A History of Salt Lake County

Preface

Preface Unique is a word so overused that its meaning has nearly van-ished. Yet it is the appropriate word to describe Salt Lake County especially since white settlement in 1847. At that point, its natural role as a crossroads broadened to embrace a center-a gathering point-and soon afterwards a state and regional capital. This uniqueness holds true despite the fact that at certain times, and in certain ways, Utah's capital county has aligned itself with and even led national trends, for better and worse. In supporting the nation's wars, in suffering during the Great Depression, in welcom-ing military industry, in experiencing a high post-war birthrate, and in moving from an agricultural to an industrial economy and from urban to suburban living, for instance, Salt Lake County has reflected the national posture. What other landscape, however, combines towering mountains with a north-running river that empties into a lake saltier than the ocean? What other county became known nationwide and overseas as a church-state, combining political and religious leadership, edu-cation, and enterprise with a marital custom that provoked the wrath vii . . vlll PREFACE of the federal government? Salt Lake County's ongoing battles between air pollution versus industry and transportation depend on an understanding of its unique topography. And an understanding of how formal and informal governance and lifeways work here is just as intrinsically linked with the great battle between Mormonism and Americanism focused within the Salt Lake Valley. Perhaps a historic view may decipher some of the puzzles of con-temporary times. Events within Salt Lake County within the last three decades have inspired numerous books, worldwide media coverage, and even television dramas, unmatched in number and intensity by any county not harboring a giant metropolis. Some of these involved crimes that spread tragedy afar but were situations in which Salt Lake County played a crucial role or suffered crucial losses. Others involved the deranged and crafty return of disowned or disavowed portions of early Mormon history, in new and dangerous forms. Long before European and American explorers and settlers came to the Salt Lake Valley, bands of Utes, Paiutes, Goshutes, and Shoshones, and-before them-Fremont and Promontory peoples gathered to tell and hear the stories that explained their world. History has turned the myths endowed with spirituality toward the objective and documented text, yet it still performs the same func-tion. Through history, we tell ourselves how what is came to be. From the outset, the sesquicentennial history of Salt Lake County was conceived by the commissioners, staff, and historians who shaped the project as a work that would be accessible to readers of virtually all ages and backgrounds. In addition, it would highlight the contributions of peoples traditionally under-represented in such works. As a result, I have relied not only on the classic histories provided by the state's great historians of past and present, but also on smaller, self-published community histories, on several excellent ethnohisto-ries, and on a few unpublished theses and essays. I have also depended upon that trusty and sometimes abused workhorse, the print media. These contributions-lively and meticulous-all proved valuable. Many are cited in the chapter notes and the bibliography for the sake of readers who would like to search further. Thanks espe- cially to the Deseret News library, which provided many of the photo-graphs, showing great public spirit as well as superior organization. This history is further indebted to the Utah State Historical Society, the Salt Lake County Commission and its Centennial Committee, and the Department of Community Support Services staff, as well as to three hardworking and influential project consul-tants: John R. Sillito, historian and archivist; Dr. DeAnn Evans, pro-fessor of communications; and William W. Slaughter, photograph expert and archivist. Each played an invaluable role. Many thanks, also, to Dr. John S. McCormick, Dr. Stan Layton, and Dr. Michael E. Christensen for close and helpful readings of the manuscript, and to historians George Henry and Dr. Kathryn L. MacKay who, along with Dr. McCormick, participated on the origi-nal history committee. Their comments, as well as the ongoing assis-tance and encouragement of Dr. Allan Kent Powell, Dr. Craig Fuller, and Miriam Murphy of the Utah State Historical Society, were immensely helpful and are greatly appreciated.