Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1974 Perception and Land Use: the Case of the Mormon Culture Region Lester D. Campbell Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Geography Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Campbell, Lester D., "Perception and Land Use: the Case of the Mormon Culture Region" (1974). Theses and Dissertations. 4581. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4581 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]. asocso perception AND LAND USE THE CASE OF THE MORMON CULTURE REGION A thesis presented to the department of geography I1 brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of science by lester D campbellcampbeliCamp beilbeli august 1974 this thesis by lester D campbell is accepted in its present form by the department of geography of brigham young university as satisfying the thesisthel sis requirement for the master of science K f richard H jacksjacksonon CoVitcommitteetee chairmchaiemchairman covitteey qi lloyd hudman committee member Jjulyu 1yay 10 12197414 date robertrobeet L layton depotinentDepotinent airmanalemanunairmanuN typed by patricia oler 333.3 PREFACE the purpose of geography is to locate describe analyze and explain the interrelationships of man and his environment and insofar as possible explain the origin of these spatial relationships geography is not limited to a cubicle of the worlds knowledge because of its basic tool the map it is free to enter other scientific fields geography is perhaps the most widely used science and yet the least understood it would be easier to say what geography is not than what it is it is not just the naming of capitol ccitiesa ties and rivers or the listing3 of exports from and importsam ports to a remote country it is more than discussing soils and climates and vegetation it is the study of mans relationship to the earth and to other men it is the study of processes and changes upon the earths sur- face wrought by both man and environment essentially it asks what happened where did it happen how did it happen why did it happen when did it happen who did it happen to and what was his response to the happening after answering these questions the geographer attempts to relate them to other events that have happened or are happening iii I1 am not certain that anyone can define geography into a neat and univeruniverselysely acceptable concept for with the rapid expansion of knowledge anin the present age the definition of geography will probably also expand certainly many things are yet to be discovered in this world and in the realm of geography it would be sad indeed to think that we had arrived at the end of knowledge S for certain geography is one of the most eclectic fields of study in the sciences one may select almost any phenomenon if it is mappable it is geographical it was this eclecticism which allowed me to complete this study As a geographer and a mormon I1 felt that previous studies related to the relic mormon culture region were only telling part of the story previous work has dealt mostly with the visual landscape features and loca- tion of the relic mormon culture region though this is appropriate I1 felt things were geographically out of balance I1 concluded that a study of the origin of the relic region would contribute to understanding and help to complete the picture preliminary investigation suggested few studies of the nature I1 wanted to do I1 wanted to bring perception into geography which of course was acceptable but I1 also wanted to bring religion into the field of perceptual iv geography this was questionable the paucity of studies in this area made the challenge even more enticing and I1 succumbed it is my intent in this study not only to discuss the landscape features of the relic mormon culture region but also the origin of these features when a man enters a region and uses the land he affects changes of a great variety upon the land these result in cultural landsclandeclandscape as compared to the original before man natural landscalandsealandscape since mans use of the land depends to a great degree on how he perceives the land we must consider his environ mental perception if we are to delve into origins perception as it is used herein includes all those things of a social psychological and physical nature which affect the mans attitude about and use of his environment in the case of the mormon culture region I1 believe most of these items were influenced by religious doctrines and attitudes the hypothesis then of this study was that the landscape in the relic mormon culture region had its origin in the religious perception of the mormon people that the study fulfilled its purpose remains for the reader to answer A debt of gratitude is offered to the geographers who have been instrumental in guiding me through this achievement melvin asmottaamott allan H gray russell v horiuchi lloyd hudman richard jackson robert layton dale stevens and elliot tuttle each in his own way has been a part of this work if not directly then indirectly through his teachings and influence on me to them I1 am most grateful special thanks go to russell horiuchi for his original spark of inspiration which opened the way for this work I1 am especially indebted to richard jackson for his constant interest and direction the liberal use of his personal library his permission to use his man land system in my study and especially his friendship for he was a friend first and a teacher second thanks also go to rex wadham and lloyd pack iliIII111 for their motivation and continual encouragement during the preparatory writing also appreciation is extended to george southern and wendel wheeler for their technical help on the preparation of the maps and air photos and to don E norton for proofreading the thesis thanks also to laurtiz peterson of the church historians office for his assistance in providing resource material for this study special thanks go to my wife linda and to my children aaron and laura lyn for their inspiration and support and for their willingness to forego time with me that I1 might complete this study for without their sacri- ficetbicetfice this thesis never would have been completed vi material presented herein has been carefully selected from reliable sources ififvicv however there is inaccurate information or erroneous interpretation or judgment I1 alone am responsible viivilviz dedicated to those of my pioneer heritage who helped establish the mormon culture region to my parents david odell campbell and leah harker campbell and to my wife linda my son aaron and my daughter laura lyn with love and gratitude for their fluenceinfluenceLn in my life Viliillvili3 TABLE OF CONTENTS page PREFACE 0 0 f 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 iii LIST OF TABLES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 & x LIST OF FIGURES 0 0 0.0 a 0 0 1 0 0 0 xix 1 CHAPTER 1 introduction PROBLEMS AND background 1 2 WHAT AND WHERE IS THE ORMONMORMONM CULTURE REGION 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 3 THE MORMON IMPACT UPON THE LAND 0 0 0 64 4 ORIGIN OF EARLY MORMON perceptions AND THEIR ROLE IN THE ANLANDMANLANDMANM AN LAND relationship & 0 & & 0 & & 0 0 0 0 0 105 5 SUMMARY AND conclusions 148 bibliography 161 ixIX LIST OF TABLES page 1 A comparative chart showing the contributions of the five major works studied in this 61 chapter & e & & x LIST OF FIGURES figure page 1 proposed model of Manlandmanlandmanan land relationship 17 2 early attempts to elineatedelineated elieilellneate the mormon culture region 0 0.0 0 0 0 & 10 33 3 joseph smithssmithis city of zion plat 38 4 the mormon culture region according to meinig & 9 0 1pap 0 0 it 0 0 0 0 50 5 the mormon landscape region according to francaviglia 0 0 10 0 0 58 6 the relic mormon culture region as compared to meinig and Francavigliafrancavigliatefrancavaglialste regions 63 7 air photo of spanish fork showing the mormon village and urbanruralurban rural relationships and agricultural patterns 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 134 xiXI chapter one introduction PROBLEMS AND background introduction the mormon culture region is perhaps one of the most recent examples of an evolutionary culture region As a result of its recent development 18471680184718801847 16801880 and its overall homogeneity in geographic features it has been the object of many studies according to one author the colonists of north america were motivated by a variety of considerations religious social pol- ticalfmicalfitical economic and idiosyncratic with some notable exceptions however they traveled as individuals or single families gravitating toward those places perceived as best filling their aspirations 2 the case of the mormon pioneers as one of those exceptions exemplifies the development of an evolutionary culture region there we see a thoroughly selfselfconsciousconscious and amply documented 2outingrouting into a remote empty tract the evolutionary culture region deals with those that have originated independently from the traditional culture the people were free to set their own goals and stablishestablishe stablishbilshtheir own culture patterns in an area that was not dominated by an older culture 2wilburjwilburwilbur zelinskyzelZeiinsky the cultural geobrageoqrageographyPh y of the united statesstotes