THE DESERT BLOOMS AS A ROSE PART 2 Immigration and Expansion in Utah

The World Comes to Utah  Immigrants came from all over the world.  Most of them came from Europe with a large majority coming from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and England.  It was a very difficult journey because of the distance that was involved.  They also had to face the difficulty of dealing with swindlers who tried to rob them.

The areas of Europe that immigrants came from New York City Liverpool, England Winter Quarters Great Salt Lake City

Making the Rose Bloom  Although they were happy to be in the Salt Lake Valley, there were many challenges that they faced in making it a livable place.  It would take a lot of hard work just to survive the first winter in the valley, let alone to live here for an extended period of time.  It is no wonder that they chose a beehive as the symbol for their new home.

Challenge #1: They were in an unfamiliar, arid environment  All of these immigrants had come from the east or Europe where the climate is more humid, the growing season is longer, and much more precipitation falls.  They had to irrigate. (Make the water go where you need it)  There was a very big change in temperature from season to season, which resulted in a shorter growing season.

Challenge #2: They were isolated from the rest of the world.  This meant that anything they needed to survive or to make life more comfortable had to be made in their new wilderness home.  This was a benefit to them, and it was something that they definitely wanted, but it did not change the fact that it is difficult when you are the only settlement for hundreds and hundreds of miles.

Challenge #3: They were living on land inhabited by Native Americans  Mormons had a unique perspective of the Native Americans.  They believed that they were descendents of people mentioned in the Book of Mormon called “Lamanites”.  Mormons believed that they had a duty to try to convert Natives to their church.  These conversion efforts affected Mormon’s interaction with the Indians.

Challenge #4: New Immigrants  In a lot of ways the Mormons created their own challenges, and this was the case with immigrants.  The immigrants had been told to gather to Utah once they were converted.  Many of these immigrants were very poor, and they were also an unskilled labor force.  They had to learn skills and a new culture.

Challenge #5: Friction between Mormons and Non-Mormons  The Mormons considered Utah to be their territory because they were the first ones to settle here.  Non-Mormons (particularly government officials) often tried to break up the unity of church and government in Utah.  Because the Mormons had been here before Utah was part of America, they were very resistant to outside change.

What a Utah Settlement looked like  The Mormons had always had a specific pattern that its settlements followed even before they had come to Utah.  The pattern was designed to promote community involvement, and to encourage neighbors to look out for each other.  They had also designed each pattern so that it offered protection to the residents of the city or town.

Modern Day Salt Lake City

Settlement feature #1: Streets laid out in a grid pattern.  This was done for a variety of reasons.  Mormon settlements were unique this way.  It made the cities and towns easy to navigate. (Each city and town had a center spot and the coordinates went from there.)  Temple Square is the center spot for SLC.  The whole Salt Lake Valley gets its coordinates from Temple Square on out.

Settlement feature #2: Very wide main and side streets.  The was done to make transportation easier. (More wagons could fit on the roads and could turn around in them)  Irrigation ditches ran beside most streets. (This made it easier to coordinate and regulate water use)  It was more sanitary. (The smell of horse droppings was more bearable)

Example of an irrigation ditch

Settlement feature #3: Extremely large city blocks  This was done so people could grow vegetable gardens on their city lots.  This was important because self-reliance was an valuable principle to the Mormons  The vegetables that they grew could also be traded to people passing through to California for the gold rush.  The soil proved to be able to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Settlement feature #4: Public buildings and parks AAt the center of each town was usually a church house, and sometimes a temple. TThis was the cultural and spiritual center of each town or city. CChurch houses were also used as town halls and as a spiritual and temporal meeting place. PParks were important as outdoor meeting places, and for recreational purposes.

Example: St. George, Utah

Settlement feature #5: Farmlands beyond the city center.  Trees sprung up around towns and were used as wind breaks.  All of the Utah settlements had agriculture as the main source of income.  Mormons were taught that being idle was a sin. Having a society based on agriculture helped to ensure that people were not idle.  Utah was capable of producing good agricultural results, but it took a lot of hard work to make it happen.

Example: Cache Valley

Leadership in Cities and towns  In early Utah, because almost everyone was Mormon the leadership structure of the church was used to provide the leadership for cities and towns as well.  Mormon leaders made decisions that affected people in the cities and towns spiritually and economically.  They decided where you would live, and how much land you would be given.

Where to Settle?  Towns and cities were often settled according to the resources that were available.  If there was good land and water nearby then farmers would be needed.  Iron was why Cedar City was founded, St. George was founded because it could grow cotton. Almost all towns had a specific mission it would perform to help out the rest of Utah.  Why do you think the Ogden area was settled?

Structure of towns  Each town that was settled had people who were skilled laborers called to be the first ones to go.  Leaders were appointed by Brigham Young and then they often chose who would go with them.  People that came from the same countries often settled together so they could keep their culture from their native lands.

The Mormon Corridor  Settlement eventually extended from Southern Idaho all the way to California along what is I-15 today.  Peter Maughan settled Cache Valley and was my great, great, great, great grandfather.  Las Vegas was even settled by Mormons! It was founded as a mission to convert Native Americans to the Mormon church.

The Mormon Corridor