This verdant valley, a welcome oasis

This verdant valley, a welcome oasis. .

"Here we found pure water, sufficient for all of us and our cattle. Here we found oceans of grass and thousands of acres of rich, level land covered with wild flax." P.V. Crawford, July 8, 1851

, Lush meadows and abundant water welcomed thousands of weary, westward-bound Oregon Trail travelers between 1849-1870. , By 1871, these emigrants were succeeded by Mormon settlers who came to stay, briefly naming their new settlement "Twin Creeks." The village, nestled in this lush valley framed by Meade Peak to the east (elev. 9,957 ft.) and Sherman Peak to the west (elev. 9,692 ft.), was incorporated as Georgetown in 1967. , Harvesting a bountiful land , Early settlers found abundant wild game, fish and fruit. Soon, farmers were exporting alfalfa, hay, and grains to Wyoming coal mines or Salt Lake City markets. From the 1940s-1960s strawberries and raspberries were shipped by rail to Salt Lake City. , While agriculture remains a cornerstone of the valley's economy, recreation is also important today. , Phosphate in the hills , Georgetown's "gold" , Gold and silver may be Idaho's most glamorous minerals, but our most plentiful is phosphate. The hills east of Georgetown are rich with this sedimentary rock. , Phosphate mining at the Georgetown Canyon Mine was the area's major industry for many years. Phosphate is used in many products from lawn fertilizers to toothpaste and soda pop. Utah Fertilizer and Chemical Manufacturing Company began mining in Georgetown Canyon in 1909. , In 1955, Central Farmers Fertilizer Company began open-pit mining. The mine has not produced ore since 1964.