Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1975 The Historical Development of Wasatch Trails in Salt Lake County Clyde Brian Hardy Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Hardy, Clyde Brian, "The Historical Development of Wasatch Trails in Salt Lake County" (1975). Theses and Dissertations. 4759. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4759 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 41 JOE THE historical development OF WASATCH TRAILS IN sadtSALTsalt LAKE COUNTY A thesis presented to the department of recreation education brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts by clyde brian hardy august 1975 this thesis by clyde brian hardy isis accepted in its present form by the department of recreation education of brigham younsyoung uni- versity as satisfysatisfyinging1 hettheehe thesis requirement for the degreedeg ree of master of arts ON Y 4 cayciy Yeenjajjinj a J nrf fdehoyoscommitF dehoyos committeetee oatcu r n catC 1 00 CX 571771 gayjytay tiariattaITA y atreermerftr C atnmiiyileeceeee Mbembmembeabermbere r r 1 4 T 17 william J hafiiafewiafeew department chiirmanchchoirmanChi irman LI TABLE OF CONTENTS page LIST OF FIGURES vii acknowledgments viii chapter 1 introduction 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 3 delimitationsLIMITATIONSDE 4 limitations 4 justification 0 6 definitions 9 2 REVIEW OF literature 11 OLD settlement TRAILS 11 OTHER TRAILS 14 SUMMARY 18 3 proceedurePROCEEDURE 19 organizing FOR historical investigation 19 classification 20 LINKAGE 0 20 BALANCE 0 21 identification OF SOURCES 21 PRIMARY SOURCES 0 0 21 SECONDARY SOURCES 0 22 TERTIARY SOURCES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 22 iii page 4 historical development OF WASATCH TRAILS 25 antecedents OF WASATCH TRAILS 25 EARLY LUMBERING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 LAMBS CANYON 29 MILL CREEK CANYON 30 BIG cottonwood CANYON 0 11 35 LITTLE cottonwood CANYON 51 BELLS CANYON 53 EARLY LUMBERING conclusions 55 LIVESTOCK operations 0 55 PIONEER recreation 57 philosophy 0 57 FIRST MENTIONED recreation 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 CANYON RESIDENTS AND EARLY RESORTS 62 13 celebrations AT RIGHTONBRIGHTON 4 68 ARTISTS AUTHORS AND NATURE LOVERS 0 0 0 72 SCOUTING 0 82 FATHERS AND SONSsonsfsonsa OUTINGS 0 6 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 a 85 MINING developments 0 87 EARLY MINING IN UTAH 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 87 MINING IN THE COTTONcottonwoodWOODSS 0 0 0 0 91 WATER collection SYSTEMS 0 0 0 a 0 95 THE NEED FOR WATER 0 0 0 0 0 95 UPPER BELLS CANYON RESERVOIR 0 0 0 97 LOWER BELLS CANYON RESERVOIR 0 99 iv e1pageea a8aa RED LAKEaxvq UH PINE RESERVOIR 0 looool100OOT writeWHITE PINERMIJ LAKE RESERVOIROUIOAUSHU 0 0 0 0 looool100OOT LAKE PHOEBE yranMARYyram LAKE MARTHA RESERVOIR 0 iol101TOT MIMITWIN sekalLAKES RESERVOIR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 coicol103COT LAKE BLANCHE LAKE FLORENCE dnaanaAND LAKE lilllanllllianLILLIAN OT reservoirs 0 6 0 104 000CCC aciaclVCIDAYSs7sa 0 0 0 0 0 105501 ogi1943 PRESENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 113ETT 0 CTT naritrallnartUVRITRAIL maintenance 0 113 wenNEWMHNtrallrlivulTRAIL construction gitgil116 5 SUMMARY AND conclusions 19 recommendations 0 gilgit119 SUMMARY jisfISDIVIN 0 0 gilgit119 STATEMENT doOF THE21111 rlqugdPROBLEMwaimeiwaf 0 0 0 gilgli119 sudsubproblemsSUB PROBLEMS 0 0 0 0 0 D f f b 0 1 al VA ilggli119 amidFINDINGSsonisomi 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 122ZZT 41 ZT conclusionssnoisfirldnod 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 124 recommendations 0 0 0 0 0 125 bibliographydfoirlqiqXEJV 0 126 appendices 136 A HIKERSSUHAIH trallllariTRAIL MAP HDIVSVMWASATCH NATIONAL FOREST LCT triasSALT LAKE KIONVURANGER IDIUSIGDISTRICT 0 0 0 a a 137 Bq USfl S geological SURVEY quadrangle MAPSspawspam SHOWINGDMIMOHS eiltTHE adiraAREA aoOF CONCERN INNIsihtSIHITHIS THESIS 0 0 0 139 COD MAPSspanspam indicating eiltelitTHE approximate LOCATIONS TT aoOF CANYON mildssllllwMTLLS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 141 REGIONAL NVIUAIDCIVILIAN conservation CORPSsproc slinocirREPORTSU SHOWINGDNIMOIJStrallUYUTRAIL larrldevelopmentcarrljnawctorjr IN UTAH 9 9 0 OT149 vA page E FEDERAL CIVILIAN conservation CORPS REPORTS SHOWING accomplishments IN UTAH 151 VITA 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 154 vi LIST OF FIGURES figure page 1 pioneer logging operations 34 2 pioneer logging operations 34 3 snow sheds in little cottonwood canyon 41 4 remnants of logging days 50 5 rustic mill 54 6 livestock operations 0 9 0 0 0 6 4 0 0 Is 56 7 plaque commemorating the settlement of brighton 65 8 lake mary 0 0 0 0 0 76 9 lake minnie 79 10 mountain lake 0 0 0 0 40 1.1 0 0 41 84 11 abandoned mining road 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 9 0 94 12 miners cabin and trail remnant 94 13 construction of the lake mary dam 0 0 0 0 6 102 14 CCC project entrance into mill creecreekk canyon 0 illlilliiiii111 CCC 0 15 project bridge 0 illliilil CCC 16 project sprucedspruces lodge 0 0 0 illililil111 17 youth conservation corps project trail bridge 114 viivijallvll acknoiledgmentsacknowledgments the volume and diversity of research required in the writing of this thesis obligates the author to acknowledge many agencies whose help was indispensable in arriving at the finished product the wasatch forest service was particularly helpful and co- operative especially the salt lake ranger district thanks is exten- ded for free access to files photographs and personnel for consu- ltation other governmental agencies to whom the author is indebted include the federal archives and records center in denver particular- ly the hellheiihelihelpheip of robert svenningsen and the state department of water rights the staff of specialized libraries have been kind in extending every opportunity for researching documents and suggesting interview sources three deserve special mention the western americana section of the university of utah library the utah historical society lib- rary and the LDS church historical department appreciation Iis11 s extended to the facultyoffaculty of the college of rec- reation education for their council and encouragement the author is grateful for the photographic input of william campbell and bill woodruff that made possible the inclusion of pictures in the body of the thesis A special thanks goes to the authors wife and family for inin terestteresa andalidaridarldpatipatienceeneeoneeoncethat were manifested during the course of the en- tire undertaking viiivi ii chapter 1 introduction there is a group of individuals for whom the call of a trail is akin to the cry of a child and just as the latter elicits a tender response from the solicitous mother the former evokes a nearconsumingnear consuming urge to follow to explore to discover those who answer the beckoning call do so in terms at once personal for one may find companionship as well as solitude ex- hilahilaratingrating activity as well as quiet contemplation and selfselfdiscoverydiscovery as well as nature discovery but whatever the reason for yielding to the lure of the trail the acknowledged satisfactions are usually deep and lasting indeed they are associated with poignant feelings and nostalgic remembrance in a way the experience of the trail is much like that of the arts ie the satisfactions derived are heightened as the knowledge of the elements that make up the experience increase one element central to the trail experience is nature herself the more we know and understandunderstaDdstand the more we are able to see relation- ships patterns of interdependence struggles for survival methods of perpetuation changes due to seasonal transition etc nature is much like a library where time brings a constant accession of new books for one who can read such writingswr ltingslaings there are tongues in trees and ser mons in stones 99 nor is this charged awareness limited to the manlandman landlaudcommunity but overlaps luxuriantly into the man man community 1 2 another constituent element is human relationships it has long been acknowledged at least by those who leave the trappings of civilization behind that the mountain retreat or desert quietude foster meaningful personal relationships something there is about such places that break down defense mechanisms and reduce artifici- ality still another element is the trail itself where did it come from who built it when was it established trails have played a significant role in the development of america besides providing thoroughfares for the conquest and settlement of the west they served as pathways which helped to develop in the pioneers a sense of conti- nental belonging to the land 9023 and more than this the fam- ous frontier historian frederick jackson turner argued that american democracy was not carried in the sarah con- stant to virginia nor in the mayflower to plymouth it came out of the american forest and it gained new strength each time it touched a new frontier 109293 it is the contention of the writer that a knowledge of trail development can significantly contribute to the total experience of the trail user in a day when it has become important to provide trail interpretation it is a shame that this aspect has been so wo- efully neglected but there is a movement afoot to rectify this defi- ciency this movement found congressional expression in the national trails system act of 1968 this act provides for the