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Show 40 YEARS AGO . . . From the Files.... From the March 23, 19H issue: ENTERPRISING LEAMINGTON The town of Leamington an the northern border of Millard County is situated in a small but fertile valley of the winding Sevier River. It is surrounded on the north, east, and south by the Wasatch range which is noted for its rich mineral deposits of gold, silver, copper and lead. Away to the west across the level plain are the Drum or Sawtooth Saw-tooth mountains, as they are commonly com-monly called. Leamington was first settled in 1873 by John.W. Radford, Edward Morgan, O. C. Jensen and the Mor-tensons, Mor-tensons, father and two sons, also Christian Overson, but the latter did not locate here permanently until 1881. A few cattlemen and sheepmen were located in the valley, val-ley, and for a few years there was I a rough element among the sett-! sett-! lers and disturbances and theft j were frequent but that element . finally disappeared. For the first few years the soil would not give the yield expected, due mainly to lack of sufficient moisture. But when the canal was built in 1884-5, the settlers began to prosper and have done so ever since. Lars Nielson presided over the branch from 1874 until the ward was organized In 1884. He then became bishop with W. A. Walker and B. P. Textorius as his councillors. council-lors. He remained bishop until 1901 when the present incumbent, R. B. Ashby was elected. The railroad was built through the valley in 1879 and a new era. of Prosperity dawned. George Morrison Mor-rison and Christian Overson began shipping large quantities of Cedar posts, timber and charcoal. They received part cash and part store goods in payment. This was the first time cash and store goods became plentiful. In 1875 the Ibex Mining Company Com-pany built a smelter at the point of the mountain northeast of the settlement, but for some reason it run only seven months and then closed down. It was perhaps Just as well for Leamington as the element working at the smelter were not very desirable citizens. The old settlers tell o'f some thrilling experiences in those early days, and their descendents hardly realize the hardships they passed through in building up the town and making a living. Where in early days there were only a few acres under cultivation today there are 1600 acres yielding abundant crops and with an ample and perpetual per-petual water supply. Samuel Mclntyre alone has 1000 acres mostly in alfalfa. Where in early days they had to travel by team and the mail by stage, we now have an excellent railroad ser vice and telegraph and telephone communication with the whole wor Id. The early settlers dealt in nickels nic-kels where we deal in dollars and nearly every citizen has a check book and a bank account. In early days the town was a collection of shacks, today it is a town o comfortable brick and frame houses, embowered in orchards or-chards and gardens with two stores, sto-res, a blacksmith shop, fine school house and meeting house, and several sev-eral hundred prosperous and contented con-tented people. The town extends along the river bottom for a distance dis-tance of six miles - - the longest town in the county. The farms around ar-ound Leamington have produced this year about 6,400 tons of hay worth $12 a ton. Also 75,000 lbs. of alfalfa seed worth 14c per lb. The farmers have also shipped innumerable in-numerable cattle and horses. So much for the past and present. pres-ent. The future possibilities are unlimited. Southwest of Leamington Leaming-ton are thousands of acres of fertile fer-tile land only waiting the building of a canal to put it under cultivation cultiva-tion and make prosperous homes for hundreds of farmers. Alma Harder |