Southern Utah Valley

Southern Utah Valley. . The Dominguez-Escalante expedition looking for a route between Spanish New Mexico and California were the first white men to enter Utah Valley. They camped a few miles north of this site on September 23, 1776, and spent several days exploring and teaching the Indians., In 1844 Lt. John C. Fremont whose careful scientific observations led to the definition of the Great Basin, also visited this area. His reports were studied by the Mormons prior to their departure from Illinois in 1846. He noted that "there is good soil and good grass adapted to civilized settlements." A fact which undoubtedly contributed to the choice of the Great Basin as the destination of the Mormon Pioneers., Despite the general Mormon policy of feeding rather fighting the Indians, a corollary of their settlement on Indians lands in Utah was the frequent loss of life and property among the Indians as well as the white man. Before Congress extinguished the Indian land title and removed local tribes to the Uintah Basin, a 640 acre Indian Farm was established in 1855 near the mouth of the Spanish Fork River in an effort to educate the Indians to sustain themselves through agricultural pursuits.