The Territory Prospers

The Railroad Revolutionizes Transportation After the Civil War the U.S. decide to build a transcontinental railroad as a way to unite the country even further The Union Pacific Railroad began building west from Nebraska They mostly employed Irish immigrants and newly freed slaves for cheap labor The Central Pacific Railroad began building east from California They mostly employed Chinese immigrants The path on the Union Pacific was very easy in the beginning because they had to lay their tracks on flat prairie land The Central Pacific had a lot more difficult time because they had to cut through tough granite of the Sierra Nevadas

Utah and the Railroad As the Union Pacific approached Utah, it got help from Brigham Young and the Mormons Young said that he would collect money to help the railroad if it passed through Ogden Young then wanted the railroad to head down to Salt Lake City, but President Grant decided it should head north around the Great Salt Lake Both railroads were in a sort of race to see who could get the most land The railroad would get more money with the more land that it had The railroads eventually met at Promontory Summit north of the Great Salt Lake on May 10, 1869

Life of Railroad Workers Most workers for the Central Pacific were from China About 11,000 were hired and about 2000 were killed or seriously injured Some of the dangers they faced were blasting accidents, avalanches, cholera, and harsh weather condition The ones who worked for the Union Pacific were mostly Irish immigrants Many other European immigrants and newly freed slaves worked on it They mostly faced severe weather, and poor living and working conditions

Railroad Changes Utah Railroads started to pop up all over the territory of Utah Railroads connected towns and were used in mining towns to get materials to the cities to sell Agriculture got a boost because it made it easier and faster for farmers to get their crops to market Businesses thrived because they were able to get more manufactured goods to their stores The railroads also brought a huge boost of new settlers and tourists into the territory Many actors came to perform at the Salt Lake Theatre and Mark Twain even road a train through Utah In 1847, it took the Advance company 100 days to make it to the Salt Lake Valley from Nebraska. With the railroad it only took 2 days

Connecting Towns After the Transcontinental Railroad was complete Utah began to build other railroads to connect the major towns There was the Utah Central track to connect Ogden with Salt Lake City There was the Utah Northern that began in Ogden and went north to Brigham City, Logan, and other town in Idaho Then there was the Utah Southern which went south from Salt Lake City to Sandy, American Fork, Provo, and even further south

Railroad Towns The town of Corinne quickly grew around Promontory Point The people who lived in Corinne were hoping that their city would be chosen as a junction for the North/South railroads But another city will be chosen for this junction The town of Ogden drastically changed with the introduction of the railroad Many businesses began to move into the town Utah’s first black population grew around the train yards in Ogden Ogden’s 25 th street, also known as “Two Bit Street,” became a “red light” district where railroad workers could satisfy their vices Gangster Al Capone said that the city was too rough for him

Settlements Spread Out With the railroad and new businesses coming into the territory, settlers began to spread to the eastern part of the territory Captain Pardon Dodds was in charge of the Ute Indian Reservation, but when he retired he started the town of Vernal in 1877 Vernal is a very dry and desolate place, but other settlers followed him The town of Moab began as a trading post for people crossing the Colorado River on the Old Spanish Trail, 1878 Some settlers were called to settle in southeastern Utah To cross the Colorado River they had to cut holes down the wall of the steep gorges and climbed down, wagons and all This place was then known as Hole-in-the-Rock. It is now under Lake Powell

Religious Congregations Prosper More and more different religions began to move into the territory after the railroads Utah gained healthy Methodist, Evangelical, and Baptist populations

Territorial Schools The first schools in Utah were organized by the LDS Church and were held in their buildings Later, private schools were opened In 1890, the Utah legislature passed the Free Public School Act, which guaranteed free public elementary schools for children in the state University of Deseret was the first university in the territory in 1850 It was funded by the Utah government It is now known as University of Utah

Territorial Schools cont. Timpanogas University opened in Provo in 1874 This was later bought by the LDS Church and named Brigham Young University The Agricultural Academy of Utah was opened in Logan in 1888 It was later named Utah State University Weber Academy was opened in Ogden in 1889 by the LDS Church It later became Weber State University

Electricity Before electricity, life stopped after sundown Electricity changed that and created a night life never seen before The first public display of electricity in Utah was in 1880 when a circus came to town By the early 1890s only Salt Lake, Ogden, Logan, Provo, and Park City had working reliable electricity Better electricity motors made factories and mines improve their production speeds Electric streetcars made traveling within cities much easier There were street cars in Salt Lake, Ogden, Provo, and Logan

Night Life

Amusement Parks Streetcars were able to carry passengers from Salt Lake City to Saltair, a popular amusement park on the shore of Great Salt Lake People could ride the rollercoaster, watch touring big jazz bands, float in the Great Salt Lake, then take the train back home This was a popular dating destination as well The other popular amusement park was Lagoon Promoters advertised “Bowling, Elegant Dancing Pavilion, Fine Music, A Shady Bowery, and Good Restaurants”

Then and Now

Telephones The first demonstration of a telephone in Utah went from a private residence on South Temple to Fort Douglas The popularity of the telephone grew rapidly In 1890 there were only 500 subscribers, but by 1900 there more than 1200 By the early 1890s, phone lines reached as far south as Nephi and as far north as Preston, ID Most sometimes only the general store in town had a telephone And those who had a telephone didn’t know anybody else who did It will take about 30 years before most people have a telephone