OCR Text |
Show UTAH'S FIRST WAGON ROAD IN BRIGHAM CITY j The oldest wagon road in Utar; is in Box El'der county. Over it ! passed the first recorded train oi emigrants headed for California and known as the ' John Bidwell party. They brought the first wheeled vehicles into Utah six years ahead of the Mormon Pioneers. Pio-neers. In fact, Brigham Young's original party had no difficulty in following the wagon wheel trails left by the Bidwell party, who with another group of adventurers adventur-ers led by Father DeSmet, left Sapling Grove, Missouri in the spring of 1841 for California. Near Soda Springs, Idaho, the Bidwell party of 34 persons traveling trav-eling in covered wagons left DeSmet De-Smet and followed the Bear River south. They crossed the low hills near Collinston, Utah, where Jim Bridger first viewed the sparkling waters of Great Salt Lake in 1824. Near where Corinne now stands the party turned west and crossed Promontory Mountain over the exact spot where years later in 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Cen-tral Pacific rails met. From Promontory westward, their wagon trail can still be traced as it wended its way to where Kel-ton Kel-ton now stands and thence onward to Owl Springs, Box Elder county, coun-ty, where two wagons were abandoned. aban-doned. None of these wagons of the 1841 trek ever reached their destination, and after suffering terrible hardships, the party finally final-ly reached California without loss of life. ' |