In 1860, the third largest city in Utah and largest US military outpost was located in...

     Continuing on with my travels through the area around the Northwest side of Utah lake, I arrived at a really interesting place.  I quickly found out that in 1860 this was the location of the third largest city (the first being Salt Lake City, and I have no idea what the 2nd was.  According to population estimates on Wikipedia, it wasn't Logan, Ogden, Bountiful, Provo, or St. George... I don't know what is left)  and the location of the largest military base in the United States (also in 1860).  It was none other than beautiful Fairfield.
     Fairfield is located about 3 miles south of Cedar Fort.  According the wikipedia, "The town was established in 1855 when John Carson, his four brothers, and others settled in the Cedar Valley. The settlement was soon known as Frogtown....Frogtown became Fairfield in 1861; named after Amos Fielding, who had participated in establishing the community."  Frogtown is a great name for a place.
     Fairfield is best known for the base that Johnston's Army created just south of the town.  Johnston's Army was sent to Utah to suppress the Mormon rebellion, which never actually happened.  Here are some interesting photos of the camp, known originally as Camp Floyd:

 Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved.

     There are several interesting historical plaques around the small town and almost all of the information that I found about the army is taken from these plaques.
     One entitled "A Camp In The Sage Brush" reads: "Established in 1858, Camp Floyd was the largest military post in the United States [at its time, around 1/3 of the entire US Army was stationed at Camp Floyd].  It was created to put down a Mormon rebellion which never took place.
     "With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, soldiers were recalled and Camp Floyd was dismantled.  Today, little evidence exists of a once thriving camp.
     "Living conditions at Camp Floyd were hard, as one soldier described: 'Camp Floyd is one of the most miserable, disagreeable and uninteresting places that ever disgraced the earth.  It is built upon a dry plain, entirely destitute of grass, or, indeed, any vegetation, except sage, that flourishes where nothing else will grow.
     "'There is no water here except a little dirty stream that runs near the west end of the camp, scarcely large enough to drown a mouse.'"
     Another plaque reads: "In 1855, Fairfield was settled by John Carson, William Carson, David Carson, William Beardshall, and John Clegg.  A rock fort 4 rods square was erected in 1856-7, this monument being at the southeast corner, which was the entrance.  In 1860 the population, including soldiers, was 7000, this being Utah's third largest city. 
     "Camp Floyd, adjoining Fairfield on the south and west, was established July 4, 1858 by Bvt. Brig. Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and the Utah Expeditionary Forces numbering about 3000 men.  Col. Phillip St. George Cooke succeeded in command March 1, 1860, changing the name to Ft. Crittenden February 6, 1861.  It was abandoned July 1861."
     Today, the only building found around Camp Floyd is a tiny blue museum (next to which is found the second plaque from which I quoted).  Most of the camp is just farm fields.  Here are the pictures:

     One remaining piece of the camp is found in the cemetery, which is the southernmost part of the old camp.  The following photos are from 1954:

Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved. 

 Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved.

     Sometime within the past 60 years, the cemetery has undergone a renovation.  Here is how it currently looks:

Are there actually cedars in Cedar Fort?

     Sorry for the break everyone, but I am back.  I took a trip recently with a friend (thanks for coming Mikael) to the Northwestern side of Utah Lake.  The first stop was to Cedar Fort, a tiny town around 10 miles east of Lehi.
     There isn't very much information that I could find about the history of Cedar Fort (which usually means that there isn't very much history).  Onlineutah states that "On January 5, 1856, by legislative act, the settlements of Cedar Valley were organized into a county with Cedar Fort as the county seat.  The entire area was later absorbed into Utah County."  They also mention that the name Cedar Fort probably comes from the abundance of Cedar Trees in the area.  However, I don't know if this is true.  Cedar City is also named after the abundance of cedar trees, although there aren't any cedars, just junipers.  Junipers are sometimes referred to as cedars, although I heard that the people in Cedar City just mixed up the two.  I am thinking that it may be the same thing for Cedar Fort.  If you'd like to learn more information about the area, there is a book called Our Roots Grow Deep.  I believe you can check it out from the Lehi Library. 
     Here are two old photos from Cedar Fort:

 Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved.

Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved.

     One thing that I love about Utah is how easy it is to rephotograph places, in comparison to other states.  First of all, there are mountains everywhere which give you a great perspective on where things are.  Also, since everything is built on a grid, almost all historical places are right near Center and Main (or on those streets).  Photographed here are the remains of the old fort from which Cedar Fort takes its name.  And just like I guessed, it was off of Center St.  Here is how it is found today:

     As you can tell the barn is still there but to the east of the wall is now located a parking lot that serves a local LDS church.  Also, as you can see in the first photo, part of the wall has been torn down and it is a lot shorter that it was previously.
     There was also a cool school in Cedar Fort (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) that I stopped to take a photo of.  Here it is:

     The plaque on the school reads: "Constructed in 1909, the Cedar Fort School is historically significant as the only remaining two-room schoolhouse in Utah County, and one of a small handful in the state of Utah.  This building is a rare extant example of the many small schoolhouses that were built in the twenty years after the state legislature created the Free Public School Act in 1890 for the purpose of greatly increasing the number of schools in the state.  Architecturally, the school is important for retaining its distinctive character-defining features on the principle facades.  Its Victorian Eclectic style combines a mix of Romanesque Revival (popular in the late nineteenth century for institutional buildings) and the then newly emerging Prairie School style.  This mix of styles was quite common in the state during the first two decades of the century.  The building particularly contributes to the town of Cedar Fort, Utah, which retains few examples of its historic architecture."
     That's it for Cedar Fort.  Its a small town that I wasn't crazy about, although Mikael loved it.  I guess to each there own...

Downtown Eureka (Part 2)

     Continuing with the other half of the historic buildings in downtown Eureka, this is Part 2.  Just to give you a refresher on Part 1, I found the following photo of downtown Eureka:

Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved.

     I don't know where these buildings were located, although there is a two block area in downtown where they probably were, so I decided to cover the entire area.  I did however, forget to mention one building that was in yesterday's photo (here it is again to remind you):

     I forgot to mention the white building just to the left of the one that says "The Oxford"  (the building says "Company Store" but it is a little hard to read).  This building was the original post office for the town.  A plaque on the building reads: "Built circa 1894, this building served as the town post office until 1922, when a new post office building was constructed.  In 1926 a merchandising company known as 'Everybody's' occupied the building.  It is a good example of the commercial architecture in Eureka and is one of at least three commercial buildings in town that are of similar size, constructed of stone, and have brick facades."
     Now onto the new buildings.  Just to the left of the group of buildings that I highlighted yesterday are a couple of the two most impressive buildings in downtown.  Here they are:

     The building on the left is the Shea Building and the building on the right is the BPOE building.  The plaque on the BPOE building reads: "Constructed in 1909-1910 by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tintic Lodge #711 was designed by architects Richard C. Watkins and John F. Birch and built by contractor Martin E. Anderson, a Logan contractor.  Cost of the building was $30,000.  The meeting hall for the Elks Lodge was on the upper floor, with rooms rented to doctors, lawyers, etc., and the lower floor was rented, initially to the Hefferman-Thompson (general merchandise) Company.  Later, it was occupied by Norman and Jensen and J.C. Penneys.  The small structure on the west was added sometime between 1910-1923 and in 1929 the second story, five rooms for office suites, was built.  At that time the lower floor of the small building was occupied by the Eureka Mercantile Commission Company.  The Elks 'Tintic Lodge' was organized June 20, 1901."

     I couldn't find any information about the Shea Building except that it went through an extensive renovation in the past couple of years.  Part of the BPOE Building is currently being used by a consignment shop, which opens and closes every so often.  I also wanted to show a picture of the cool painting on the side of the BPOE:

     The one last building that I wanted to cover in downtown is the current post office (which replaced the old one that I previously talked about in this post).  Here is a picture of it:

Photo Courtesy of utahandidahoparanornal.com

     For some reason I didn't take a picture of it while I was there so I got this photo from utahandidahoparanormal.com.  According to this website, "Regional folklore has storied of ghosts, UFO's and trolls being observed in the area."  I just thought that was a funny side note.  The plaque on this building reads: "The Eureka Post Office was constructed in 1922 by the United States Government for the commercial center of the Tintic Mining District.  James A. Wetmore served as 'Acting Supervisory Architect.'  The structure represents the only example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style in the Tintic area.  It continues to serve its original function."
     So that's it for downtown.  It is a cool place that I would totally recommend visiting.  I wanted to conclude with this final picture that I think summarizes the whole area quite well.  It is an old port-a-potty that is in downtown.  It isn't usable, but it is a good representation of a town that hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, and if it has changed, it has been falling into disrepair:

Downtown Eureka (Part 1)

     I love it when I meet nice old people that know a bunch about the history of a place and have nothing better to do than to share it with me.  I found the following picture of downtown Eureka around the turn of the century:

     I couldn't really figure out where there buildings were located but there is really only a couple of blocks where they could be located, around the western most part of Main St.  I decided that the post would work best if split up into two parts (so that's why this is Part 1).  Here are the western most buildings:

     While walking around this area, I met one of the nicest guys that I have ever met.  He owns all of the photos in these buildings and took me on a tour of all of them.  He is working to restore all of them, although he is going really slowly (right now he is in the Marshall Islands for the next 6 months).  Only one of the buildings, the one of the far right (if I remember right, it is the brick building to the right of the light blue building), even looks partially completed.  He would like to open up a restaurant inside; here is a picture of it:

     The green building to the right of the light blue building is the McCornick and Company Bank.  A plaque on the building reads: "This building was constructed in 1909 to serve as the new home of McCornick and Company bankers and has continued to the present to serve as a bank.  McCornick and Company first came to Eureka in 1898, when they moved their bank, fixtures and all, from the mining town of Mercur [located around 15 miles west of Lehi], apparently with the interest of replacing the George Arthur Rice Bank, which had folded in 1897.  Around 1917, Eureka Banking Company took over the building, which gave way to the Commercial Service Company in the 1960s.  The current occupant of the building is First Security Bank."  The plaque was 1985 and contrary to what it says, there is no bank in the building.  There was a bank a couple of years ago, but it moved to Goshen and replaced it with an ATM.
    I then got an amazing tour of the building that says "The Oxford" and the building next to it (the two are connected inside).  Here are some pictures from inside:

     There used to be room located behind the wall where the door is.  This is where they would hide the alcohol during prohibition days.  Just to give you a heads up, pretty much everything that deals with these buildings involves alcohol and prostitutes.  Hey, its a mining town, what do you expect?

     This is a well inside of the building.  The funny thing is that the well has never actually been used for water.  The well was used to hide alcohol when the police came looking during prohibition.
     After we left this building, I was told that we were going to go to a topless bar.  I was really confused (and a little shocked.  I knew that topless bars were really common in Oregon, but I hadn't heard of any in Utah).  I was taken to the building that is right of the thin building with three windows on the top level (which makes it look like a little Spanish building).  Turns out that the bar just doesn't have a roof, which makes it topless.  Here are some of the photos from it:

     This building has a lot of history to it.  It used to be a bar and then a hotel was right above where the miners could go sleep with prostitutes (and that pretty much is the deal with all of the buildings around here).  People used to write their names on the boards in the picture above.  The oldest one that I found is from 1906, which is right below the 1908 on the top board section.  Also there used to be a wall on the right which fell down.  It separated the building from a natural water drainage.  People would use this little alleyway to sneak into the building, and if nothing else, carve their name in the wood.  The building is still being used today for dances, and the guy repairing it hopes to turn it into a dance hall.
     I love Eureka.  Although all of these shops are run down and closed, I was told that the city comes to life around Spring Break.  There is bumper to bumper traffic going through the town trying to get the Little Sahara to go for ATVing at the sand dunes.  I hope that some more economy will come to town so that the buildings will stay kept up for good.

A Man Named Jolly

     My friend is currently in Southern Utah working near Zion National Park.  He heard an awesome ghost story involving an old cabin down in the area.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any old pictures of the place, but the story was too good to pass up.  Here is what he wrote about it from his blog nevercomingback.net:

     I rode along on an ATV tour our rec director Kourtney was doing. She told us this story during the ride, and it was so awesome, I took Portia out this evening for the same ride.

     Back in the early 1900′s, a man by the name of Jolly (first name or last name? I’m not sure) came to southern Utah early in the spring. Near what is now the East Entrance to Zion National Park, he found a beautiful little canyon where he thought he could make a living raising cattle.

     Soon after, while spring was still springing, Jolly brought his wife and two children to the little canyon, and built a beautiful house next to a cool brook. His cattle happily munched on the green grass and his family began to settle in.

     As spring came to an end, and the scorching summer season began, Jolly and his family were surprised to find that the cool brook slowed to a trickle, turned to moist sand, and quickly dried up. They were far from the Virgin River, and water was no where to be found.

     As the long, hot days passed and they used the last of their water, Jolly realized that he and his family could not survive. They didn’t even have enough water to leave their new home to go get help.

      Finally, his cracked lips spread into a smile, and he unexpectedly invited his wife and children to go for a walk down the dry stream.  They came to what was once a lush waterfall.

     Once there, he threw his wife and children off the cliff and they tumbled to their deaths.  He returned to his house, and wrote down what he had done, and then walked back to the dried up waterfall and threw himself down as well.

     When you stand at the edge of the waterfall (or dry fall), if you feel the wind blowing at your back, that’s Old Man Jolly trying to kill you.  If you feel the wind blowing in your face, that’s his wife trying to save you.

     As the years have gone by, Jolly’s old ranch has changed hands several times. Each owner has tried to repair and remodel the house, as can be seen by the various modern improvements on the house. But each owner has left the house before finishing because the spirits of Jolly and his family still haunt their old home.

When you visit Jolly’s Gully, enjoy the view, but make sure you bring plenty of water!

     Erik took an ATV out to Jolly's Gulch but it is accessible by hiking if you want to visit.  To get to the location, you have to take the East Rim Trail at Zion National Park.  According to information that I found on the internet, the Gulch (and the waterfall, if there is one at the time) are located about 2.8 miles from the East Rim Trailhead at the eastern entrance of Zion National Park.