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Show EARLY EXPLORATION The first known exploration of the area occurred in 1776 when Fathers Escalante and Dominguez made their famous journey into Utah. Their party visited the Virgin river, probably some 10 mi les north of Bloomington. The famed trapper, Jebediah Smith, explored the area in 1826. In the 1830 1 s, a steady stream of travel began between Santa Fe and Cal ifornia over a route that became known as the Old Spanish Trail, which came along the Virgin river, turning North most probably at the Northern corner of the Bloomington area, where the Santa Clara Creek joins the Virgin. John C. Freemont explored the area during his expedition of 1843-1844. Several gold seeking parties heading towards California in the late 1840 l s traveled through the Virgin Bottoms, many of them ultimately perishing in what became known as Death Val ley. In 1849, the Mormons made their first exploration of the area. Governor Brigham Young authorized Parley P. Pratt to explore Southern Utah with a A fifty man expedition reached view to its occupation and settlement. the Bloomington area on New Yearls day, 1850. Pratt described the country he was surveying for the first time as follows: The bottoms now expanded about a mile in width and several miles in length, loose sandy soil, very pleasant for farming, extremely fertile and easily watered and sometimes subject to overflow. No timber in the country except for large cottonwoods along the stream, sufficient for temporary building and fuel ... . The country below being of the most unpromising character ...... . and our animals almost unable to travel ........ it was thought imprudent to venture further .... (Source: A. K. Lansen III was called to Dixie".) Pratt noticed with interest that Indians were doing considerable farming on the bottoms of the Virgin and the Santa Clara. Another expedition traveled to the area in January and February of 1852. The leader of the expedition, John D. Lee, who later gained notority in the Mountain Meadow Massacre tragedy, reported to Brigham Young that even though it was mid winter trees were "putting forth fol iage and herbs nearly in bloom" and that he (John D. Lee) was certain that the rich soil would produce "cotton, flax, hemp, grapes, figs, sweet potatoes, fruits of almost every kind". These reports led the Mormon leaders to establish Indian missions in the area. Their hope was that the missionaries would establ ish a friendship with the Indians that would quickly enable the permanent establ ishment of Mormon colonies in this intriguing area. The first Indian mission was founded on the Santa Clara creek by Jacob Haml in in 1854. Two years later, two members of the original Haml in party, Rufus C. Allen and Hyrum Burgess, bui It the first settlements in the Bloomington area. Allen and Burgess constructed three log cabins at the mouth of the Santa Clara Creek and called the site Tonaquint. (Over time, the farmlands |
