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== Settlement during the Mid-to-late 1800s == | == Settlement during the Mid-to-late 1800s == | ||
Latter-day Saints migrated to Salt Lake Valley seeking religious freedom in 1847. In May of 1869 the first transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory, Utah. More than 60,000 Saints had come to the territory by covered wagon or handcart. Utah became the 45th State in the United States on January 4, 1896. | |||
The settlement of Utah by Anglo-Saxons was commenced in July, 1847, when Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consisting of 143 men, 3 women and 2 children. Behind them at different points for a thousand miles, spanning the distance from the Missouri River, the original company was followed by nine other companies, comprising in all about 2,000 souls. To the barren, alkali-covered desert they came, but to them it was a haven of rest, for their leader, Brigham Young said, "This Is The Place," where they should be. | The settlement of Utah by Anglo-Saxons was commenced in July, 1847, when Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consisting of 143 men, 3 women and 2 children. Behind them at different points for a thousand miles, spanning the distance from the Missouri River, the original company was followed by nine other companies, comprising in all about 2,000 souls. To the barren, alkali-covered desert they came, but to them it was a haven of rest, for their leader, Brigham Young said, "This Is The Place," where they should be. | ||
It is estimated that about 1,800 people spent the winter of 1847-1848 in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Pres Brigham Young and a number of pioneers had returned to Winter Quarters, on the Missouri River, too call together the members of the Church residing temporarily in Iowa and other places in the east and prepare for their migration westward the following year. As these and other converts to | It is estimated that about 1,800 people spent the winter of 1847-1848 in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Pres Brigham Young and a number of pioneers had returned to Winter Quarters, on the Missouri River, too call together the members of the Church residing temporarily in Iowa and other places in the east and prepare for their migration westward the following year. As these and other converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Eastern States and Europe, year by year, gathered with their co-religionists, the population steadily increased and Brigham Young, who was a natural colonizer, called many of the older settlers to locate in the outlying districts and establish settlements to which newcomers might be sent. Thus the area of colonization increased and thirty years after the arrival of the first pioneers of Utah, or at the time of the demise of Pres Brigham Young in 1877, nearly three hundred settlements of saints had been established in the Great Basin and vicinity. In due time other people, not members of the church, located in the various settlements and took part in the development of the country. | ||
The acquisition of the territory ceded to the United State by Mexico in 1848 placed the Mormon pioneers in Great Salt Lake Valley, where they desired to be, namely, within the limits of the United States, and steps were taken to draft a constitution for a proposed state, to which the title of “Deseret” was chosen, the name, taken from the Book of Mormon, meaning a honey bee. In 1849 Almon W. Babbitt was sent as a delegate to Washington D. C. and with the splendid assistance of Dr. John M. Bernhisel presented before Congress of the United States a petition asking for admission of the state of Deseret into the Union. This action resulted, however, not in the organization of a sovereign state, as had been hoped, but in the passing, on Sept 9, 1850, of an act of Congress providing for the organization of the territory of Utah, that name being suggested because of the Indian tribes who for many years previously had roamed in the vicinity of the great Salt Lake. But the desire of these pioneers in regard to the name has been perpetuated in the section of a beehive as the state emblems and Utah is often referred to as the “Beehive state.” | The acquisition of the territory ceded to the United State by Mexico in 1848 placed the Mormon pioneers in Great Salt Lake Valley, where they desired to be, namely, within the limits of the United States, and steps were taken to draft a constitution for a proposed state, to which the title of “Deseret” was chosen, the name, taken from the Book of Mormon, meaning a honey bee. In 1849 Almon W. Babbitt was sent as a delegate to Washington D. C. and with the splendid assistance of Dr. John M. Bernhisel presented before Congress of the United States a petition asking for admission of the state of Deseret into the Union. This action resulted, however, not in the organization of a sovereign state, as had been hoped, but in the passing, on Sept 9, 1850, of an act of Congress providing for the organization of the territory of Utah, that name being suggested because of the Indian tribes who for many years previously had roamed in the vicinity of the great Salt Lake. But the desire of these pioneers in regard to the name has been perpetuated in the section of a beehive as the state emblems and Utah is often referred to as the “Beehive state.” | ||
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As time goes on, the contribution of Utah to the United States in the “winning of the West” is becoming more and more apparent. To the founders of this commonwealth is due the redemption of arid America. They were the Anglo-Saxon pioneers of irrigation, and the parched land, responsive to their untiring efforts, blossomed as the rose and yielded not only the necessities of life but many of its luxuries, such as delicious fruits and lovely flowers. The steady streams of emigration from the Missouri River to Utah were a great inducement in regard to the construction of the transcontinental telegraph line in 1861 and of the transcontinental railroad in 1866-1869. Previously the fastest means of communication was the stage coach or pony express. | As time goes on, the contribution of Utah to the United States in the “winning of the West” is becoming more and more apparent. To the founders of this commonwealth is due the redemption of arid America. They were the Anglo-Saxon pioneers of irrigation, and the parched land, responsive to their untiring efforts, blossomed as the rose and yielded not only the necessities of life but many of its luxuries, such as delicious fruits and lovely flowers. The steady streams of emigration from the Missouri River to Utah were a great inducement in regard to the construction of the transcontinental telegraph line in 1861 and of the transcontinental railroad in 1866-1869. Previously the fastest means of communication was the stage coach or pony express. | ||
For nearly fifty years repeated efforts were made by the citizen of the territory of Utah to be granted statehood, but it was not until Jan 4, 1896 that this ambition was realized. On that date Pres Grove Cleveland signed the proclamation which admitted Utah into he sisterhood of states. The first governor of the state was Heber M Wells.<ref>Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Printed by Deseret News Publishing Company, 1941. {{WorldCat|615171272}}</ref> | For nearly fifty years repeated efforts were made by the citizen of the territory of Utah to be granted statehood, but it was not until Jan 4, 1896 that this ambition was realized. On that date Pres Grove Cleveland signed the proclamation which admitted Utah into he sisterhood of states. The first governor of the state was Heber M Wells.<ref>Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Printed by Deseret News Publishing Company, 1941. {{WorldCat|615171272}}</ref> | ||
== Additional Information == | == Additional Information == | ||
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