Misc. Utah History Lessons

On the way home from Sarah's the other day, I decided to take the scenic tour. Usually we're in a rush coming and going all we see is the same highway and the same sights, so I thought a change of scenery was in order.

What's a Polynesian statue doing out in the middle of the Utah desert, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. In the 1880's the Church helped some Polynesians come to Utah so they could take advantage of the ordinances of the soon-to-be completed Salt Lake Temple. They were having a problem fitting in with the white monoculture at the time, even being refused entrance to some Salt Lake City businesses. The Church leadership chose three returned missionaries that had served in the islands and three Hawaiians to scout out a location for them to settle. They picked a ranch in Skull Valley about midway between the Great Salt Lake and Dugway. They formed a co-op with the Church and laid out a town.

Today all that remains of Iosepa (named after Joseph F. Smith, who served a mission to Hawaii) are a few crumbling foundations and the cemetary. In 1917, after plans to build a temple in Hawaii were announced, most of the residents of Iosepa returned to the islands. The few people remaining soon moved to Salt Lake City. While the Polynesians were in Skull Valley, they faced the usual pioneer hardships, compounded by a huge cultural change. Food was different, the land and climate were different, and resistance to disease was different. Their story should be added to the stories of the pioneers who crossed the plains as an example of faith and endurance.


This is about 25 miles further on down the valley on the way to Lookout Pass. This is part of the old Pony Express trail.

Nice pronghorn buck.

This marks the site of the Lookout Pass station. Although the Pony Express was only in operation for 18 months and operated at a loss, it is credited with timely news from the east that helped make sure California was in the Union camp at the start of the Civil War.

Part three of the history tour was Fort Desert, just south of Hinckley which is itself just south of Delta. In 1865 this big square adobe fort was built to protect settlers and livestock. Because of manpower shortages during the Civil War the US Army could not protect the settlers in this remote area during the Blackhawk war. The fort proved its worth a year later when Blackhawk showed up at demanded cattle. The pioneers were able to negotiate from a position of strength and safety and the dispute ended peacefully.

From here I decided I'd better head for home and just shy of Milford I found a road that cut across and came out at Cove Fort and then came home the usual way. Happy trails, all!