In 1861, Joseph Bartholomew, James Mellor and others settled here and diverted the warm creek for irrigation purposes. A branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1862 with Branch Young president. The name of the settlement was changed from Warm Creek to Fayette, honoring the town in New York where the church was first organized. In 1863, John E. Metcalf built the first grist mill on the stream flowing from the warm spring one mile east of this marker. He fashioned and used these mill stones. Fayette Ward was organized July -1877.
Buggies, such as the one before you, were an important part of early America. As the name implies, Doctors’ Buggies were used by physicians but they were also a popular choice for many others as well. Buggies were dearly prized and generally kept in a carriage house.
In 1863, LDS Church Apostle Erastus Snow was traveling in a similar buggy from Kanab to St. George, Utah. Accompanying him were horsemen (Nephi Johnson and David H. Cannon) who told him of an old Indian trail leading over the hill. Choosing to follow the trail, they successfully descended the other side of the hill by having the horsemen restrain the buggy with their lariats. However, a strong wind came up and blew off the top of the buggy. Erastus Snow exclaimed, “That was quite a hurricane! We will name this Hurricane Hill.”
On September 1, 1893, the Hurricane Canal Company was organized and work began on a canal around Hurricane Hill, ending at Hurricane Flat. Two thousand acres of fertile land could be irrigated by building the new canal. On August 6, 1904, a celebration was held in Hurricane, near the canal at 200 North and 300 East. About 100 people attended and watched with great excitement as water began flowing through the Hurricane Canal and onto the fertile flat.
Later that day, where you now stand, people gather in a bowery on the new town square to choose a name for the town. Names suggested were Pearl City, as the town was to be a “pearl in the desert”, Lake City, because at the time, there was a lake south of town; Chaparral, due to the bush that grew so abundantly throughout the valley; or Hurricane, after the canal company, the hill, and the flat that had used that name since the buggy incident many years before.
The Capitol Hill Neighborhood is one of the 20+ neighborhoods making up Salt Lake City, Utah.
Named for the State Capitol, there are many historic homes and buildings in the neighborhood. The approximate boundaries are South Temple, State Street, 500 West and the North boundary of Salt Lake City.
Posts about places in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood:
Had you visited the Silver Spur Motel in Durango, Colorado and asked for room #5, you would have stayed in the room John Wayne preferred while filming some of his most famous western films such as How the West Was Won and The Cowboys. This classic sign, circa 1962, was saved for you to enjoy here at Hole ‘n the Rock in Utah.
