Biggest Little City of the Railroad

While the settlers were still in their fort, they sometimes called their community “Jericho,” for the Biblical Walls of Jericho; “Hatch Town,” because of the three Hatch families that lived there; or simply “The Bench,” because the settlement lay on a rise four miles due south of Ashley, the first little frontier town in the valley. Although residents eventually wanted to call the place Ashley Center, the federal postal service refused their request and assigned them the name Vernal in 1886. Few people liked it then, but it obviously stuck.

It wasn’t too many years before Ashley was nothing more than a ghost town. Led by prominent saloon keeper and mayor S. M. Browne, Vernal had become the “biggest little city off the railroad” and a “model of city government.” In 1902 Missouri’s St. Louis Globe gushed:

This little burg is governed in such a manner as to make it the envy of all the other cities in the state. The one thing which makes Vernal unique among the cities of the United States, if not the whole world, is that there has never been a dollar of money raised by a city tax since it incorporated.

There are no boodlers [bride-takers] in Vernal and there never has been a suspicion of scandal since it became a city.

Politics cut no figure in the city elections, and the best men in the place are chosen to fill the offices. To be a member of the city government is considered a high compliment to the business ability of the man, so the offices are sought by the leading businessmen of the place and, when once elected, they gladly served out their terms without pay.

While elected officials have since levied taxes to pay for city services, Vernal continues to be the biggest little city in northeastern Utah.

This is #12 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:

• Vernal’s Walking History Tour

This marker is located at Cobble Rock Park, which is at 25 South Vernal Avenue in Vernal, Utah.

One of the Top 50 Small Cities in the U.S.

While the Uinta Basin was originally founded on agriculture and ranching, the area is now a major hydrocarbon producer, and Vernal City serves as the hub of these vast natural resources in northeastern Utah. Vernal’s present economy revoles around the oil and gas industry, enjoying the prosperity that comes with boom years, but suffering periodic busts as well. Among the other products mined from the earth here are Gilsonite, coal, phosphate, oil shale, and asphalt.

Vernal is also a starting point for outdoor enthusiasts and tourists who visit Ashley National Forest, the High Uinta Mountains, with their sparkling natural lakes, and Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The wild Green River watershed, including Split Mountain, Yampa, and Echo canyons, attracts river runners from around the world.

Dinosaur National Monument, established in 1915 after the discovery of an ancient dinosaur fossil bed, lies fourteen miles east of Vernal. The Utah Field House of National History and Dinosaur Gardens, which showcase numerous prehistoric artifacts, call Vernal’s Main Street home and attract thousands of visitors annually. This archeologically-rich region is known as Dinosaurland and provides Vernal with its Apatosaurus-like mascot, Dina.

Not to be outdone by their predecessors, Vernal residents today still take pride in their city. As one of the best eqipped inland cities in America, Vernal was named to the top fifty list of small cities in America in 1993 and again in 1995. By 2002, the city’s population has grown to approximately 7,000 residents in a county of 25,000 people. Civic and government organizations continue to be actively involved in the community, promoting economic growth, supporting youth programs, and undertaking city beautification projects, such as the establishment of Cobble Rock Park.

This is #11 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:

• Vernal’s Walking History Tour

This marker is located at Cobble Rock Park, which is at 25 South Vernal Avenue in Vernal, Utah.

Vernal Auto Company

Herbert M. Snyder operated the Cobble Rock Station for one year, 1927-1928. During his tenure, he changed the name from Vernal Auto Company to Snyder Service, moved the gas pumps so they were more visible, and uniformed all the station employees.

A well-known Vernal family changed the business name again, and, with Howard Woolley as manager, operated Ashton Service from 1928 until 1930. They finished the “car wash room,” complete with pressure washing machines, and became a leading local seller of Goodyear tires.

Lawrence Carter and Mick Batty ran the station briefly before Tom Karren took over in January 1931. They gave the place its final name: Conoco Service. The station’s Triangle Café was then a major attraction. Chuck Henderson purchased Karren’s lease the next year and continued as manager until 1936, when Claude Banks took over. Banks stayed with the business for the next twenty years, including a break for military service during World War II.

After Banks quit Conoco to become Vernal City Police Chief in 1956, the station sat empty until Herb Snyder, one of its first operators, leased the building to use as headquarters for his Vernal Cab Company. By the time he retired, the old community gathering spot was in poor condition. It sat empty and boarded up until 1970, when owner N. J. Meagher razed it to pave a parking lot.

This is #9 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:

• Vernal’s Walking History Tour

This marker is located at Cobble Rock Park, which is at 25 South Vernal Avenue in Vernal, Utah.

The first business to occupy the corner across from you was Acorn Mercantile, a leading grocery and dry goods store. In 1915 Acorn boasted a shipment to Salt Lake City of 12,000 fresh eggs, which provided a solid market for the Ashley Valley poultry industry. The industry began to falter in 1918 when egg shipments of poor quality were refused by Salt Lake produce companies and returned to the U.S. Post Office for holding, forcing the postal service into the produce storage business.

In 1926 J.C. Penney Company, Inc., which originated in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and was formerly known to customers as The Golden Rule Store, opened a department store at this location. A year later the company celebrated its silver anniversary with a special sale to local patrons.

Hotel Service Station, owned by Lewis Motor Company, occupied the building in 1933. Its name came from its close proximity to the Gibson Hotel to the west and the Commercial Hotel across the street, just east of where you are standing. The original building was torn down in 1954 and replaced with a more modern structure which has been home to Uintah Rexall Drug, the Unique Shop, and MarElla Fashions.

This is #2 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:

• Vernal’s Walking History Tour

Related:

• JCPenney

A Splendid Specimen of Architecture

The first building erected on this site was considered “a splendid specimen of architecture” for its time and housed general mercantile stores. Jim Mease operated a store briefly, then Lycurgus Johnson moved his business here from its original Ashley Town location, four miles north. Named L. Johnson and Sons, the mercantile sold a little bit of everything for the pioneer farmer and rancher, from dry goods to “Queensware,” gent’ furnishings, and notions.

After Johnson relocated his business directly north across the street in the 1890s, Joseph W. and Annie Blythe Pieronnet opened the East End Saloon in the building. They cut in a corner door, perhaps hoping to lure some of the nearby Exchange Saloon’s patrons into their establishment.

In 1903 partners L. H. Woodard and Walter McCoy took over the saloon and they ran it for about three years. Then they made a major career move, selling all their saloon fixtures and opening a furniture store. In 1909 Woodard and McCoy consolidated their business with E. W. Davis and moved into Davis’ building a few doors down South Vernal Avenue.

By August 1910, Uintah State Bank had opened in the building, the first competition the Bank of Vernal had. Four years later, Uintah State moved into new quarters across the street. Soon afterward, Vernal Auto Company opened a garage in the old building. It was in continuous operation until 1925 when the foundations were poured for the Cobble Rock Station.

This is #8 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:

• Vernal’s Walking History Tour

This marker is located at Cobble Rock Park, which is at 25 South Vernal Avenue in Vernal, Utah.

As manager of Vernal Auto Company, T. G. Alexander was responsible for constructing the Cobble Rock Station, a complement to the company’s new showroom, garage, and automobile storage facility, two doors down South Vernal Avenue. It was situated on this corner of the city’s main intersection.

The drive-in station, which first went by the same name as its parent company, was equipped with every modern convenience its builders could devise. Diagonal driveways ran past gasoline pumps which were fronted by three beautiful cobblestone arches. Air, water, and oil were conveniently available. On the Main Street side of the station, grease and wash racks were built. A tire room, accessory storage, vulcanizing and battery shop were located in the back of the building. Even a lunch counter graced the business. Perhaps the most revolutionary feature in the station, however, was the ladies room, touted as being the only public restroom for women between Salt Lake and Denver.

In the days when providing superior customer service was of upmost importance, station operators also supplied the motoring public with free tourist information and continuously updated road condition reports.

When it opened in April 1926, the Vernal Auto Company service station was declared to be one of the finest in the state. Although there were many changes in subsequent ownership, the Cobble Rock Station, located in the heart of Vernal, attracted residents and travelers alike for over thirty years.

This is #7 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:

• Vernal’s Walking History Tour

This marker is located at Cobble Rock Park, which is at 25 South Vernal Avenue in Vernal, Utah.