| OCR Text |
Show price once they had occupied and cultivated the land for five consecutive years, and pioneers had been expanding across the western part of the American continent, taking up land for farming and stock grazing. "But the act was not implemented in the Utah Territory until the linkage of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads stimulated the need for the federal government to open a General Land Office in Salt Lake City. With William B. Clayton, Brigham Young's personal secretary, handling most of the land office's homestead-related paperwork for outlying Mormon communities, settlement of the West Valley City area began" (Gorrell 1993 :2). The West Valley area, as an unincorporated area of the Salt Lake Valley, was considered to consist of the areas identified as Hunter, Granger, and later, Chesterfield (Gorrell 1993). Even with the enacting of the Homestead Act in Utah, the move west across the Jordan river into unoccupied areas was hardly a rush. "One of the first to lay claim to property along the river bottoms, in what later became known as Chesterfield and then Redwood, was Feramorz Little, a future three-term mayor of Salt Lake City. He raised hay on his 320-acre parcel" (Gorrell 1993:2). Later settlers, such as John Gerber, David Warr, and Peter Rasmussen were among the earliest pioneers to settle away from the river onto the valley flats. The flat land was more fertile, and therefore more suitable for agriculture, but was also farther from water. Due to the lack of proximity to reliable water, however, few settlers elected to move out into the area, keeping population growth slow. "The area was also affected by the land speculation rampant in Utah at the end of the 1880s" (Gorrell 1993:3). Settlers were drawn by developers to an area designated EI Dorado, just west of a series of lakes formed through faulty irrigation practices, making the land fertile, but in reality, it wasto alkaline to support agriculture. An additional issue revolved around religious practice. Most of the settlers of Granger and Hunter were Mormon, and were affected by the passage of the Edmunds Act, which disenfranchised all who practiced polygamy. Federal marshals began raiding the communities in 1886, resulting in the arrests of many. Sporadic raiding occurred until the practice of polygamy was banned by the Church (Gorrell 1993). "Despite the difficulties, enough growth occurred during the 1870s that Granger and Hunter were recognized as distinct entities" (Gorrell 1993:3). At the tum of the century, however, the population of Granger equaled only 617, while Hunter boasted 354 residents (Gorell 1993). Water was the key to growth in the area, and most of the time there was either too little or too much, often resulting in crop failures. "Farmers faced other foes besides insufficient water supplies .... Murraybased smelters ... air pollution damaged crops around and downwind ofthe stacks. An alfalfa weevil killed entire fields of hay in 1910, tripling its price; and sparrows, ground squirrels and crickets consumed small grains" (Gorrell 1993:5-6), contributing to food shortages. In a sense, however, the hardscrabble farming life forced the residents to become adept at other trades, gradually helping to diversify the economy. Many farmers were employed by the mines during the height of the mining industry, while others opened dairies, mills, and stores, eventually building up a small commercial area. Another roadblock to expansion was the state of the roads themselves. However, as more and more automobiles were utilized for transportation, the Salt Lake County Commission realized that road improvements needed to take place. "In 1912, (they) began to improve the network of roads linking outlying small towns in the valley... In 1918, ... a concrete surface was poured and 3500 South ... became the first paved street in Granger and Hunter" (Gorrell 1993:7). The construction ofthe "Orem" line of the Salt Lake and Utah interurban railroad, together with the upgraded road network, fueled the emergence of the communities. Economically, the trains brought in the coal needed to heat residences, while they shipped out local produce, especially the sugar beets used to produce sugar in the West Jordan sugar mill. Another benefit, possibly unforseen, was the ability for students to travel to Magna and receive a highschool education. Up until 1953, the only schools in present-day West Valley City were the Monroe and Whittier Elementary Schools (Gorrell 1993). 16 |
