Antelope Island

Antelope Island. . , Explorers John C. Fremont and Kit Carson observed several antelope on the island during their 1845 journey, thus giving Antelope Island its name. This was the beginning of the island's recorded history., An Island of Interest , Herdsman, Fielding Garr, built an adobe ranch house which is the oldest, continually inhabited, Anglo built home in the state and the oldest still standing on its original foundation. This historic home is open for public viewing and is the site where guests may participate in many pioneer activities. , The Mormon Church's tithing herd was kept on the island until 1871. Funds received from this herd were used for immigration assistance to Utah, known as the "Perpetual Immigration Fund." The only known grave on the island belongs to Alice Frary, who, along with her husband George, homesteaded on the island in the 1870s. The 600 free-roaming bison on the island started with a herd of twelve, bought by William Glasmann and boated to their new home by John Dooley and George Frary on February 15, 1893., In the 1930s Antelope Island was the largest private sheep shearing operation west of the Mississippi River. The north 2,000 acres were acquired by the state in 1969 for a state park. In 1981 the rest of the island came into state ownership, thus preserving the pristine condition of this beautiful and largest island in the Great Salt Lake., Visitors today enjoy bathing at the clean, white sand beaches, hiking, biking, boating, as well as viewing wildlife, historic sites, and spectacular sunsets.