| Show pioneering the ashley valley ft olt ile let wring of wagon ar rising in bernal ernal in lie the early pioneer da a VERNAL DY BY MRS KENNETH SPIERS As wg we enjoy the convenience conveniences ot of these modern days we should pause frequently to hark back 0 t a e days ot of danger trial and hardship en dured by the pioneers to wh in belong the credit and glory of laying the foundation of 0 ashley valley a civilization and prosperity in the year 1878 the earliest settlers arrived in ashley valley and among the first to come were alma westover with bis his young bride clara iara couch westover sister ot of the first wife 0 of phillip String bam sr and they located in the upper part ot of the valley mrs westover and mra mrs robert snyder now mrs william have the distinction ot of being the first two white women to come to this region in september 1878 a son was born to alma and clara 1 stover for or whose we life the i young I 1 her ther sacrificed her own this bov was the first rat white child born ir abley valley the ame same autunno lobert snyder was kill killed by bigl ng and the bodies of 61 the young ther and tle pioneer were the firs laid at ret rest in what Is now rock I 1 int cemetery other pioneers continue I 1 coming and by the autumn of 1879 several families had been added to the email small band ot of settlers on october 24 of that year james hacking and his hi wife and two to child ren reached the settlement after spending twenty one days on the road from provo in november A A hatch accompanied by his hi wife and five ch children as nine days in making the journey from heber city the meeker massacre occurred in 13 the fall tall ot of 1879 and the indians indiana ot of northeastern utah were restive and it was feared they might attack the settlers ot of ashley valley As a precaution ibe men decided to erect a fort for mutual protection and when this wag was completed it contained eighteen houseal honse and a blacksmith ship it aas a located where tha the store of the ashley operative cooperative co company now stands and was of sufficient size to shelter all of the settlers residing in the valley some of the pioneers had erected their abodes ame me distance away near the banki of ashley creek and still others chose to live at other points on what la to known as tha the bench and a considerable number of thee theme did not seek refuge in th tha fort when it was first completed the menace of threatening indians was not the only danger these hardy pioneers bad had to endure tor for the extremely harsh winter of tested their mettle to the utmost and caused privations priva tlona and utter suffer ings ingo without limit the carefully care tull stored surplus provisions were dl di vided equally and all fared alike cattle and horses were turned adrift to seek their sustenance but as tor for age was scarce roost most of the animals died of starvation before spring came wood for fuel consisting principally ct cf sagebrush was haul ed in un hand band sleds by the men and boys of the this fort mall was as brought in by peter dillman sho ho made the tr irlea aps over the mountains on snow shoes and brought all letter letters but ply one newspaper 1 ihl I his was pass ed around among the settlers sett leri lert and ach took his hi turn at reading the news new aroch a the outside james hacking hocking relates that although the winter was very severe his ills little log house aas as comfortable with he its dirt flo r quilt for a door and a piece ol 01 unbleached factory muslin for a window the trial and endured the people re aled they must continue to be cheerful must have entertainment entertainments and th that at the children must have ed several men in the fort among their belonging had violins viol lne and to the music of these instrument instruments the settlers ett lere whited whiled away many hours in dancing tian cing each sunday n orning sunday school wai was held and the children on week days attended day school conducted con dulled by hilll lellam M ashton in a cabin located a quarter mile south of the fort the spring ol 01 1880 came early earlye and with it came an epidemic of the dread disease diphtheria caused by privat I 1 ons due to insufficient nourishment during daring the hard bard wirier months many children viere ere claimed by death and it is recalled that a man named henderson enderson II and his wife who had oame to the valley the previous autumn with eleven children left in the spring with only two all the others tailing falling victims to the diphtheria ph theria the food supply was exhausted in the spring of 1880 and the people faced actual starvation it was then I 1 that archie hadlock adlock II received back censi n money to the amount of 65 and this be he loaned to the starving people so they might be enabled to purchase food to tide them over until they could grow some civje in the early days of two four horse outfits departed tor for green river city wyo to bring back loads ot of provisions and other supplier supplies it Is in written in the annals cf of these pioneering days that mrs james hacking frozen froze potatoes and some bran seasoned with almost the last salt gait remaining and that the starving people with gratitude at the meager food on the day before the outfits returned fron from fro n green river city with provi slona stone all the settlers fasted not from voluntary choice but because scarce carce a crimi of food was to be cund anywhere when the team came into view tears ot of gratitude flowed from the eyes of the brave pioneers the th eat of indian outbreaks caeser DY BY MRS KENNETH SPIERS the first pioneers entersz thi this tart rt of airily valley by traveling up dee awit creek over ever lied IW pin finla a ridge and into dry fork and so 0 o mar masser hid settlers fett sett leri lerg as early aa as any other part of ashley valley ib it bt brt b t hod fly william N fillard shatter I 1 string ham sr Ml llara britt finui britt vt V I 1 ham Brada bradshaw haw and the late 1 in U G It reynold eYnolds some accompanied by their families bad all located in what lit is now iader u Ia eer nard ard and were here during the hard winter of 1879 80 and thomas bingham at this time lived in dry fork all these men were instrumental in making the upper part of the valley what it la Is toilie 1 in 1879 robert bodily willlam bradshaw Drad thaw illiam llam ll shatter and phil 1 lip with cx x and horse teams be iii the construction of the pioneer irrigating canal of the up per valley now known as the upper canal and by this canal water was brought trim rm ashley creek to the tracts these men and their neighbors veer ere tilling today thia this canal supplies practically all the irrigating water ater tor for maeser ward being the original advocate of a school tor for this section ot of the he valley nobert robert bodily was chosen aa as one of the first school trustees of t the die dis arelt and anti be he also aag one ot of the early county commissioners at a time ti m e when the county seat wag was located a at t old ashley the first log school 1 house a located just hest of the amark mark hill residence and later an addition wae was built to accommodate th the fast increasing number of children ila in 1889 thia this school building aa desfred de by tire originated by an overheated stove the ward chapel wag was then built and avid in athla school wag was conducted until 1889 in which year the iret first brick school house wag was erect eil la in maeser i i soon after the hard winter wm reynold reynolds father vt ct william C reynolds came to maeser and together they constructed and operated the first burr barr mill in the upper valley i the motive power being supplee by borses enterprise was known tor for many years 3 the rf mill ut Is now known n a e farmers had disappeared appeared dl ane ant 11 1 att nott rs moved out of the f rt ars begin to till the soil oil ae As but a few horse had survived the harsh winter near ly IY all the work wae was dione done by hand anada and canals were constructed by hand labor and crop crops we were planted james hacking planted trees tree on b th ides sides of the street passing in front treat of his home borne gradually more settlers joined the band ba d of pioneers in the expansive region an inland empire and dill gunti all labored in truly making the desert to bl esom asom ae an the rose mill the original small room in which the lull lInK wae was conducted as ile only torn town down in the ears as the custom C t the mill more modern machinery wag was installed the owner owners keeping step lh ith progress reea from the day when the oll mill turned out it its arst bitch of flotie until hia his death lie the years ago ANtI william llam 0 G reynold continued to be the miller 0 of the en ter prise be he founded in a sund ky school was instituted with the first arrival ot of pioneer pioneers and other rell lerv sery ices non followed william shaf shat ter er as an the presiding elder in thy the I 1 pioneer dja das and the ward wag created he be was wa amiade bishop at the time tinie of the organization ot of the ard robert giddily visa as his first counselor and george glines wae was counselor another early settler of this part ot of the ralley valley as lycurcus johnson and he 81 alto to erected a flour mill aa an his mill and the one operated by N william illia ni 0 reynolda reynolds were the only acnes in this section the ward was first named mill ward in 1910 when the new brick schoolhouse school ahouee w wed as built and A 11 1 uie 00 mawr mar ehl in hon honor 0 r a 0 karl G I 1 ar of pavo it as derod deemed bt best to chango th nani of the tb to with the name of 0 the 11 1161 this thi was wa doue done and linw 1910 the old 1 ward if 14 ito ki wn as maew ward atto tha days of ion long ago when good brave pioneers pi onera chow tle upper part of the valley as the place to build their homes maeser biarl art has gi wn we and flourished and today are found meadows and farm lande lands tine fine orchards and some ot of the moat most magnificent homes of the uintah buein basin where once was deou only the gilld lid growth of the desert |
