| Show A Short But Interesting History of Brigham City By P. F. Brigham City has grown some the past fifty The creek north of the Tabernacle formed the southern limit and the street in front of Attorney Call's running east and was the northern west it has widened a number of blocks and east perhaps two blocks most of the The people were practically on the same footing there were no all were but none the less happy and content with their Our meeting house Was ai shanty temporarily erected for workers engaged on the the outer shell of which had just been roofed we speak of business at that it consisted of various Our prominent industry was the of to that may be added lumber and out of which new houses were built and others added Dirt roofs were almost so much so that whoever looked for and expected special dispensation were advised by church leaders to put a shingle roof over the heads of his' The suggestion was acted on as fast as circumstances would The result was that in-a few the dirt roofs diminished quite had no because there were no did not steal because we had no horses that could carry us and drive our prey out of the were physically healthy because of industry and plain Children were born and lived because of prayers and faith in I believe the people were for they realized that their dependence was in and well knew that He could not and not look upon sin with any degree of so in this condition we lived and grew and prospered until our city today is the abode of thousands that counted only hundreds when matters spoken of in the beginning of this narrative occupied the and all who come within our gates speak our praises and congratulate upon being citizens of the beautiful city of As people ever saw or handled and at this date it is a mystery to me how we could carry on our interchange and exchange of products and labor without a money When a bill was paid it would be in a cow or so mich a specified bill of lumber or adobes or Notes not pass current that I know few kept and but little misunderstanding arose in I believe the public honor was better maintained then than It was not fashionable to run into if nearly all earned their bread by the sweat of their and it can be truthfully said that we were a happy were not because there was none to We were not for we all sailed in the same We paid our debts because our obligations were Among other industries we made and improved canyon the country roads received less Water courses were and many ditches were dug on boundary to serve the double purpose of that and Ox teams were the general motive power for all kinds of lumbering and even tramping out the grain that was called Reaping and mowing was done by cradle and scythe in the hands of the sturdy But in the face of our crude ways o doing and the excessive labor connected the intellectual and social side of our nature was' not Lectures on various al by the drama and daSt in the season balance the and social sides of the that with our meager ties Ve thought ourselves as as the most favored oiS' at that date in its 11 as memory serves the first dealer in that stock consisted of a very line of groceries and some the principal items beU hickory denims at to which added thread and some ta things that were a Luxuries were not A The currency that passed for medium was butter S money was out of the That state of things w for a few the conditions came into the the first C. Thomes kim as Cotton He not Hut his attention to provided comfortable the United States his place a It ff owned and occupied by our B. The j coach would pass through several times a by two pair of spanking which quite enlivened In a short time I Rosenbaum put up his sign I this point I must relate a story of personal experience illustrate the straits we were in many As before all were but the mat-f and to some extent took no cognizance of and made demand then The price of flour was and many other proportionally much made a very good against In our hair that was gathered up the local tannery was and separated from the was used to loosen it be A pair of hand rere brought into use and ter did the carding of with about one- fourth the hang together while it was being spun on a Dutch or Danish after if was woven with cotton warp into what should be called and the was in turn made into pants for the use of the men if any there may have luxuriated in but certain it is that commoners did not And after a lapse of fifty years I remember distinctly the sensation produced by the first contact between my bare legs and my new breeches and that is no fairy Of that was the status of poor people in a new as the coming years came and improvements and ere we were aware a corporation sprang into existence and was called the City Mercantile and Manufacturing The incorporators were Lorenzo Samuel Alvin Nichols and W. C. and perhaps a few The store and stock of Thomas was the base of operations for the hew The capital of the concern was limited the but grew steadily as the year wore away until it reached the figure of The mercantile department was the backbone of the but as the name indicates it branched out into numerous manufacturing branches of home industries that produced such things as the people were in need and most of which was consumed at Making it at times uphill business to secure enough cash to meet the cash outlays of the expensive the company issued their local which furnished a medium of exchange in home and the antagonism of the church seized this matter as a violation of the law and assessed the company a tax for issuing currency in competition with the The assessment was and after years of litigation was but not until it had succeeded in seriously crippling its As just at that time money was and that which was circulated was nearly all paper Fractional currency of and was in They were about inches and being in use fumbled by the numerous fingers of those who could afford the they were more worn than but as long as the largest part of a bill was intact it passed muster from hand to A little later travel and traffic were opened to Idaho and the which brought a Miners and traders would come in the fall and often winter with and their medium of exchange was gold dust in its crude with now and then nuggets like peas and a grain of When purchases were large or the proverbial buckskin sack was brought forth containing the precious and a troy scale was used to measure the number of ounces or pounds the bill called the pound weight was used only on rare occasions when a large purchase was The traders' spoken of took our and such other produce as they could profitably dispose of in those On their return trips' they would load and bring such things as their knowledge of our condition taught them they could turn with |
