| Description |
UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION eastern connection extending from the Continental Divide at South Pass in Wyoming, going southwesterly to Fort Bridger and by way of the Bear River, Echo Canyon and the Weber River to the present community of Henefer; thence up East Canyon, a tributary to the Weber; then over Big Mountain and down and across Mountain Dell tributary of Parley's Creek; and thence over Little Mountain summit and down Emigration Canyon into the valley." Obviously, direct these "roads" were not. Though they were conceived as roads upon which wheeled vehicles might travel, that was not a fact in the beginning. While vital to early Utah settlers, hauling even the necessities of life across the natural terrain by wagon bordered upon the impossible. As a result, pack mules were used for freight and travel was on foot, known in the day's terminology as "shank's mare," or on horseback. Needless to say, not many walked and the use of horses had a great deal to do with the value of those steeds on the frontier. Horse-thievery was a crime punishable by death at the point of a gun or the end of a rope. It's little wonder, then, that the General Assembly of the State of Deseret as early as January 15, 1850, passed an ordinance providing for State and County Road Commissioners. A month later the first two state roads were created. One was to connect Ogden and Provo, running past the Temple Block in Salt Lake City. The other would begin at the Temple Block and extend westward to the county seat of Tuilla county. "Tuilla," of course, would eventually become "Tooele." Emphasizing the importance attached to roads, it's noteworthy that the Territorial government, which began in 1851, preceding the state of Utah by 45 years, addressed that need before it provided financing for public schools. Nor was it a problem recognized only by territorial citizens. To meet its needs, the Federal government had long since created military roads in eastern United States and this program moved westward with pioneer migration. The first Utah example was in 1855 when James B. Leach was given a $15,000 contract for bridge and road construction along the Timpanogas River near Provo. 280 |
