A close look around this area will reveal what remains of the foundation of the Frary's little home. This modest home was the center of life
for the family. Because of their remote island location, this is where the children
received their . . . — — Map (db m172634) HM
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, . . . — — Map (db m243429) HM
A 7.2-mile, earthen causeway follows a natural sand bar extending from this shore area to the northern tip of Antelope Island. It separates Farmington Bay on the south and the main body of the lake. The original road, constructed by Davis . . . — — Map (db m243430) HM
Farmers used bailers in both
hay and grain production.
Hay and straw had to be
hauled to and hand-fed into
the baler for processing. This
process could be dangerous
to operators because their
hands and arms could be
sucked into the . . . — — Map (db m171430) HM
Food for Thought
Brine shrimp are important to the ecology of the Great Salt Lake. The Great Salt Lake is hypersaline, which means that it is many times saltier than the ocean. While fish and frogs cannot tolerate the high . . . — — Map (db m172250) HM
For over half a century, workers harvested grain by hand. This was a very
time consuming process.
By 1900, Island farmers had adopted mechanized grain binders to cut, bundle
and tie grain stalks together into sheaves. Farm hands loaded . . . — — Map (db m171434) HM
The Fielding Garr Ranch was first settled in
1848 and represents 133 years of western ranching
history. While exploring the ranch you will learn
of its colorful past and discover that many periods
of history are represented here. Evidence . . . — — Map (db m171405) HM
Early settlers knew the importance of education. In 1885, a one-room
schoolhouse was constructed on this site, and all 8 grades met together.
Textbooks were scarce, but the students learned reading, writing,
and arithmetic. Unfortunately, most . . . — — Map (db m243441) HM
As evidenced by visible shorelines along the east mountains and Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake is the remnant of ancient Lake Bonneville. Lake Bonneville existed from about 14,000 to 32,000 years ago and covered 20,000 square miles of Utah, . . . — — Map (db m243431) HM
“On March 4, 1905 we moved to Syracuse with all our possessions laoded in an old iron tired wagon. Our furniture consisted of a new bedstead and dresser, and our other household needs. A cupboard, table, chairs, and kitchen stove were all . . . — — Map (db m123765) HM
The signature scene, the dangerous buffalo hunt from the movie The Covered Wagon, was filmed on Antelope Island. Released in 1923, it was one of the most successful films of the silent era and the first epic western ever produced. An original . . . — — Map (db m125213) HM
Residents used horse-drawn
wagons on the island
from 1848 through the
1960s due to the prohibitive
cost of hauling fuel to
Antelope Island.
Horse and wagon were used
year-round to haul supplies
anywhere they were needed.
In the . . . — — Map (db m171427) HM
Despite living four miles from their nearest neighbor and having no church, school or town, the Frary children lived very happily on Antelope Island. With imaginations as wide and wild as the landscape around them, they found much to explore. . . . — — Map (db m172637) HM
In 1891 George Frary built a house on this 160 acre homestead. Six years later his wife Alice died and lies
at rest in this burial site.
Frary Family
Father-George Isaac Frary B. Nov. 18, 1854 in Madison, Wisconsin . . . — — Map (db m172272) HM
Employees of the Island
Improvement Company
planted several hundred
acres of hay and 1000
acres of wheat each year
on the Island.
Workers disked new fields
to remove surface weeds
and broke up deeply
compacted soil by using
the . . . — — Map (db m171450) HM
During the 1840s-1850s,
workers harvested grass
hay by hand and loaded it
onto wagons to be stored
for winter feed.
By 1870, field hands
switched to sickle mowers,
like these displayed here,
to harvest their hay. Initially
drawn by . . . — — Map (db m171436) HM
About 1872 the first soil was plowed in this community and in 1876-77 homes were erected. The people attended church services in Kaysville and Farmington prior to 1882 when Pres. Wm. R. Smith of Davis stake organized a branch of the L.D.S. church . . . — — Map (db m123767) HM
The Fielding Garr Ranch operated from 1848 to 1981.
As you walk through the site, see how many different types of building
materials you can identify.
Ranchers used the natural resources of the Isiand for their construction
projects. . . . — — Map (db m171508) HM
The Old Emigrant Road started at Salt Lake City, Utah, and ended at the City of the Rocks, Idaho, where it formed a junction with the California Trail. This road was also known as Bluff Road, Old Traveled Road, and the Salt Lake Cutoff. It was . . . — — Map (db m124032) HM
As you survey the vast expanse of inland sea and the causeway fading off into the distance, imagine the days before the causeway existed - nearly seven miles of tangy saltwater separating you from the mainland.
Getting Underway
For . . . — — Map (db m243427) HM
After 1900, farming
activities increased on
the Island.
Tractors became the most
important piece of
equipment at the ranch.
The first tractor you see is
a 1929 Case Model L.
This tractor pulled plows,
powered belt-driven . . . — — Map (db m171451) HM
Transportation to Antelope
Island varied due to
fluctuating lake levels.
In the late 1840s, residents
and visitors came to the
Island by horse and wagon
on buckboards like this one.
By 1853, lake levels rose
enough to make boats . . . — — Map (db m171507) HM
Eventually trucks replaced
wagons as a more efficient
and cost-effective mode
of transportation and
movement of supplies.
During low water years a
sandbar was exposed on the
Southeast end of the Island.
Trucks could cross . . . — — Map (db m171463) HM
The Walker Brothers, James T., Daniel, and Ephraim moved a building owned
by Isaac Barton across the street to this location and opened their store.
The home you see here now was remodeled from that original building. They opened the store in . . . — — Map (db m243428) HM
Among those who homesteaded Antelope Island were George Issac Frary, his wife Alice Eliza Phillips Frary, and five of their seven children Guy, Grace, Lottie, Dora and Frank. This spot is where the family lived, worked and played from 1891 to . . . — — Map (db m172304) HM
Founder of Great Salt Lake Park First Chairman of Great Salt Lake Authority State Legislature Member of Davis Recreation Committee Syracuse Farmer Sometime known as “Antelope Bill“ “It was on a hot July day in 1959. I had a walk . . . — — Map (db m185675) HM
