This valley was originally settled in 1881 by Teancum Pratt. The original Pratt Survey still predominates on maps of this area. He sold land to the Rio Grande Western Railroad for a right of way. By the fall of 1887 the railroad had built 27 frame residences and from this start the town continued to grow. With the completion of the standard gauging of track in 1891, a terminal was established in this area.
It took extra engines to push trains over Soldier Summit, these extra locomotives were called “Helpers” and it was from this source that Helper was named.
With a mixed population of practically every nationality, Helper grew into a booming town. In 1907 Helper Township was incorporated.
This historic marker is located at the old Helper City Hall Building at 73 South Main Street in Helper, Utah and was dedicated by the Matt Warner Chapter 1900 of E Clampus Vitus on July 11, 1987 and remounted and rededicated July 8, 1995.
This one-story red brick flat roof building was built as the Helper City Hall in 1927. This building has classical “tin” cornices, columns and pediment. The project architect was Walter E. Ware of Salt Lake City.
The City Hall has been a center of community events since it was built. The building has always served as Helper’s City Hall, maintains its original appearence and contributes to the historic qualities of the Helper Historic District.
Marker Placed in 1997 by Division of State History. ( CR-07-735.)
Star Dancing Erected June 1, 2010 The Star of Helper represents the sky like the town and has no bounds. The Star also represents Helper as Utah’s Christmas Town. Donated by: Marie Camille Truscott Lentsch (a former Helper resident) Kirt E. Mascaro Helper City Councilman, 2010
Presented to Helper City We pledge allegiange to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one Nation, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
Presented and dedicated by Price Lodge No. 1550, B. P. O. Elks June 14 – 1952
This building was constructed in 1919 out of brick and stone rubble salvaged from the burned Double Rock store. Helper Furniture and Hardware Company, a business started by Mike Bergera and purchased by Joe and John Quilico in 1923, was located on the first floor. The original J. C. Penney store in Helper was also located on the first floor. The Hotel Utah, operated in the 1930s by D. C. Cavenah, was located on the second floor. This two-story commercial building contributes to the historic character of the Helper National Register Historic District.
Built in 1937, the Helper Civic Auditorium was designed by Salt Lake City architects Carl W. Scott and George W. Welch. The building is an excellent example of Art Moderne style also known as “Streamline Moderne.” The style was popular in the 1930s particularly in public buildings. The auditorium features Art Moderne elements such as the flat roof emphasized by concrete coping and coursing, smooth masonry with curved corners, glass block, and pilasters with abstracted capitals.
The Helper Civic Auditorium is part of the Utah Public Works Administration (PWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) Buildings Thematic Nomination. The building is significant because it helps document the impact of New Deal programs in Utah during the Great Depression. The Helper Civic Auditorium was one of 226 buildings (two of which were auditoriums) constructed in Utah during the 1930s and early 1940s under the WPA and other New Deal programs. Of those 226 buildings, 130 are still standing. On a local level the construction of the building was a boost to Helper’s economy by providing much needed jobs and funds through the purchase of building materials.
Ashley Valley, settled in 1873, had its first postoffice in this structure. Built in 1879 by Wilbur C. Britt, the first postmaster. Logs hauled from nearby forests were put together with wooden pegs and square nails to erect one large room. A partition separated the postoffice from a store. Once a week carriers, riding horseback or wearing snowshoes, delivered the mail to and from Greenriver, Wyo. Mail service here was discontinued in 1899. This building now belongs to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
This is Daughters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #313, located at 1333 West 2000 North in Vernal, Utah
The Ashley Post Office was established in the center of Ashley Town on December 27,1878. At that time there were about 300 settlers in Ashley Valley. Wilbur Carlton Britt and Finley Britt used logs from nearby mountains, wooden pegs, and square nails in constructing this building. It had a dirt roof and wide board floors. The cracks between the logs which were filled with mud. A log partition separated the post office from a grocery store. Wilbur Britt was appointed first postmaster on April 16, 1879. The Ashley Post Office is also on the Utah Register of Historic Places.
Interior of Old Post Office In the southwest corner of the post office was a pot-bellied stove with places all around to sit and visit. These visits were mostly of a social nature, but from these visits the pioneers also acquired knowledge and news from the outside world. At about the time the post office was built there were around 300 settlers in the valley.
Moroni Miner Block Constructed in 1892, the two-story, two-part commercial block building was built by Moroni Miner following a mortgage of $800 he had taken out in May of that year. Miner was an early prominent citizen of Springville, who engaged in several businesses over the years, including a grocery and meat market, and worked as a farmer and stockman. In 1897 Miner sold the building to William Endar, who in turn sold it to Hyrum Straw in 1899. In 1903 Straw sold the building to Thomas E. Child, along with the building next door at 274 South Main Street. In 1923 the building was acquired by Ellen R. and Maud Peterson and owned by members of the Peterson family until 1977. A variety of businesses occupied the building until it was purchased in 2001 by W. William Brown, Jr., and Marilyn Brown to house Bill Brown Realty.