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Show Volume XII Issue I THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 9 April 15, 2005 Eden of Xesterdays Note: This information was taken from “Weber County Third Grade Social Studies,” vad County School District, pp 237-241, nd from “History of the Eden Ward Ogden Stake Utah. wool. Cloth was woven on the looms in Ogden. During the pioneer period, most of the land was covered with wheat grass which grew about five feet high. It made excellent hay when cut and dried for winter use. In clearing this land for rming, the pioneers found the grass roots very difficult to dislodge. Finally the wheat grass disappeared or was burned or dug out. Sagebrush came in its place. The land then had to be cleared of it. When this was done alfalfa, grain and vegetables grew in its stead. Robert Burns planted the first lucerne (alfalfa) in Eden, having obtained the seed from a missionary. Sawmills played an important part in the early development of Eden. The first sawmill built in Ogden Valley stood near the bridge that separated Eden from Liberty. It was erected in 1862 by Samuel and Josiah Ferrin. Another one was built at Wolf Creek near Patio. sawmills came and went. When the sinibet became scarce, they would move to a new site. Early days in Eden boasted a blacksmith and a carpenter shop. The settlement also had it merchants. Mary Ballantyne ran the first store in Eden. This was followed by stores owned by John Farrell, Ether McBride, Elisha Wilbur, Adam L. Petersen, William Waterstradt, and finally Leonard’s Fuller Mercantile. The Eden merchants in pioneer days experienced many difficulties. Horses were the only mode of travel. It took a two-day trip to secure merchandise from Ogden. Most of the farmers had to have credit until their crops were harvested. Some brought their products to be traded. The writer of this article remembers, “As late as the 1920’s we took eggs to the store to buy other necessities.” In December of 1887, the first post office was established in Eden with Mary Ballantyne as postmistress. It operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Henry Shelton was the first mail carrier. Phylis Berlin Fuller was appointed Post Master in 1936, operating the post office within the Fuller Mercantile (The current oo Store) until shortly before her death in The sch coi and ample water in the northern part of the Valley brought abundant crops. Richard Ballantyne began irrigation in 1861, taking the water from Wolf Creek. In later years a ditch was provided from the North Fork of the Ogden River and the Eden Irrigation Company was organized. This company still controls the irrigation water supply in that area. Wells were dug for culinary use. Some used the pure mountain streams. In 1889, the first artesian well in the Valley was drilled on the premises of James Ririe. It had a depth of eighty-four feet and flowed forty gallons of water per minute. Since that time Ogden Valley has become famous for it splendid artesian wells which were located at the bottom of the hill from what was known as the Stringtown of Eden. About 1924, water from the Burnett Springs above the present Patio (Wolf Creek), was piped Eden, one of the communities in the north part of Ogden Valley, has a history that goes back to the s1850’s. In that era, Ogden Valley was used primarily as a big pasture for cattle. Early residents of Weber County brought their cattle over the North Ogden pass in early spring and took them back in the fall. The first cabin was built in 1857 by Erastus Bingham and Joseph Hardy. It was built on the Middle Fork of the Ogden River, but it was used only for the herders during the summer months. The second cabin was built on the North Fork about a mile northwest of Eden. he first permanent settlers of Eden arrived in 1850, coming via North Ogden Canyon and Pass, since the road had not been completed through Ogden Canyon. The party consisted of Joseph Grover, Sidney Teeples, Stephen Wilbur, Peter Geertsen, Josiah Ferrin, Francis Clark, Elisha Wilbur, the Moffats, the Ferrells, and others. Soon they were joined by more. By 1863, the infant settlement had a population of 260. By 1870 it had increased to 1051. In 1866, the settlers were forced to move into the central part of the Valley because of the Black Hawk Indian eril. The first building ever constructed in Eden for the purposes of education and for holding public and ecclesiastical meetings was a log structure with a shingled roof that was completed and dedicated in 1866. Edmund Burke Fuller was one of the first teachers in the cabin schoolhouse. An intellectual man, Fuller was called upon in many instances to advise the community members. He was considered a respected and well-beloved citizen of Eden. The homes were built of rough logs. The roofs were made of dirt, and the walls were plastered with mud. When it rained, the dirt from the roofs would wash down the walls. The furniture was scarce and hard to get. Most of it was made by the people from logs and trees. Mr. Burns, who lived in the eastern part of Eden, made chairs and sold them to all those who could afford to buy them. Candles, made from beef tallow, were burned for lights. The first settlers used oxen for work animals. The plows were forks of trees which merely scratched the ground. Plows were later made with wooden beams and iron shears. Almost any crop could be grown in the virgin soil, but the early and late frosts of the seasons prevented it ripening so the main crops were hay, grain, and potatoes. The grain, when ripe, was cut with a cradle and threshed with a flail or by driving oxen on the threshing floor. The chaff was then blown out by the breeze. About ten bushels were threshed out in one day. Clothes were made from wool, sheared from the sheep. Housewives corded and spun the to the ei town below. This system was never satisfactory. Because there were no , those in the center of town had plenty of wae "Those on the side line with smaller pipes had very little. In 1966, meters were installed and the water flow was equalized. John Fuller, who passed away in 1954 at the age of 88 told the following experiences to Dena Richins as she sat by his bed four months before his death: “My father (Edmund Burke Fuller) owned a herd of dairy cattle. When I was six years old, a merchant in Huntsville, Christian Sorenson, known as “Butter Sorenson,” made trips to Salt Lake once a week to sell the dairy products. My mother churned forty pounds of butter a week, and on a certain day she would put the butter in a bushel basket. “When I was seven years old my job was to help the boys of Eden herd the cows. We herded them on the foothills to keep them off the crops in the Valley. When we got a few years older, our Job changed from herding cows to farming. learned very early in life to drive an ox team. learned to put shoes on them. When they got sore footed, they would lay right down in the middle of the road and wouldn’t move. “The hardest job I have ever done while helping my father farm was helping clear new land. There was sagebrush higher than our heads. As it was plowed, we boys would follow along, pulling it out of the dirt. We would pile it in piles to burn. We worked from four o’clock in the morning until we couldn’t see any longer at night. “T never owned a pair of shoes when I was a kid. In the summer I always went barefooted. The calluses on the bottom of my feet served as shoes. In the winter we wrapped our feet in rags or sacks to keep them warm. “We were pretty poor there fore awhile. | remember eating sego lily bulbs and cow cabbage. Mother would cook them and they would taste mighty fine. I have gone out into the grain fields with my mother to glean the wheat that the cradle left. “Hunting and fishing wasn’t the sport in those days that it is now, because wild game was too plentiful. I remember there were lot of wolves, fox, coyotes, and three kinds of bear. There was a grizzly bear, a black bear, and a little brown bear. It was nothing to see seven or eight a day while we were logging. There were lots of bobcat, cougars, and lions. The farmers had to keep close watch of their animals.” In 1866, the grasshopper plague came. It lasted for seven years. The grasshoppers destroyed almost all the crops and nearly brought starvation upon the people. During this timed they sold cattle, and cut down logs from the canyon to sell. The Union Pacific Railroad owned alternate sections of land throughout h area. This had been received from the federal government to help pay for the building the railroad. The settlers brought this land for $2.50 an acre. Government land, however was homestead, which meant that they would build a home on it, clear the land, and then file a claim on it. Corrections In the April 1, 2005 issue of the OGDEN VALLEY News there was an identity error in the historical photo. In the center row, the name Betty Chambers should have been Vera Chambers. Betty Chambers is Vera’s older sister. Historical Photo Ra a TERT “EDEN TAKES COUNTY CAGE HONORS BARBARA BEALBA INTERIORS Weber County basketball honors for 1924 were captured by the Eden team. They gained the title by defeating Plain City in a play-off after both teams had tied for honors. The players pictured top row from left to right: H. Stallings, guar d; W. Graham, forward, A. Burnett, forward; Coach Layton Galbraith. Lower row: Clyde Ferrin, guard; Omer Burnett, captain and center; A. Gardner, guard. Photo courtesy of Donna McKay. Custom Draperies Blinds, Shutters & Shades Reupholstery Design Consultation HONOR YOUR PIONEER HERITAGE! By Joining the The Ogden Valley Chapter of the Society of Sons of Utah Pioneers (SUP) 745-2269 You don't need to be of pioneer ancestry, old, or handsome to join! E-mail:barbar For more information, call: Rod Clark @ 745-3424 or Lyle Allen at 745-6636 BRANDI HAMMON Local Innovative Specialist 801-389- ae DRANVICFINE VIE WPFNUF Ade PINEVIEW 10 Acres Huntsville $295,000 Under Contract REAL ESTATE yYivT wu Eee — frce Merkel Cnobupir a Sellers Hone Woarentig Inchuded — — Feclanred on www.realtor.com Veritucl lour Inchuded ek Ae, P |