Located at 241 West 400 North in Payson, Utah, this park was built where the Wightman School stood and the plaque placed there reads:
Wightman School
Upon this site was once a private school and residence built circa 1883 by William C. and Lucretia J. Pepper Wightman. The school was built approximately 400 feet west of the northwest corner of the original fort and used to educate the children of early settlers in Payson.
When educational activities ended at the school, the structure was used as a residence until June of 2002. In August of 2003 =, the structure was demolished due to years of neglect and deterioration. This monument has been erected to remind all children that play in this park of the important role education has played in the history of the community.
At 500 S Main in Springville, Utah is a cool, vintage looking sign that says Villa. It was the South Villa Motel but I’m trying to research it for more history.
These 3 photos were taken by M. Lee Taylor in 2004 when it was the Wagon Wheel:
November 9, 2021 – A gas line broke and an explosion destroyed a couple of apartments.
This ranch on the west side of Highway 89 in Birdseye, Utah is talked about a lot for formerly being owned by country music star Willie Nelson.
Randal B. Thatcher has a cool article in the Sanpete Messenger: I happened to ask my cowboy neighbor, recently, what he knew about the history of that fabled “WN” ranch, and he promptly introduced me to his longtime friend, Kal, a resident of Mt. Pleasant, who proceeded to give me the following firsthand account, which I paraphrase:
Kal had once been a horse trainer and occasional stunt double for the actor Robert Redford, who introduced him to a friend who was looking to buy some horses. Kal said this would-be buyer did not have the look of a traditional horseman, with his scruffy, white beard, and his dingy, red bandanna tied around a head of long, strawberry-blonde hair.
The buyer turned out to be none other than the famous singer, Willie Nelson.
They instantly hit it off, and before he knew it, Kal was looking for property for the famous singer somewhere in the Central Utah area, where Willie could keep his newly acquired horses and bring friends to visit.
Kal crisscrossed the state from St. George to Spanish Fork looking at over a dozen available properties before finally settling on the 95-acre ranch in Birdseye.
Age: 44 Utah County Sheriff’s Office Homicide: Shooting
Sgt. Cory Wride, 44, was shot and killed while on uniformed patrol while assisting a stranded motorist.
After encountering a pickup truck with flashing blinkers at the side of the State Road 73 between Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort, Sgt. Wride radioed dispatch to advise that he was pulling over to assist.
During the stop, Sgt. Wride returned to his patrol vehicle for some paperwork. The passenger in the suspect vehicle opened the back window of the truck and fired on Sgt. Wride with a 9mm handgun, killing him. The suspects fled the scene and were encountered again in Santaquin, where a second deputy was wounded. The suspects fled south on I-15 and carjacked a vehicle in Nephi. At a roadblock set up by Juab County deputies, the suspect was shot and critically wounded. He died the following day. The driver of the car, a 17-year-old girl, was sentenced to prison.
Married and the father of five children, Sgt. Wride had served with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office nearly 20 years.(text from utahsfallen.org)
This memorial is located along Highway 73 near Eagle Mountain, Utah.
On January 30, 2014, while patrolling the Eagle Mountain area, Sergeant Cory Wride discovered a vehicle parked alongside SR 73 with its hazard lights on. He pulled behind the vehicle and checked out with Dispatch on a motorist assist, and then approached the vehicle and obtained information on the occupants. As he was attempting to find out the identity of a male passenger in the vehicle, the back window of the suspect vehicle opened and a male suspect fired seven rounds into Sergeant Wride’s vehicle. Two of the rounds fired by the suspect hit Sergeant Wride, causing his death.
The suspects fled the scene after shooting Sergeant Wride. The suspect vehicle was later located and attempts were made to stop the vehicle. Deputy Greg Sherwood was seriously injured by the male suspect who shot two rounds into Deputy Sherwood’s vehicle. After shooting Deputy Sherwood and again fleeing the scene the suspects were finally stopped in Juab County where the male suspect was shot and later died from his injuries. The female suspect was taken into custody.
Sergeant Wride was shot and killed by a suspect who had been released from prison and was wanted on a parole violation. Sergeant Wride was ambushed with no opportunity to defend himself or return fire.
The Purple Heart was awarded to Sergeant Wride who, during the performance of his official Sheriff’s Office duties, sustained substantial bodily injury through the hostile actions of another. Cory’s legacy is one that other Deputies should strive to emulate and one which will never be forgotten.
Sergeant Cory Wride proudly served the City of Eagle Mountain as a Patrol Sergeant. He was dedicated to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and to the City of Eagle Mountain. Sergeant Wride had 19 years of experience in providing service and protection to the citizens of Utah County where he worked in the areas of Corrections, Patrol, K-9, SWAT and Internal Investigations. He was also a Utah National Guard veteran. He was a devoted husband and father, whose number one priority was his family. He is survived by his wife, Nanette Wride, and five children. Sergeant Cory Wride was laid to rest in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.
This building, now part of JW Storage at 1940 S State St in Springville, Utah was part of the Springville-Mapleton Sugar Company until 1930 when it was purchased by the U and I Sugar Company, it was shut down in 1940.
