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GETTING TO SALT LAKE CITY
Sites and Sights Along the Way
By Dr. Jay Aldous Interstate
15, North From Nevada
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Virgin River Gorge: Entering
Utah through the Virgin River Canyon on Interstate 15 is a fitting
preamble to the sometimes rugged and spectacular scenery of Utah.
The Virgin River has its origin in the Markagunt Plateau above Zion
National Park, flows past St. George into the Virgin River Gorge,
and on to Lake Mead to provide part of the flow of the Colorado
River. Completion of this stretch of Interstate highway by-passed US
91’s “Utah Hill” a notorious, very slow step incline and
decline over the Beaver Dam Mountains, one of Utah’s metamorphic
core complex ranges. The rather unusual name for a dry desert
region, Beaver Dam Mountains derives from the Beaver Dam Wash to the
west of the range. The wash derived its name from beaver dams found
along the stream by early explorers.
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St. George (Exit 8):
In 1861 Brigham Young called missionaries to settle on the Rio
Virgin (Virgin River) in the south part of the territory. These
settlers arrived on the Virgin River in December of 1861 and
established the settlement of St. George named after George A. Smith
one of the Mormon Church leaders. Additional settlers arrived the
following year and Brigham Young made the first of his trips to the
southern settlements in 1862. He was sufficiently attracted to the
region that he built a winter home there in about 1873. This
restored home is open to the public and is one of the interesting
sites of this community. The term Utah’s Dixie is derived from the
semitropical climate and the fact that Brigham Young directed the
settlers to raise cotton that was in short supply during the Civil
War. There were even some Southern sympathizers in the community
that have continued to foster the term Utah’s Dixie and proudly
display the Confederate flag. Brigham Young promoted self
sufficiency and as part of that effort attempted to develop a silk
industry in the St. George area.
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Zion National Park.
Click thumbnail for
larger photo. |
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Santa Clara: This
settlement about five miles west of St. George was settled in 1853.
Santa Clara was settled on the banks of the Santa Clara Creek and on
the route of the Old Spanish Trail and Mormon Trail to Los Angeles.
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Southern Rim of the Great
Basin (Exit 40): This line of hills
was the southern rim of the Great Basin that was once a vast
prehistoric lake, Lake Bonneville. The lake broke through its rim on
the northern portion near the Utah/Idaho border and most of it
drained through the Snake and Columbia Rivers about 25,000 year ago.
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Cedar City (Exit 57):
This community was started in 1851 as part of the Iron Mission.
Mormons were sent to settle this area and to develop an iron
industry. A large iron ore deposit had been discovered and as part
of Young’s self-sufficiency program they attempted to produce
iron. Iron production was unsuccessful but the community survived.
Cedar City is now the location of Southern Utah University and the
Utah Shakespearean Festival. Formerly, this was the railroad
terminus for visiting the southern Utah national parks and
monuments, Zion , Bryce Canyon , North Rim of Grand Canyon , and
Cedar Breaks. The Old Spanish Trail and Mormon Road to Los Angeles
passed through here. The Fancher-Baker Party passed through here and
on to the Mountain Meadows Massacre site about thirty miles west of
Cedar City.
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Parowan (Exit 78): Parowan
was the first of the settlements of the Iron Mission. The Old
Spanish Trail came through the mountains east of town and the Mormon
Road to Los Angeles came from the north. John C. Fremont, on his
1853 railroad exploration expedition, found this community of
warmth, food, and supplies saving his expedition from freezing and
starvation.
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Beaver (Exit 100):
Beaver, another community on the Mormon Road to Las Angeles, was the
site of Fort Cameron. The trials for John D. Lee who was accused of
participating in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, were held here.
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Utah
Territorial Capital in Fillmore.
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larger photo.
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Cove Fort (Exit 135): During
trouble with the Native Americans and particularly the Walker War,
the Mormon settlers were directed to fort up. This was one of the
forts constructed for protection during this period. The fort has
been renovated and is open to the public.
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Fillmore (Exit 163): Fillmore
was another community on the Mormon Road to Los Angeles. This was
the location of the first capital of the Territory of Utah, named
for U.S. President Millard Fillmore.
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Holden
(Exit 174): Here you intersect the Escalante Trail and follow it
to near Provo. Fathers Domínguez-Escalante passed through here in
1776 in their attempt to find a route from Santa Fe to Los Angeles.
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Provo (Exit 263): The
Domínguez-Escalante expedition entered Utah Valley from Spanish
Fork Canyon to the southeast of Provo. Provo was an early Mormon
community first named Fort Utah and later named Provo in honor of
the early trapper and explorer, Etienne Provost. This community is
the location of Brigham Young University. Geneva Steel in Provo
smelted iron ore from Iron Mountain west of Cedar City until
recently.
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Salt Lake City (Exit 310):
Your destination for an enjoyable visit at the Crossroads of the
West 2005 OCTA Convention.
Additional Information:
Allen Kent Powell. The Utah
Guide, 2nd. Edition, Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, 1998.
Peter H. DeLafosse, Editor. Trailing
the Pioneers, Utah State University Press, Logan., 1994.
Bill Weir. Utah Handbook,
Moon Publications Inc, Chico, 1991.
Tom and Gayen Wharton. Utah,
Compass American Guides, Inc., Oakland, 1991.
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