Show Plans to Make Daggett a County Made 50 Years Ago MANILA On January 7 Dag Dag- Daggett gett County will be 48 years old and the story of its founding is one of pioneer hardship polio polI- polItical determination and intense dedication The small area nestled ire in the most farthermost corner of north north- northeastern eastern Utah had been kicked around from one parent to another an- an another other ever since its beginning Originally it had been a part of Mexican Territory until it ceded to the United States in 1648 when it became a part of the large Green River County Utah Territory Its real pro pro- problems problems began when the bound bound- boundaries aries of Utah b began gan to be more or less permanently established Soon It was a part of Summit County and this was not a good situation because it was so isol isolated from the rest of the county that little attention could be given it It was thought that this problem could be alleviated by joining the small strip with Uintah County in 1880 but the problems remained the same The citizens paid taxes but received little of the bene bene- fits such as roads schools etc There appeared to be no real solution to the problem until the I year 1913 when the utah Legis Legis- Legislature lature passed an act whereby new counties might be establish establish- established ed cd Us Its provisions were that if any section of an county wished to become a sep sep- separate arate unit it must petition its Board of County Commissioners with signatures of one fourth of the electors in that section and one fourth of the electors in the rest of the county and be pre pre- presented presented to the Board before the first Monday l in May Then a special election would be held beld beldin in July before the voters of the entire county Early in 1916 some of the isolated citizenry met with the Uintah County Board in efforts to obtain some seventy dollars worth of funds to repair a parti parti- parti particularly bad stretch of muddy road and were refused Indig Indig- Indignation nation ran high and the deci deci- deci decision sion sian was made to attempt to di di- di divorce vorce the little section of land from its mother county A peti peti- peti petition tion was arranged and signed in time to be presented early I in 1917 The election results in July of that year were Dag Dag- Daggett gett District 74 in favor none against Uintah District in favor against The election was carried The new county was duly named Daggett in honor of Ells Ells Ells- Ellsworth worth C Daggett first sur sur- surveyor of Utah the man most responsible for the develop develop- ment of the area On Novem Novem- her ber 16 1917 Harden Bennion acting governor of the state of Utah in the absence of Gayer Gover nor Bamberger issued the pro pro- proclamation proclaiming Daggett a county effective on the first Monday in January 1918 So on Januar January 7 1918 Dag Dag- Daggett Jett gett County came into existence Its were Commencing at the point of inter section Inter section of the bound bound- I aries of Utah Wyoming and Colorado thence west to the theone theone one hundred and tenth meri men men- dian of west longitude thence south to the watershed of the Uintah Mountains thence east cast along said watershed to the Colorado state line thence north to the point of begin begin- beginning ning A few pertinent facts about Daggett County are that it is the smallest county in the state of utah one of the richest for its size because of its petroleum interests in the Clay Basin has the lowest traffic fatality reo re- record cord in the nation and has had hada II a clean record of absolutely no illiteracy Its birthday will pass with no celebration and probably very little mention but Daggett County promises to tobe tobe be one one of the most important counties in the nation in the future and perhaps its an an- an anniversary will be of some real import to the State of utah Also in January Manila coun coun- coun county ty seat of Daggett County will celebrate its birthday from its founding in 1898 Of course it Ills is apparent that Manila reo re- received its name from the famous Battle of Manila during the Spanish American War in 1898 I |