Gunnison Valley Legacy Wall

Gunnison Valley Legacy Wall. . , Gunnison Sugar Factory , The sugar industry in Gunnison Valley began in 1901 when Bishop C.A. Madsen offered a prize for beet-growing. Farmers planted the new crop and shipped them for processing to Lehi and later to Elsinore. In 1904, Madsen urged support for a local factory to process local beets. Ten years later, plans were underway to erect a sugar manufacturing plant in Centerfield. Thus, sugar-processing came to the valley in 1919 with completion of the Gunnison Sugar Factory. In 1924, William Wrigley Jr. purchased the factory to produce sugar for his chewing gum factory in Chicago. The large payroll and significant cash payments to the beet growers generated a period of wide prosperity. U and I Sugar Company acquired the factory in 1940 and continued production until 1966, when it closed. The factory remained the heart and soul of the valley for many years, blasting its familiar whistle every morning at 8 a.m. Older residents fondly remember “the burnt sugar give-aways”., Gunnison Valley Hospital , Gunnison Valley boasts a long history of outstanding health care for its citizens. Early residents of Fort Gunnison (1865-1869) included a doctor. Dr. J.A Hagan began practice in 1903, visiting patients by horse and buggy. In 1932, Dr. G. Stanford Rees set up practice. Eager to open a hospital, in 1940 Dr. Rees acquired a building and remodeled it for living quarters, office space, and an eleven-bed hospital. The first hospital in Sanpete County was operated by Dr. Rees, his wife, and two nurses. Deliveries were $25 and rooms $3 a day. In 1949, the Rees family sold the hospital to the communities in the valley for one dollar, and it remains a community-operated hospital to this day. In 1955, Dr. Lamar H. Stewart set up practice. Together, Rees and Stewart guided the construction of the new hospital between 1968 and 1970. Many skilled physicians and additions to the hospital have followed, enhancing the legacy of top-quality health care for the communities of central Utah., Wistaria Café , South Central Utah’s largest café, situated in the center of Gunnison’s Main Street, was established in 1925 under the name, “Kozi Inn”. The following year, the name was changed to “Wistaria”. Owners Aymer and Elva Peterson ran the café continuously for 33 years. Its magical neon lights drew crowds from all walks of life and all localities. It was a place of gathering, celebrating, planning, and organizing. Community and civic groups, like the Lions Club, JayCees, Riding Club, Businessmen’s Association, literary clubs, and auxiliary clubs, held regular meetings there. Friday nights packed in adults and youngsters to celebrate a Bulldog win, or even to discuss a defeat. The Wistaria was used to display trophies and plaques, make decisions, and discuss future growth, but was especially known as a happening place where friendships and relationships prospered. Its name may change, but it will always be the “Wistaria Café”., Casino Star Theatre , The Casino, the oldest continuously active movie theatre west of the Mississippi, first opened on January 13, 1913, to an overflow crowd eager to see the first movie ever played in Gunnison: On the Cactus Trail. Besides the movies and vaudeville productions, this ornate Beaux Arts-style building served Gunnison Valley as a civic auditorium until the 1925 high school was built. The theatre hosted assemblies and school plays, as well as civic, political, and occasional church events. The theatre was renamed the Star in 1936 with a remodel that updated the front of the building, added restrooms, replaced the seats, and installed draperies on the stage. In 1987, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it retained its unique architecture in near-original condition. In 2004, at the beginning of a major restoration, it was renamed the Casino Star to honor its entire history. The new marquee was installed in 2016., For more information go to GunnisonLegacy.com