Control of Influence

Control of Influence. . Echo, influenced by the trappers, settlers, gold seekers and others passing through, grew gradually as a multi-cultural community. When news arrived in Salt Lake City that the transcontinental railroad would pass through Echo Canyon, Brigham Young Jr. purchased the entire Echo valley from founder James Bromley for a mere $200. , , Young Jr., a son of the former Mormon Church President, recognized Echo's strategic location on the railroad and its importance to protect the access to Mormon colonies in the Salt Lake Valley and Weber Canyon. His Plan for Echo City encased 280 by 290 blocks. The Deseret News reported "... small beginning for a place that may become famous." Edward Sloan reported fewer than six buildings before Christmas but fifty houses four weeks later. , , By 1868, Echo was a big town but it did not grow into the city Young Jr. had hoped. The quest for an all-Mormon community failed, due to the outside influences of the railroad and the mining rush. The pulse of the railroad continued to pump life into Echo, and the town did not die as did most towns along the line. , , Young Jr. designed the town with fourteen 80-foot wide avenues crossing the valley east to west. Avenues were named after some of his father's wives. North-south streets were named after Union Pacific dignitaries. Not all of Brigham Young's wives were represented with street names. Perhaps Young Jr. did not choose to honor them all, or he may have selected his favorites. In any case, advertising plural marriage in an important town like Echo was not a good idea, as Utah was attempting to gain statehood.