Taylor Settlement

Taylor Settlement. . Six men came to this area from Hooper, Utah, to homestead in the early spring of 1885: John, Edward and William Priest, Smith Johnson, and Edwin and Abiah Wadsworth Jr. They each built a log house on their claim before returning to Utah for their families. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), headquartered in Salt Lake, were informed of this small settlement. In 1886 Apostle John W. Taylor of the LDS Church was sent to organize the group into a branch, a part of the Bannock Stake with headquarters in Rexburg, Idaho. The decision was made to name the ward in honor of Apostle Taylor. William Priest became the first bishop. The first church meetings were held in Abiah Wadsworth Jr.'s home. , By 1886 a log structure was erected for public use on land donated by John Priest. The first teacher was John Henry Evans, the church recorder. A second multi-purpose structure, a two-room, 39 by 60 foot white frame building was built in the mid 1890s. This building burned during the winter of 1904, taking with it all church and school records. In 1905 a two-room brick building was completed. Church, school, and dances were held in the building until a church was constructed in 1915. , To water this arid, sagebrush-covered land, the pioneers had to dig a 10-mile-long irrigation canal from Eagle Rock, located to the north. Hay and grain, their first crops, were grown in 1890. , The beautiful Taylor Cemetery was established in April 1887 when Abiah Wadsworth Jr. and William Arave purchased 5 acres of land for $65 to bury Ellen, the infant daughter of Sarah and Abiah Wadsworth, Jr.