of U, 1949. Barnhardt, Michaei T. "Tate Qua.ternary Geomorphology of the Bald Mountain Area, Uinta Mountains~ Utah." Thesis, U of U, 1973. Batty Donald M. "History of Early Roads and Freighting in the Eastern Uintah Basin, 1672-1920," Thesis, USU, Logan, Ut., 1970. Bennion, Milton L. 1932. "Highway Development in.Utah." Thesis, U of ·U, Borgquist, Erasmus S. "Report of E. S. Bergquist, Water Connnissioner of the Uintah Basin for the Year 1915." Thesis, U of U, 1915. Bracken, Lynn E. 1928. ''The Economy of the Ute Indians. 0 Bringhurst, Newell George. Thesis, U of U, 1967. Thesis, U of U, "The Mining Career of George H~ Dern.'* Burton, Lloyd A. "A Geographical Study of the Alkaline Soils of the Duchesne-Roosevelt Area." Thesis, U of U, 19,70. Byrd, William D. "Geology o.f the Bitriminous Sandstone Deposits, Southeastern Uinta BaS'in, Uintah and Grand Counties.Utah." Thesis~ U of U, 1967. Calef, Wesley Carr. Uinta County.'' "Land ·Associations and Occupance Problems in the Ph.D. Dissertation, U of U, 1948. Cagier, Stanford O. "The Life of William.Henry Hooper; Merchant Statesmarl.11 Thesis, U of U, 1956, ,"'.. Crook, John G. 0 The Development of Early Industry and Trade in.Utah." Thesis, U of U~ 1926. ii ., 39 , Utah. State boctllnents ': · -~ . . Davis, H. c1yde. "Geology of the Culver Gilsonite Vein of Duchesne :. County, .Utah. h ' : ThesiS, BYU, 1952 • ·: ' { Davis, Leland J. "The Characteristics; Occurrences and Uses of the Solid Bitumens of the Uinta Basin. Utah," Thesis, BYU.; 1951. Grogger, Paul Karl. "Glaciation of the High Ui.ntas Primitive Area., Utah. With Emphasis on the Northern Slope.'' Ph.D. Disser.ta.tioi;i·' U of tlt 1974. .: .Gross, Larry T. Stratigraphic Analysis of the Mesaverde Group, Uinta Basin~ .Utah." Thesis,. U of_ U9 1961.'. Hammond, Jay M. ''A Survey 0£ the History 0£ the Road Construction ,, Indus tty in. Utah." . : Thesis~- BYU, · 1961 •. Justesen, Osmon. "Early Day Iron Mining in.Utah Based Upon Source Material Dealing with. Utah I.ndustrial History!' Thesis, U 0£ U, .,, }· . "': 1918~ . ' - :··.· ' Kinsman, Leo Lynn. 11 A Geographic Analysi~ of Factors Contributing td · Changing Population Patterns in Uintah County, . Utah, 1950:...65.'' Thesis, BYU ~ h969 }·;'if. ~- · ·~ ' ~ .'""° t. .1:r. • ·•. 1 ;ii ' Maxwell, Theodore A. "Paleohydro1ogy and Depositional Environment of the buchesne "·:l~i River Formation heari.-; Roos_eveit, Utah!' Thesis, ~· t· r. · ' J ~· -r ·. .··~ .~· u ,_ 0 .. f tJ ' 19 3 3 i' . -• ' ' . ' Murany, Ernest E. "subsurface.Stratigraphy of the Wasatch Formation 1 the u:lnta Basint· Utah." Ph.D•:_Dissertation, U bf U, 1963. l I j ,, "' '' Nelson, James V. nThe Environment of the Vegetation of the Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones ·in. the·.Uintah Basin.u ,.Thesis, U of U, 19~3 ~ · ...,.. '" . Oakes, Dertnis E. "The Role of Vernal in the Prosperity of Uintah Couii.ty, •• Thesis, U of U t 197.3 i ·· ' O'Neil, Floyd. "A Histrry of the.Ute Indians of .Utah Until 1890.• " Ph.D~ Dissertation, U of u, 1973. · l -) . 'l.t'. Reeder, C1arence A. ''The History of Utah Railr?~ds, 1869-1883. •• . Ph .Dt Dissettation,. U o:t U, ,1970. · 1, ' '-i 1'.. : · Remington~ Newell C. · "A His t.ory of the Gilsonite Industry." · Thesis, U of Ut ~ \ 1959.. · · ·..: .; ··'~.~,. ' ·' 1 • 1. - ••• R.ichie, El~anor Louise. "Spanish Relation_s.with ¥tita Indians, 1680-" 1822 ~ii Thesis, U of Denver;. 1932, 1/i~'<'/.·, ; \ ' ,f .- :.~ 'Ji : ~: .. ,, .• ::- "' J .·'i'1 < • Utah. State Documents · · 40 Teller, George H. "Sedimentary Features of the 'White Quartzite• in the Western Uinta Mountains, .Utah." Thesis, U of U, 1956 i · Thompson, William D. "Stratigraphy of Black Shale Focies of Green River Formation Eocene, Uinta Basin, .Utah." Thesis, U of U, 1971. Thorum, Reho F. "Railroad Development in. Utah; 1869-7'9. 0 Wisc., 1936. Thesis, U of Van Deventer, Bruce R. "Petrology of the Moenkipi Formation (Early Triassic) Uinta Mountain Area, Northeastern Utah.'' Thesis, U of Ut 197lh Vaughn, Rodney L. "Sedimentology of the Dakota Formation (Cretaceous), Uinta Mountairts~ Northeastern.Utah.": Thesis, U of U, 1973. Wahlquist;. Wayne L. "An Economic Geograph y of Oil and Natural Gas in the Uintah Basin; . Utah." .Thesis, BYtJ, 1961. Williamson, Charles R. "Carbonate Petrology of the Green River Forma· tion (kocene), Uintah Basin, .,Utahf~nd 1Colorado. ft Thesis, U of U :i: ~ .· . ', ' ·.:.1?,,:;>:t:f~!~ii~',;f . ·, ' t•)~·;· ·-.; I '•'· . " ' ~ ' './.. f .: " ,.. 41 o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o !:~!!:!EX· ;;:n try IJo. 0117 TP.:~ Vernul 1)0432 UIJIT:rn ::TNI11·~S OF Mt'-:RIC:\, T0 .1\I,T, '~O ',/10!.1 'l1I'!:·::;E ?l\i·::)i•:11T;:; JHl\LJ,·.'~01.l:·; r.!\i·:i~'L1 1HG: '.'fll~-:Hi~AS, a. Certlfi.cuto of the Rep:iuter of t'he LtJ.nd O!'fice ltt Verm,1, Utnh, htLS been de1)osited in thn Oonor~l Lnnd Office, wherebJ it appauro that, ~ursuunt to the Act of Conrres£ of l~Y 20, lnG:~, "To Becttre }!orneBtoncls to Actual Settlers on the Pnbl ic l)omuin", r.1.nd the uote oupJ'llc• mentul thnreto, tho clrtim of Geor~o B. Pope hua been estobli~h~d, und duly consummuted in con- law, for the .formity to I~orthwcst quurter of the llortlmost C1nnrter· of ~iectlon ~1 ourtccn and the l!orth-hulf of tho r:orthonst quarter und .tho ttorthEJnet quarter of the Uortll\'test 1unrtor of ::cc-· tion Fifteen in Tow11shi:p Ten South of Runge Twenty-four F.~st of the 3alt Luke Ueridiatt, trto.h, oontuininr: one hnndred }Jixty acres, 11ocord1nt? to the 0fnc1n1 \ Fiat of the dnrvey of the ouid T,,nnd, returned to tho General Land 1 0ffice by the surveyor•r.enorul: l!CY'f lJl(l'f y~.:, ir tho tr~1ct of Jhl'1? uuove described: TO HA"!:·: Atrn TO HOLD the so.it\ tract of Lund, wit;h tho uppurtA1w.ncc~ I: ·rhat there is, therefore, fn·unted bs tho United :.:lt:itos unto tl~c· mdd cJ[,tmant I• I thereo1. un.to the sa.id clubmnt nnd to the he ire c.:·<i. nssig-ns of 'bl".e said cluirt i. ~ :·r ..r- ever; enh,1ect to t,r,:,- vn1t11: l.!;.:.1 ·...:~cruod \'/uter rir1'ht8 .for ml_rtinp,, ugricultural, !)1anuftic.:tm·l111-7 .... I or other purpoeos, nnd rights to ditches and ror.orvoirs usecl in connP.ctton witf. such ·\·mte1· ri;:h~.o, ;~s rnu.,v bd recop:nb;ed and ackno·;1ledP.'f!d by the lo'cu.1 cuutoms, laws, urn1 d.ecb!i.)ns o.:..· courts; Hn<l tho re is reserved from the lands hereby or c.~.111.ln ~ranted ti. ri~ht of v10.:r thereon f0r cl 1 tc.:hoe conr.ttucted by tr.e authority of tho United :.antes. Also oxoeptinf· ttt1d roi.:crvin1· to tl10 Fnitt'!u ~3tu.tes alJ the oil und BUS and nl'l slir~le or other rock vuluo.ule HS n source of petrolen~:1 ,,n·d nltto1;en in the l~tnds eo pl.:l.tente.J. und to i't, or peri::ono nuthorlzej uy 1.t, tl.e ri,:"l:t to pro~poct for, mine, nnd remove Euch deposits from the enme upon compliunce with the co~dl­ ): tions nnd l:uuject to tho provision!3 o.nd limitations of the Act of July i7,1914 (:?O ~3tnt.C·YJ) • .1 .-~ [i1 ?l·::~";.'TT~f'.\UY ·rr:·:?."!OF., I,. Co.Jilin Coolidp:o, 1'rcelfont of the United :itutee: of AmerictL, !.·.,vc crn1L"!.'cl tJwce lcttere to be mnde Pnto.nt snd the f:tHl.l of tho dencrul Lbnd O~ficc to bo hc)rc111:1to uff'b:ed. · r:rvr·m uncler my hund, at the Cit,y .of ;'/o.shinp.-ton, the 1iwent:1-scventh day of IJovembnt· in tl:e your of onr Lord one thouf:nnd nine hunrJred Llrid Twonty-thrco und of tho !nuuru11clencc tif the Un l tod :au toa tl1e ono hundred und Forty•e ip.llth. · Dy the freai~~nt: ClllVin Coolldeo (Sr:.i\!,) By Viole. D. Pni)h •. !~n<.:rotury, u. P. LoRoy, Rooordar of tho Connrul L~ntl Offioo. ,R:~t!OHD1~ ): :rr.. tan t ?llod for record . ~ .. I 'I Uurnbe r Junu~ry 924 71'1 19th 19~4 ut 1:30 r.u. . __'\N_;i..;::..;N:::.;:~==::;..· =:::....-~....:~::;._,..,..:.J..A..l..3-;....;:;::=-:\--9.,,=-----RnClordcr. o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o ,.I . Entry .No. 63624 5 ''l. ·~I vG~n.:i ,• ~ !!'.!'.!U!! THE UNITED. STA'rES OF 00121 · AlA.~RICA . t I . TO ALL TO WHO!! THE3E PRESENTS SHALL COMB GREETING: '1 '. \Vhoreaa, a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at v;:rnal, Utah, has been deP.oe- l ited in the Goneral Land Office, whereby it appears that, pursuant to the Act of Congress of j ! May 20, 1862, ·"To secure Homesteads to Actual settlers on the J;u.blio Domain,'~ and the acts eup- r · plemental there to, the claim of Eugene Pope has been extablished and duly consummated, in oon··-·:· · oorm.1 ty to law, for the I" Eaet-hnlf of the South-oaet quart~r of Section Nine and the West-half of the I South-west quarter of section Ten in Township Ten South of Range Twenty-four ~net of the salt Lake J.leridia.n, Utah, containing one hundred sixty o.cree, according to the Official Plat of the survey of the said Land., returned to the General Lnnd Office by tho surveyor-General: . NOW KN0\7 YE, That tho re is, therefore. granted by tho Uni tod Sta. tos u·nto the said claimant I I '.the tract of Land above described; TO HAVE AIJD TO HOLD the said tract of Land, with tho appur- tenances thorco:f, unto the said cloimo.nt and to the heirs and assigns of t~e so.id claimn.nt for- ever; oubjeot to any vested and accrued wa~or riehts for mining, agricultural, munufooturin6.or other pur"'oeee, and rights to di tchee nnd reservoirs use·d in connection with such water rights; as may bo rocoRnized and ackno0l~d~od by the local customs, laws, and deoiuions of courts; nnd there is reserved from the lands hereby grnnted 1 a right of way thereon for ditches .or· eanulfl c_orH1ttucted by the a.uthobity of the United States. ' .r.xcept1ng lind reseriing usc>•·rtt5::the. 1 Un1tod+~-stn-te-e ~rock valuable as h source of ~persons authoeized ~etroleum and~nitro~en all oil and gas and all shale or other in the land~ so pa.tented, and to it, or by it, the right to piospect for, mine, and remove such deposits from the I ~~ame upon compliance with the conditions and subject to the provisions nnd limitations of the ~Aot of July 17, 1914 (38 stat. 509). ":. :.. l•I rn T:~sTmOilY '.'/HlmEOF, I, Wnrren G. Harding, President of tho United States of Amorica, have caused the so lottera to be made Pa tont, o.nd the sonl of ~he Goncro.l Land Office to· b·e hereunto affixed. GIVEN und<:lr my hund, nt th.0 City of ','/a.ohinf!ton, the Ein-hteonth do.y of Mny in tho yonr of our Lord orie .thousand nino hnndrod and T\•1enty-thrce nnd of the Indopondonoe of the United statea the ono tiUndred and Forti-oeventh. By .tho Prosidont: Jarron G. Uo.rd1ng Dy Violn n. ruF.h, Secretary r J.!. P. L2Ro,1 Recorder of the Goncro.l Lund Offico.· Recorded: Patent llurnbor 90672G Filed for record July 5th 1983 ut 9 A.M. o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o~o-o-o-o-o-o Rocordor. .: THE UNITED STATr~S O:b1 Al:tJi:RICA, TO ALT, TO WHOM TH!·~s:-: PR~~SJ<~NTS SHAU cm.rn, GRE:·~r.rrnG.: 'i'/In~R::'..AS, o. Certificate of tho Register of the La.ml Office at Vernnl, Utoh lws boen deposited. in tho General I.end Uffice, whereby it appeora thn.t, pursuant to the.Acts of congress of J.ray 20, ·:i~6~, i"TO· Secure Homesteads to ·Aotuo.1 Solitlers on. the :oui:.,Ho · Dome.in", and the, acts sup:plar1enta.l thereto, tho clo.im <?.f .Ed!Jin J. Longhnrat h.'JS beon esteblisheri and cluly consumma.tod, in conformity to law• for the northe11st qu!lr.tor of the southeast quarter of Section seventeen . . in Township ten south of Range twenty-four east of the ~nlt Lake Meridian, Utah, containine ~rty Pla.t of the Survey of the said land·, ,returned to the acres, according to the Official GENl~RAL I.ANiJ CFFICE 'oy the Surve~o't' General; NO'.:! K1101il Y'l7.:, Tho.t there is, therefore gr~nted by the UllITED STAr:'ES unto the said claimant the tra.ct of Lnac'l above described; TO RAV~ ANl) TO HO!,D the snid troct of. Lnad, with the appurtenances thereof, u1ito tho sa.id cln irnnnt and to the heirs and assigns Of the Eaic1 claimant forever; subject to any vee terl and acoured we ter. rill hts for min inf), a.gr !cul tre.l, manufa.c tor ~ng, or other pur11oses a.rid ri~hts to ditches and reaervutre used in connection with such water riffhts, es may . be reCOBnlZed. ancl ackno,,1J 0(lged. by the local customs, laws, ond decisions of courts; nnrl there is .,,,,. ... re~9rvod from tho l~nds ~ereby .granbgd a riRht-of way thereon for ditches or cnnala co11strhcted b$ the .'3.uthority of tho Un1 tecl States. Exceptin~ and reaer·:inP: also, to the Uni'ted. Stntes all oil and gas and all shale or other r·ock volueble aR a source I I ., I of petrol sum a.hd nitrogen in the lands sp pa tented o.nd to it, or persons out hor ized hy it. t.he r i~ht to -,,rcispcct for mine, end remove 1-1uch depoe its from tho snme upon oomplianoe with the conditions and subject to .the provis.ions and limitations of the Act of July 1'7, 1914, (38 Sto.t., 509) • IN TS.STIMOllY 'llH~q::.-:oF, I, Warren G. Ha.rdinB ~ .!:'resident· of the United Sta. te s of America. ha~ve criusecl these letters to be madtl Potent, and the seal of the General Land Officl:f to be hereutito affixed. GlV<:.1:1 under my lwnd, in the Difitrict of Colmnbia., the fifth day of Novomhor in the year of our Lor~ one thousand nine hundred and twenty-one and of the Independence of the United Sta. toa tho one hundred nnd Forty-Sixth. By ( SF..AL) th~ Fresi~ent: By Viol~ G. Worr~n n. Purh Hardin~ Sectetary. M.P. J,eRoy Recorder of tho Gonoral Lnnd Office, ,I.\ ,f Fi101l for rt.ioord Nov. l'7 A.D. 1?21e.t1:55 r.:.t. ·O-o-o-fl-o-o-o-o-o .. o--o .. o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o . • . ._ _.:.I~~----'-·._ Tho tJni tad Statos of Amorica., . . VGrnol07\J37. ~ , ti . . --·----------·--···. ·-· ·-· .. 'Entry No. 53387S. To all to whom thoso 1 : preaon~e co~o, Shall Grooting: WHEREAS, nCertifioa.te of the Register of the Land Office at Vernal, Utah, haa been deposited itl tho lkonorul Land Offioo, where~y it o.ppearo that, pursuant to the Act of Congress of •Jo.y ~o. I8Gi.!, "To Soouro Ho:nosteads to Actual Settlors on tho Public Domain,;" o.nd the a.eta supplo:nentul theret~, tho claim of Gerald Hunting has boen establi shod und duly consumat ed, in coriformi ty to law, for the east h1:1lf of the northwest q.uarber and tho south hul:f of the northeast quarter of Section seventeen in lj:township ten ,south of ro.nge twen±y-four ea.st of the Salt Lake I.Ierediun, Utuh, oontain,i.ng one hu11drod sixty acres, nceording to the O:fflcia.l .!.?lat of the Slll'voy of the said Lnnd, returned to tho General Land Office by the Slll'veyor-Gonoral: NOW X:NO-.V Y~. 'l'hnt there is, thereforo, g110.nted by the United States unto the snid olaimo.nt tho tract of L11nd above describedi TO HAVE AND 'ro HOLD the said tro.ct of Land, .with the appurtenances thereof, unto tha said olam.:i.nt t1.nd to the hoirs and assigns of the snid any vest9d anQ. accrued vio.ter rights for mining, a~rlcultural, forever; subject to :nunfocturing, or other and the rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with cuch wuter purpos~s. rights, olaim~nt n~ muy bd roconized und acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and deoigions of courts; and there ls reserver' from the lands here by grant.ad· a right of \'my thereon for ditch9s or cunals cons~ructod by tho authority of tho TJnited Stutes. ~xoeptir.s and reserving, also to the United States all oil und gas a.nd. all shala or other rock valuable as a Eource of petroleum u~d nltrogon in tho lands so patented, and to it, or·per~ons aut·hori zod by it t the right to prospect· for, mine 1 I' 'I und removo such de posits fro.n the ss.;;10 upon co~plianoo with tho conditions and subject to th~ provisions and limitations of tho· ~ct •. of July I7, 19!4, (38 Stat. ,509). IN T:~STfiIONY 'l/ll:::R:~OF 1 I, Warren G, H1J.rdlng 1 PNsident of tho United Patent, o.nd tho Gou.l o:f the States of America, have· caused theso let tors to mudo General Lnhd 0f:f1ca. to be horeunto offixed. Given undci:: my hund. in the Dist:ict of Colu:ilbb, thl'lFUiH tlo.y of ?10VS.M.B11R in tho year of our Lord one thoui;;and nine hundred und T'.VZNTY-onz and of the lndopondenca of tM Unitoi States the OM hundred o.nd FORTY .. SI:<'l'H• By tho Prcn.idont: 'l/lll'?'on G. Ho.rdlne;. 13y Vi ob B. Plli\h I {SEAL) sf!croto.ry; - M. p. LeRoy "\' RECORD~D: Pat o nt )1tin'bor O~ II07 ~!led for record octobbr IBth I9~~ at 2P. M. • • r1 '(:> '{'{vyy~-l.., \. ..:... ·~tu.2r)nocordcr. o-o-o-o~o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o