| OCR Text |
Show EPHRAIM. EPHRAIM is situated near the geographical center of Sanpete county, seven miles northeast of Manti and 118 miles south of Salt Lake City. The location is a beautiful elevation near the base of the Wasatch mountains, commanding a pleasant view of the greater portion of the famous granary of Utah. It is the second city in the county in age, the third in population and occupies about equal prominence with competitors in commercial transactions and business qualifications. Being at the point of intersection of the Rio Grande Western and Sanpete Valley railroads the place known is commonly as the "Junction City of Sanpete." The city is surrounded by the evidences of agricultural prosperity, with 10,000 acres of magnificent farms, yielding immense crops of golden grain, for supplying the home demand for bread, and furnishing many carloads every year for exporting to other less favored sections. The first attempt at making a settlement on the present site of Ephraim was made in the fall of 1850, by Isaac Behunnin, one of the Sanpete pioneers of '19, who observed that "Pine creek had more water and the location was better for a town than anywhere in the valley." He met with much opposition, however, from the wily Indians, who did not appreciate his efforts at ditch building and cultivating the soil. The red men forced him to return to Manti and await reinforcements before converting the desert into its present land of paradise. Many of the original pioneers of the valley looked upon this chosen spot as a most desirable location but could not collect a sufficient band of fearless veterans to insure personal safety until 1854. In early spring of this year (1854) Reuben W. Allred with fifteen families located the site of Ephraim and began the erection of homes and cultivating the soil. |
