| Show Upon his arrival at Fairview Elam lost no time The next day he visited and conversed withnumber of the leading citizens of the community as pertaining to his interest He was encouraged favorably impressed and without delay he purchased land west of the village where water could be diverted from the Sanpitch River to power the mill Upon completion of the details of his transaction he again faced the trail to the ranch at Mona 4s he traveled the long amd lonely road his mind was busy with plans for the future He envisionedprosperous business andfuture home at Fairview where his family might enjoy the blessings of safety education and the pursult of religious activfties Yes he must work hard and fast while the summer lasted He would leave the care of the ranch to his family while he would concentrate on the new enterprise few days later Flam again found himself with plenty of time for meditiation and planning With his yoke of oxen and wagon he was on his way to Little Cottonwood Canyon few miles south of Salt Lake City where he could obtain granite stone from which to fashion the BURRS for grinding the golden wheat into flour Beingbuilder and blacksnith he could do his own work On his return trip he bypassed his family to take the shorter route through Spanish Fork and Thistle Canyons The summer days were long and arduous as he chiseled the hard stone into shape and brought logs from Dry Creek Canyon for his building program Quoting from his grandson Aaron Cheney Grandfather Elan quarried out the Stones and hauled them to Fairview shaped them into burrs making the irons and wood to fit them He builtmill-race from Sanpitch River to the pond and excavated the spillvay and bullt the overshot water-wheel which supplied the power for the mill By mid-summer of 1868 Elam had built log house about 250 yards southeast of the mill and brought his family from Mona to live in it By harvest time of that same year the mill was ready for operation And as the farmers threshed their wheat they brought portion of it to the mill where it was ground into whole-wheat flour and toll retained by the miller for his service Elan Cheney soon became known asleading citizen honest upright progressive and generous he won the respect of everyone People without wheat or money were never turned away from his mill without flour Even the Indians received and loved him for it On one occasion when the Indians had begged and acquiredgoodly sup ply of flour they went to the mill where the miller keptsupply of sugar for sale or barter for the much desired sugar to irade some of their whole-wheat The good miller offered them flour -38 flour |
