Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2008-07-11 Late Homestead Period Householding at Benmore and Tintic Junction: Comparing Rural and Sub-Rural Communities in Tooele and Juab Counties, Utah Jennifer Aurora Beard Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Anthropology Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Beard, Jennifer Aurora, "Late Homestead Period Householding at Benmore and Tintic Junction: Comparing Rural and Sub-Rural Communities in Tooele and Juab Counties, Utah" (2008). Theses and Dissertations. 1503. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1503 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]. LATE HOMESTEAD PERIOD HOUSEHOLDING AT BENMORE AND TINTIC JUNCTION: COMPARING RURAL AND SUB-RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TOOELE AND JUAB COUNTIES, UTAH. by Jennifer A. Beard A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology Brigham Young University July 2008 Copyright © 2008 Jennifer A. Beard All Rights Reserved BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Jennifer A. Beard This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote had been found satisfactory. Date James R. Allison, Chair Date Joel C. Janetski Date John E. Clark Date Matthew T. Seddon BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Jennifer A.Beard in its final form and have found that (1) its Format, citations and bibliographic style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill University and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including Figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library. Date James R. Allison Chair, Graduate Committee Accepted for the Department Joel C. Janetski Graduate Coordinator Accepted for the College Susan S. Rugh Associate Dean ABSTRACT LATE HOMESTEAD PERIOD HOUSEHOLDING AT BENMORE AND TINTIC JUNCTION: COMPARING RURAL AND SUB-RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TOOELE AND JUAB COUNTIES, UTAH. Jennifer A. Beard Department of Anthropology Master of Art Historical archaeologists are turning more and more attention to the study of capitalism in post-Industrialist nations. Rhoda Halperin’s concept of householding considers networks of families or other groups that operate outside of the mainstream capitalist economy. The concept is most often applied in anthropological contexts, but may be a useful tool in the study of homesteading in the American West. At Benmore, a small homesteading community in southern Rush Valley, Tooele County, Utah, 20 families sought to survive by dry farming in a marginal environment. The enthusiasm of such residents as Israel Bennion, whose journal provides deep insight into the town’s short existence, may have united the community under the ideology of self-sufficiency and resulted in an example of householding in early twentieth century Utah. This thesis utilizes surface data from Benmore, compared to surface and excavation data from Tintic Junction—a railroading town approximately 20 miles away from Benmore—to consider whether Benmore fits Halperin’s concept of householding and the extent to which the community operated outside of the mainstream economy. The data is considered both in order to better define the community of Benmore and to determine v whether Halperin’s concept may be applicable to future homesteading studies throughout the American West. I argue that the specific questions considered in identifying householding are useful but that a broader theoretical approach is necessary to fully consider the dynamics of homesteading towns in Utah and the West. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS One of the most personally gratifying elements of this thesis is the opportunity it provides to tell the story of the Bennions, Skidmores and many other families that contributed to Benmore. Many seasons of fieldwork and countless hours of research have made Benmore a significant part of my life. It is for this reason that each chapter and some sub-chapters begin with a quotation from Bennion’s journal. It is my way of honoring the individual effort—the blood, sweat and tears—that so many residents invested in a tiny town and its short-lived dreams. I owe a great debt to Elizabeth Mitchell, in particular, and all the Bennion family for providing me with a personal copy of the unpublished journal and allowing Israel Bennion to become a very real part of my life and my research. This thesis has been a work both of sweat and of love. It has stretched me academically far more than I believed I could stretch, all the while creating and increasing my love for archaeology and the Vernon Unit of the Uinta National Forest. As such, it can best be said to be the collaborative work of countless individuals. The data could not have been utilized without the effort of so many Passport in Time volunteers (notably Harold Frodge and his flipper stick) and the community ofVernon at large. The historical record would have been sorely incomplete without the use of the unpublished journals of Israel Bennion provided by Elizabeth Mitchell and the Bennion Family. My passion for historic archaeology, and the beginning concepts for this thesis, is the product of dedicated and tireless tutelage by Charmaine Thompson. If all cultural resource managers had her skill in public outreach, I am convinced there would be far too many archaeologists for the jobs that exist! She is truly amazing. And of course, an amazing committee, who have given far more time than they had to give, have taken that vii original concept and helped it develop into something useful. I owe particular thanks to Dr. James Allison for putting up with my resistance to theory and to Joel Janetski for many, many years of quiet mentoring. To my wonderfully supportive family and my darling husband, John, I owe a great debt of gratitude for all of the patient reassurances when my faith wavered. The process may have taken longer than expected, but I will be eternally grateful for the delay. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . xii LIST OF FIGURES . xiii 1. INTRODUCTION. 1 The Archaeology of Capitalism and Mainstream Economies. 3 Householding Theory. 4 Application of Householding Theory to Benmore. 6 Rush Valley Environment. 10 Discussion of the Homestead Movement and Its Laws. 13 Previous Research on Homesteading in Utah. 14 Conclusion . 17 2. HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 20 General Land Office and Recorder’s Office . 21 Land Patent/Ownership Data . 21 Oral History . 23 Church Records and Forest Service Data. 24 The Journal of Israel Bennion. 25 A Brief Historical Narrative of Benmore, Utah. 26 3. ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT BENMORE. 33 Methods. 33 Preservation. 34 Vandalism. 35 ix Site Types and Artifacts . 37 Features. 38 Artifacts. 41 Glass. 41 Ceramics. 42 Tin.Cans . 43 Miscellaneous.Artifacts. 43 Community Data. 43 What community data have been collected from the Benmore sites? . 44 What does this information tell us about Benmore?. 47 Socioeconomic Data. 49 Ceramic Paste Ratios . 50 Artifact General Functions. 52 Homestead Size and Total Counts of Artifacts per Site. 55 Features by Site. 57 Householding Data. 58 Dietary Variety . 59 Reliance on Storage and Home/Local Resources. 63 Lag of Popular Styles. 63 Reuse and Repair . 64 Similarity of Architecture, Subsistence, and Beliefs . 66 Similarity of Socioeconomic Level . 69 Summary. 69 4. ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT TINTIC JUNCTION . 70 A Brief Historical Narrative of Tintic Junction. 70 Project Research Design. 72 x Methods. 76 Community Data. 77 Socioeconomic Data. 82 Householding Data. 84 Dietary Variety . 84 Reliance on Storage and Home/Local Resources. 84 Lag of Popular Styles. 87 Reuse and Repair . 88 Similarity of Architecture, Subsistence and Beliefs. 89 Similarity of Socioeconomic Level . 93 Summary. 93 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. 94 Community Data. 95 Socioeconomic Data. 97 Ceramic Paste Ratios . 97 Artifact General Ratios. 101 Householding Data. 103 Dietary Variety . 104 Reliance on Storage and Home/Local Resources. 106 Lag of Popular Styles. 108 Reuse and Repair . 108 Similarity of Architecture, Subsistence, and Beliefs . 108 Similarity of Socioeconomic Level . 112 Discussion of Results. 113 Conclusion . 115 xi APPENDIX 1: BENMORE SITE DESCRIPTIONS. 120 APPENDIX 2: BENMORE RAW DATA. 143 REFERENCES CITED. 156 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Tally of professions from the Vernon Precinct of the 1920 U.S. Census.. 29 Table 2. Benmore Site Names and Types.. 39 Table 3. Benmore features by type.. 45 Table 4. Benmore general function ratios.. 46 Table 5. Benmore Schoolhouse general artifact functions by feature.. 49 Table 6. Ceramic pastes ratios at Benmore.. 51 Table 7. Benmore general artifact function ratios.. 54 Table 8. Benmore food function artifacts by category.. 60 Table 8 (continued). Benmore food function artifacts by category.. 61 Table 9. Benmore canning jars and food cans. 64 Table 10. Benmore evidence of reuse and repair. 65 Table 11. LDS Church discouraged items at Benmore.. 68 Table 12. Structures Present at Tintic Junction, June 1914. Reproduced from Table 4.2 (Hutmacher and Lawrence 2001).. 74 Table 13. Tintic Junction context area summaries.. 76 Table 14. Artifact types and functions identified by SWCA at Tintic Junction. 78 Table 15. Feature types at Tintic Junction.. 81 Table 16. Tintic Junction general function ratios.. 83 Table 17. Tintic Junction food functions--glass.. 85 Table 18. Tintic Junction food functions--tin cans.. 86 Table 19. Tintic Junction food functions--miscellaneous artifacts.. 87 Table 20. Tintic Junction canning jars and food-associated tin cans. 88 Table 21.