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Show HE UTE SE PAGE EIGHT By OLI E DE PAIN BOBERG Granite - Old Granite - then Glacio, was at one time one of the busiest and largest towns in Salt Lake county and perhaps in Utah. As one views it now (1936) there is no evidence of its hotels, livery stables, dwellings, stores, bakeries, laundries, saloons, or the life of its inhabitants- and there were well over three thousand of them. The last mute evidence of its civilization, that of its railroad, was wiped away just this year whea the State bought the old railroad grade ~nd under WP A are fast turning it into a highway that tourists might visit this wondrous beautiful, yet treacherous canyon with its lofty rugged granite walls back of which and on which are crystaline lakes, virgin forests, and rich ores. This canyon has taken its tc-~1 of life almost every year since ore was discovered in its depths. treacherously and wantonly sometimes, claiming twelve to fifteen lives in one winter- yet because of its hidden wealth man still "takes llis chance" with the canyon devils--not so many now but still one or two-always someone in the canyon digging for its hidden treasures. Yes, all evidence of any civilizaticn is wiped away though its geolo ..,.:cal history is written indellib1) Huge boulders, small rounded s nes, scrappings on the sideW "l~lE", gouged andbroken, even its sen beers testimony of its glacial fc r matton. On Monday evening, July 13, 1. 36, Sylvia Steiner and I visited with my uncle, Louis E. Despain, in his comfortable home at the mouth of l.Jttle Cottonwood canyon. He is an old resident he're and has spent his entire life to date in the canyon. He knews it better than JIWst men--its moods -when it i8 angered and threat~ mischief-when it smiles a~¥! oJ fers refuge, beauty ~ .retrea~ knows of the lo\rlilleas bl4¥):m· snc in its c:tep~f ita helcb: of 'ts wealth an,d its po erty, t p~rtt aacl 10118-&D the.-e :ijave ~~· ~ bern there of stalworth parents w kaew and experienced the pleasures and hardships of pioneers building a new empire, and he chose his life's companion from the same kind of people-honest, stalworth and both good LatterDay Saints. .! ~ I have said, Slyvia Steiner anc I vic:it ed this couple to learn 4'ro:n. them the stor y of this Glacio Park. This is the tale they told us: Around the year 1870 lead and silver ore was discovered at Alta at he head of Little Cottonwood canyon- and of course a mining town came into existence. One m!ning company, The Flagstaff, bt :It a "one hor~· 'smelter at what is know as Tanner's Flat a ' distance of five or six miles down the canyon from Alta. This was the first smelter ever built in Utah. It was fueled with charcoal burned in pits by thousands of bushels all the way along the canyon. Italian people furnished this charcoal and some of their pits are still discernable. One notable pit now called the Coalpit is about two miles above Granite. There is a cold spring at this place which exudes the coldest and purest of waters . . . It has become a watering place for both man and beast as they travel through the canyon. Wherever these Italian people found timber they made pits and piled the logs and wood together as tightly as possible, then covered them with dirt and burned slowly. When it got to the right stage the fire was extinguished and the charcoal sold to the mining companies for smelting their ores. But this first smelter was too small and proved inadequate so it was abandoned and one was built farther down the canyon just west of the Old Rock bouse or Lewis Maxfield's residence and the ores were shipped to this smelter for some four or five years, as the mines increased in production. Of course the ores must be hauled to the railroads and thence to the smelters for refining-and moreover this ore must be freighted by team as no railroads ran to the mines. As the journey to the railroad was too long to be made in one day there must be a halfway station for the men and the teams-thence came Granite into cxi.£tence. Here is where they rested and fed themselves and their bourses. "But there were a few dwellings at Granite before 1870 as my sister, Martha Despain, was born there in 1863' 'says uncle Ed. "And men were cutting rock from the huge boulders that were all about for the Salt Lake temple. This is how the place received its name. The town began to build about uno. John Boyce built' the largest and finest stable. Lewis Neeley, Alva Butler and many more moved their families in. The land '3elonged to no one so each man built his house and barn wherever ~1e found a suitable plot. Of course along with these good people others came in to find work or to live off those who had work, so t.!:le population was made of all kinds of people- good, bad, and indifferent. Foreigners with their cheap labor, saloon keepers with their liquors, gambling devices 'l.nd pool halls, boarding house keepers, livery stablemen, blackcomiths (a man by the nome of Cottrell ) to keep the horses shod, tlres set and wagons in repair as the canyon road was rough and steep. And there were grocerymen apd clothiers, bakers and laundrymen (These were mostly Chinese) and lived separately from the whites.) A ditch was dug circling the town and carrying water from the creek. This ran near most of the dwellings and supplied them culinary water. Man and beast drank alike from the creek- no FOR BEStr RESULTS • Midvale,_Utah,_F_r_ida_y, July 31, 1936 Between 1875 and 1880 the railIn 1935 the East Jordan Stake one ev,er dreamed of danger of possible contamination from dis-- road moved on up the canyon to purchased the land of the park Wasatch, one mile east of Gran- from the Despain brothers and has ease. From 1870 , to about 1875 this ite, and the ores from Alta were made it a beautiful and desirable town of Granite was at its height. shipped by rail-so there was no playground for the people of their It extended from the Murray pow- more need of the town of Granite stake-for their pleasure and hap. piness. ~r dam to about where the Glacio and about 1880 it was almost compark stadium now stands and was pletely abandoned. built on both sides of the creek. Soon after this the L. D. S. It consisted of over five hundred church bought the land from Mr. dwelling houses made of lumber Snell intending it for a canyon re(one might can them shacks as ~ort and summer home sites. The they were temporary structures), church did build a hotel, a dance each house had its stable. There hall and several summer cottages were two saloons-one small one 3.t Wasatch. Here were planted and one larger with a gambling beautiful gardens also. John Starden and pool room. There was a ley was overseer and Wasatch was grocery store and a clothing store truly a beauty spot of the west. owned by a man named Silver- In 1914 and 1915 when the State berg, and a man by the name of Capitol was being built, Wasatch David Nickol ran the boarding was sold to the Utah Granite and Marble company which operated bouse. Many tales are told of the hap- the quarry at Wasatch and again penings in this town. Solomon J: shipped their rock by rail. Soon Despain was Justice of the Peace. after this Ashton and Son, realHe was kept busy marrying coup- tors. bought Wasatch and sold the les, arresting drunks and attempt- cottages to private parties. ing to keep the peace. A couple Nothing was ever done to Old came to his house at midnight and Granite as it was now known until asked to be married. They threw the Despain Brothers (Charles, small stones at his window and Douglas and Mervin) bought it shouted until they woke • him. from the Church, planning to use 1 Learning their wish he leaned out it for camping grounds. They were of the second story window and trying to find a new name for this telling them to take hold of bands beauty spot when one of the wives, I be performed the ceremony in his Leda Despain, suggested Glacial night shirt. At another time twc Park. But the little girl, Alice drunks came swaggering out of Egbert, made a beautiful mistake the saloon, each swearing to kill and lettered all the signs Glacio the other one. One carried a gun Park (Glacio) thus its present while the other went about the na.m.e. residences hunting for a knife. "My mother", said aunt Annie, E HAVE lUST RECEIVED "was frightened. She hid her ASPE~!At HlPMENl Of butcher knives in a quilt and put us youngsters to bed as shf LQNC • WEAR\KG~ E RA thought we'd be safer there thar. FOR TOUGH GOODRICH any place else. Of course the mar BURNS, L TFECI'I01 .. ~. CO .A DE S- SUlll" with the gun killed the other one ." CHEST COLDS, CORNS. AND CE liftED Y On Saturday, May 3, 1873, the RECTAL IRRlTATIO. rg Wasatch - Jor an Valley Railroad AMER\CA'S O!.DES'f t E And Forms Of was completed at Granite. This I· ~ UFJtCTURE ECZEAA was the terminal. It was built to haul the rock to the temple as the 1 WITH A steep grade proved too heavy for Priced the horse teams. After the rail as ow as road was built they shipped all the ore and rock on it. 0ll21 The town of Granite began to decline about 1875. As was stated above, the land belonged to no one or anyone and about this time a man by the name Of John Snell located and filed on the land then charged the residents rent for each PRICE 60 CENTS house and barn according to size. Many moved a way on account of Fo Sale this high rent. It is said Mr. AT ALL GOOD DEALERS Snell made much money from the settlers by this method. eYou avem ney h . o,rr y s ont J-::., e remarkably t ough G oodrich :-e::. -::: t Sure Cure! M EY BACK GUARANTEE $550*,.... lag's ent on the l ow cost - second on t he mo:· • !"'s of extra mileage that every C • ·: -< • Commander gives. For a real v ::. _ n . low-cost tires, come in and se u 1 .s a:urdy Goodrich C ommander. c l c1ve you a square deal. LOW PRIC·E$¥ .. . - .... ~ ~- 40)j. $550* $ 4.40 X 21 - - 4.75 $580* - X $ 19 85* 4.50 X 20 - - -S.OC X 19 $605* $760* and LO.~. 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