When he died August 29, 1877, Brigham Young was the leader of a Commonwealth centered in Salt Lake City, Utah of 350 towns and cities in what had been a desert thirty years before. He was loved and sustained as a prophet by more than 100,000 members of the Latter-day Saints Church founded only 47 years before. He later came to be called the greatest colonizer of the American West, “the American Moses”. Born June 1, 1801, in Whittingham, Vermont, and raised on a series of frontier homesteads in western New York, Brigham Young had little formal schooling. He educated himself and became a skilled and respected carpenter, cabinate maker and glazier in Albany, and then Mendon, New York. In 1830 he read the Book of Mormon just after it was published in nearby Palmyra, New York. After two years of careful investigation he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and devoted himself to missionary work and loyal support of its founder, Joseph Smith. In 1835 he was chosen as one of Church’s first group of twelve apostles and was sent on many missions, including a year (1840) in Great Britain, where he supervised successful preaching and church organization and then emigration of converts to America. After Joseph Smith was killed by a mob in Illinois in 1844, Brigham Young led the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in the great exodus to Utah. He is best known as an energetic and judicious leader, who was President of the Church for nearly 30 years; Governor of the Utah Territory and Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1851-1857; a builder of railroads, theaters, temples and industries. He was also a powerful and witty orator and a deeply spiritual man who said he saw the Salt Lake Valley in a vision before he was able to announce, “this is the right place.” Brigham Young always fostered education–encouraging learning societies in schools in pioneer Utah, and in 1875, founded the academy that became Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He wrote, “education is the power to think clearly, to act well in the day’s work, and to appreciate life.”
Plaque C: (Back side) BRIGHAM YOUNG STATUE COMMISSION In 1992, the Utah State Legislature and governor concurred in a resolution urging that a statue of Brigham Young be placed in the Utah State Capitol. Eighteen commission members were appointed by the governor to carry out the project. The commission began work in September of 1992, eager to insure that this statue capture the greatness, energy, drive and dedication of the man who led the Mormon pioneers to this valley and organized the settling of the intermountain west. The commission voted unanimously to approve the model submitted by Utah sculpture Kraig Varner. All agreed that it reflected the strenghth, determination, and extraordinary vision of Brigham Young. Commission members served on a volunteer basis, giving freely of themselves and their time. They felt honored to work on a project bringing additional recognition to this central figure of Utah history. Brigham Young Statue Commission: Donald R. LaBaron, Chairman 1992-94…(list of names) July 25, 1994
Plaque D: (West side) PROPHET STATESMAN PIONEER
See other historic markers in the series on this page for SUP Markers.
The entire 110 acres of the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as Liberty Park.
It was established in 1881 upon purchase from the estate of Brigham Young. It is significant as “Utah’s best example of the ‘central park'”, following example of New York City’s Central Park in the general reform movement that represented.
Several historic buildings and markers are located throughout the park.
Liberty Park is significant as one of the earliest and largest urban parks in Utah. Originally purchased by Salt Lake City in 1881 from the estate of Brigham Young, it is Utah’s best example of the “central park.” It documents the spirit of reform of the second half of the nineteenth century, when parks were seen as important factors in civilizing America’s increasingly industrialized cities and improving the moral character of their inhabitants. Many American cities followed the pattern of New York City’s Central Park, which was designed in the late 1850’s. Liberty Park is laid out on the site of a mill and farm established by Isaac Chase (the Isaac Chase Mill is listed on the National Register).
Liberty Park was established on the site of the Isaac Chase Farm and Mill. Chase had been assigned a plot in the original “Big Field Survey” of 1847, which distributed farm plots to the first settlers of the Salt Lake Valley. Because of the mill and the large trees on the farm, it was locally known as Forest Park, the locust Patch and the Mill Farm. The farm and mill were purchased by Brigham Young in 1860, who traded Chase for property in Centerville in Davis County, which Chase never occupied. Brigham Young reportedly expressed the desire that the property be purchased by the city “for the lowest price” after his death. On April 20, 1881, the city paid the Brigham Young estate $27,500 for the farm.
Local newspapers reported that the “locust patch is the only grove within miles of the city and is located about three blocks from the First Ward street car tracks. ‘This grove is large enough for all the purposes that can ever be required….The farm contains as much ground as will be needed for a park for Salt Lake in the next two generations at least, and there is so much that it will never be necessary to keep the grounds like a lawn, as would be the case were it but a ten acre block. The whole can be made to appear rural and rustic, can be sufficiently developed and still give ample room for picnics, for ponds, for walks, for driving and for all other purposes for which parks are used.”
The dedication of the park was originally scheduled for July 4, 1881. Because of the assassination of President Gar field, the celebration was postponed. Although the city waited until the following summer for the dedication, they did not wait until the Fourth of July but instead had the celebration on June 17, 1882, the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The dedicatory procession formed at the City Hall and included Mayor Jennings, ex-mayor Little (who had presided over the purchase of the property), Wilford Woodruff and numerous other city, state, and Mormon Church officials. Music was provided by Croxall’s Silver Band, the Union Glee Club and the Sixth Infantry Band. The remarks of the speakers reflected the popular importance of the new large park. Mr. Ben Sheeks concluded one of the orations by saying that the park “gives to the poor a feeling of interest in his country, and to the rich a satisfaction which ever follows the act of giving to those who needs. And who will say that the man, woman or child does not need the opportunity of enjoying a pleasant walk of beholding the beauties of art or nature even as they need bread. Let us ever remember that sometimes “the beautiful is as useful as the useful perhaps more so.”
A greenhouse was buit in 1903, and tennis courts added about 1915. The large entrance piers at Sixth East and Ninth South were added in 1920. The bandstand was built about 1911, and a bandstand shelter added in 1949. A swimming pool was constructed in 1949. An appropriation for a zoo was made in 1914, and the zoo remained open until the establishment of the Hogle Zoo in 1931. Russell Tracy donated his collection of birds to the city in 1938, with appropriations for its construction matched by Tracy in 1938 and 1939.
A master plan has been proposed by the city, which plans to spend four million dollars during the next ten years improving the facilities and landscaping.
Significant Buildings
The Isaac Chase Mill was built between 1847-1852 by Frederick Kepler and/or Phares Wells, Sr., Architect for the mill was William Weeks. There are conflicting accounts concerning the builder(s) of the mill. The milling parts were brought across the plains in 1847 and the mill was built in various stages. The present building was built in 1852. Adobe for the mill were made in an area that was known as the Church farm. This area is now part of the Forest Dale Golf Club. Several smaller structures housed the mill parts prior to this building. The mill has been noted as the first grist mill and flour mill in Utah. In 1854, Brigham Young married Clarissa Ross Chase, a stepdaughter of Isaac’s. In that same year, Brigham Young and Isaac Chase became partners. By this time, Chase had acquired over 100 acres around the mill site. Chase was appointed superintendent, in charge of the building of mills throughout the LDS church. In 1860, Chase was given land in Centerville by Brigham Young in exchange for his holdings on the mill and adjacent properties. In 1871, John W. Young was listed as the manager of the mill in the Pacific Coast Directory. In 1881, the land and mill were sold to Salt Lake City for development of a park. During this time, some milling appears to have taken place but the mill eventually became used as a supply shed. By 1896, there were efforts to tear the mill down, but fortunately this was never done. The city began leasing the mill to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1933 for $1.00 a year. The adobe and wood building began deteriorating and in 1970, restoration work started on the building. The building is now restored and open to the public in the summer months. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Isaac Chase House was built in 1853-1854 after the completion of the mill located to the south of the building. Prior to this, Chase and his family resided in a one-room structure on their lot in the Big Field. The house was built of adobe made in the adobe pits located in the area known then as Church Farm. This area is now incorporated in the area of the Forest Dale Golf Club. Isaac and his family resided there until 1860 when they moved to the family home located on State Street in Salt Lake City. He died there in 1861. The house was located in the property that Brigham Young acquired from Chase in exchange for some land in Centerville. George Ogden Chase, a son of Isaac built a house on the property in Centerville. The house was in possession of the Young Family until 1881 when the city purchased the property. After the city purchased the area that would become Liberty Park, the groundskeeper of the park resided there. The house is now used as a relic hall for the DUP at the present time and is open during the summer months.
Built in 1890 in a Victorian Eclectic sttyle, this house was substantially remodeled in 1910 with features more typical of early twentieth-century architecture. This remodeling included the addition of the fron porch and a new roof. The house was built for William D. Kuhre, who was born in 1863 in Ephraim to Danish immigrants. Two years later his parents were killed there by a band of Indians under Chief Black Hawk. Kuhre was adopted by John and Ellen Dobbie, who subsequently moved to Salt Lake City. In 1881 Kuhre gained work as a bookkeeper at the Pioneer Ore Sampling Mill in Sandy. He later became a partner in Jensen & Kuhre Lumber & Hardware Company, one of the most long-lived businesses in Sandy. Kuhre was elected mayor in 1901 and served on the school board for many years. He moved during the 1930’s, but the house remained in possession of the family until the early 1960s.
Photograph: “Portion of road up Parley’s Canyon, showing how unfinished it was, but adequate to get wagons and horses over.” Photograph: “Early form of transportation up Parley’s Canyon. Notice narrow path behind wagon.” Parley P. Pratt’s toll road. The “Deseret News” dated June 29, 1850, described Parley Pratt’s new route through Parley’s Canyon as the Golden Pass, the new route through the mountains. This alternate valley entrance was explored and built by Parly P. Pratt and was used as a means of securing fuel and timber for himself and other emigrants. To defray his expenses for the road building, he initiated a toll for others to use his road in 1848. His established rates were as follows: 75c for a two-horse outfit, 10c for each additional pack or saddle animal, and 1c per head for sheep and loose stock. His toll house was located near the creek and approximately 1/2 mile west of Suicide Rock. Initially the Golden Pass Road was passible for horse and wagon, and between 1850-1869 thousands of Mormon pioneer emigrants, California-bound gold seeks, Pony Express riders, overland stage coaches, plus thousands of soldiers traveled over this dirt road.
Built on a 200 acre farmland north of Parley’s Creek and east of 20th East between the years of 1849-1852, it was the largest grist mill in the Utah Territory. It operated between 1852-1857 and was shut down in 1857 due to the entrance of Johnson’s U.S. Army. The mill was operated by means of a large water wheel located on the northeast corner of the mill. Water in turn was conveyed by a mill race from Parley’s Creek (just east of Suicide Rock) approximately one mile to the spillway and onto a twelve foot diameter water wheel. The shaft of this waterwheel conveyed take-off power for belt drive to the Industrial Center’s machinery. Following in 1857 start-up, the milling equipment was removed in 1863 and the plant was changed over to a cotton mill and then a woolen mill until its demise by fire.
Born with severe earthly disabilities on September 23, 1988 in Salt Lake City to Johanna (Anneke) Dame Robison and Ernest Parker Robison. At birth, Matthew’s life expectancy was anticipated to be only hours long. However, fortitude, strength, and endurance, combined with the power of God allowed Matthew to live ten and one-half years enveloped in the love of his family and friends.
His father decided to design a tombstone for him depicting the happiness he wanted for his son in both life and death.
The “wheelchair grave in salt lake” is an inspiration to us all.
The Church Office Building (COB) is a 28-story building in Salt Lake City, Utah, which houses the administrative support staff for the lay ministry of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) throughout the world.
The building is 420 ft (128 m) tall at roof level and is located within the Temple Square complex on the corner of North Temple and State Street.
Built in 1905, the historic First Methodist Episcopal Church, known also as the First United Methodist Church, Salt Lake City, is both architecturally and historically significant as an important early example of Protestant church activity in the State of Utah.
One of the oldest surviving Methodist churches in Utah, it played a significant role in the widespread Protestant missionary movement that occurred throughout the American West after the Civil War. The building’s architectural importance for Utah lies in its exemplification of an ecclesiastical type adopted by most Protestant religions from 1880 to 1930. Victorian Eclectic in style, it is the only church in Utah designed by Frederick Albert Hale, a prominent Salt Lake City architect in that era. It is unique in the state for its “auditorium” style – Mr. Hale designed an interior space that could sit hundreds while fostering rapport between ministers and their congregation. The building’s appearance has remained the same since 1906, retaining its architectural integrity while contributing to the historic resources of Salt Lake City.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
