Manti was one of the first communities settled in what was to become Utah. Chief Wakara (or Walker), a Ute Tribe leader, invited Brigham Young to send pioneers to the area to teach his people the techniques of successful farming. In 1849, Brigham Young dispatched a company of about 225 settlers, consisting of several families, to the Sanpitch (now Sanpete) Valley. Under the direction of Isaac Morley and George Washington Bradley, the settlers arrived at the present location of Manti in November. They endured a severe winter by living in temporary shelters dug into the south side of the hill on which the Manti Temple now stands. Brigham Young named the new community Manti, after a city mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Manti was incorporated in 1851. The first mayor of Manti was Dan Jones. Manti served as a hub city for the settlement of other communities in the valley.

Historic Buildings in Manti:

• Bishop’s Storehouse
• Carnegie Library
• LDS Temple
• Manti Motor Company
• Manti Tabernacle
• Old City Hall Building

Historic Homes in Manti:

• John Patten Jr. House
• Pioneer Memorial Cabin

Other Manti Related Posts:

• Forts in Manti
• Manti Pioneers
• Mormon Miracle Pageant
• Moroni Statue
• Pioneer Heritage Garden
• Sesquicentennial 1849 – 1999

Relations with the local Native Americans deteriorated rapidly and the Walker War soon ensued. The war consisted primarily of various raids conducted by the Native Americans against Mormon outposts in Central and Southern Utah. The Walker War ended in the mid-1850s in an understanding negotiated between Brigham Young and Wakara. Shortly thereafter, Welcome Chapman and Wakara oversaw the baptism of scores of Wakara’s tribe members. Although immediate hostilities ended, none of the underlying conflicts were resolved.

In 1865 Utah’s Black Hawk War erupted when an incident between a Manti resident and a young chieftain exploded into open warfare between the Mormon settlers and the local Native Americans. Forts were built in Manti and other nearby communities. Smaller settlements in the area were temporarily abandoned for the duration of the war. In the fall of 1867, Chief Black Hawk made peace with the settlers, but sporadic violence occurred until 1872 when federal troops finally intervened. Many Mormon settlers who fought and died in the wars are buried in the Manti Cemetery. Most of the Utes were eventually relocated to the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Eastern Utah.

Ephraim Posts:

• Ephraim Settlement
• Ephraim Square Pioneer Park and Co-Op Art Center
• Fort Ephraim Peace Treaty
• Historic Buildings in Ephraim
• Historic Homes in Ephraim
• Indian Massacre
• The Malt Shop
• The Old Fort
• Pioneer Cemetery
• S on the Mountain

Ephraim was founded in 1854. Located directly opposite a Native American settlement, Ephraim served as Sanpete County’s most important fort through the end of the Black Hawk War in 1868, which is also the year the city incorporated. The presence of the fort drew diverse settlers to the city, and by 1880 the city was nearly 90% Scandinavian. Although the city’s initial growth was based on the fort and later on agriculture, more recently its growth can be attributed primarily to the presence of Snow College. Ephraim surpassed Manti as the largest city in the county during the 1960 Census and has since surpassed 6,135.

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