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The first permanent settlement on Bear River was made by
John Myers. In 1855 he came across the plains to Utah, and two years later
was working as carpenter at Fort Bridger. In 186o he made his home on the
east bank of Bear River at the point where the Salt Lake Trail crossed the
stream, and from that day the place has been known as Myers' Crossing.
Among the group of well-kept buildings situated near the lower boundary of
the ranch there was conspicuous for many years a two-story frame dwelling
that had been moved to Hilliard and was the home of the family. This was
burned down in 1922, and has been replaced by a pretty, modern structure,
where lives Fred B. Myers, one of the five sons of John Myers. His wife, a
daughter of Lort Lewis, who came to Wyoming as a rancher on upper Bear
River, is a member of another family named Lewis, that traces its ancestry
back to the early Welsh kings. They have two children, a boy and a girl.
Extending some seven miles up the valley is one of the most beautiful
ranches in the West. In the field about six miles above the crossing is
the home of Charles A., another son of John Myers. No man stands higher in
Uinta County than Charles Myers, and it is safe to say that in the state
senate, to which he has been twice elected, he has done as much for sound
moral and business principles as any man in Wyoming. He married Miss Nell
.Pepper and they have three children. The eldest of the family went to
Texas and never married. A sister, Mrs. Leonard, made her home in Evanston
for some years, and was the mother of six children, one of whom, Mrs. F.
W. Hutchenreiter, still lives here. The brother Phillip moved to Salt Lake
City, where he died. John Myers has a fine ranch at Piedmont and is the
father of three children. The youngest of the family, a daughter named
Grace, is the wife of E. H. Darling of Salt Lake City, and they are the
parents of one girl. John Myers died in 1901 and is buried in the Evanston
cemetery. His widow, now eighty-three years old, divides her time between
Salt Lake and the ranch. From her doorstep she has seen the evolution of
the transportation of sixty years, first over the winding trail where the
lumbering emigrant wagon was followed by the stage
178 UINTA COUNTY
coach and the pony express, then along the roadbed, carefully surveyed for
the steam horse with its huge loads of freight and passengers, and today
across the trackless sky, where the government mail planes take their
flight.
The meadows lying under the over-hanging cliffs at Myers' Crossing were a
favorite camping ground for Washakie's band, and that famous chief
advanced to a place of friendship in the Myers family. Among many things
that he told John Myers was that the year 1837 was a sad one for the
Indians, as most of the buffalo in the vicinity died that winter.
One summer morning the peace of the Indian camp in the meadows was broken
by the clatter of horses' hoofs rounding the cliff above, and the voice of
the rider who, with every leap of his steed, shouted the single word,
"Cheyenne, Cheyenne, Cheyenne!" He was a scout who had been sent out to
spy on the movements of their dreaded enemy. Mr. Myers said that within
twenty minutes of the first alarm not a sign of an Indian was to be seen
in the valley, human beings, tents and horses seeming to have vanished
into thin air.
On Sunday, September 28, 1924, a monument was erected on the crest of the
hill at the side of the old trail approaching Myers' Crosssing from the
east, in honor of the Mormon pioneers who reached this spot July 12, 1847.
About seven hundred people gathered to witness the ceremonies that were
conducted by the Woodruff Stake of the Latter Day Saints. The memorial is
built of cobblestones set in cement on a cement base. It is built in the
form of a pyramid surmounted by a beehive, and bears an appropriate
inscription on a metal slab. Near the trail is the grave of Mrs. Mary
Lewis, a member of an early band, who died in 1852.
Following the completion of the railroad the demand for ties and building
material became imperative. William K. Sloan, who has already been
mentioned as a pioneer of Utah, erected a sawmill at the mouth of Mill
Creek, a stream that enters Bear River about thirty miles above Hilliard,
and lumber products of all sorts were soon turned out. Hauling by team was
expensive and slow, and Mr. Sloan conceived the idea of building a flume
for the purpose of floating down the lumber. The Hilliard Flume and Lumber
Company was organized by him, in which were in-
ITS PLACE IN HISTORY '79
terested John W. Kerr, Fred H. Myers and W. H. Wadsworth, all Nevada
capitalists. Mr. Sloan was treasurer, a Salt Lake man named John W. Fowler
was secretary and Alfred H. Bemis of Salt Lake was superintendent of
construction. The flume began at the mouth of Fish Creek, and there a town
known as Mill City sprang up. It consisted of a sawmill, a company store
and boarding places for the men, the number of whom reached five hundred
at one time. The construction began at the upper end where the lumber was
prepared. After the completion of two or three miles water was turned in
and the material for further building floated down to be distributed along
the surveyed route by ox teams. A branch called the Howe flume extended
six miles above Mill City, and there were also two feeders from East Fork
and Mill Creek that served to swell the volume of water and supply that
lost by leakage. It was built in a "V" shape of planks two inches thick
and a foot wide, two and a half boards being used to each side, and was
supported on a scaffolding of posts. Eighty tons of nails were put into
it. The height varied with the contour of the country from the level of
the ground to thirty feet over the railroad tracks at Hilliard. So great
was the fall that a log put in the flume at Mill City could reach
Hil-liard in two hours if unhindered in its journey by "jams", and men
were stationed along its course to prevent these obstructions. It was
later decided that the better plan would be to float down the raw timber,
as the soaking of the prepared lumber and the necessary rough handling en
route were injurious, and accordingly the mill was moved to Hilliard. Here
the lumber was distributed to the railroad for use as ties and building
props in mines, and to the mill for the preparation of building material.
These were the days when there was a great demand for charcoal in the
smelting industry, and the feasibility of using the smaller trees and the
limbs in making this product was soon demonstrated. Thirty-six kilns were
erected at Hilliard, structures about thirty feet across and thirty feet
high, made of brick and shaped like the- old-fashioned beehive. The kilns
were filled from the top and dosed, a fire was started and was so
regulated as to subject the contents to a smouldering heat for several
days, at the end of which time the drafts were dosed and the fire was
permitted to die out. When cold enough for handling, the wood
ISO UINTA COUNTY
was removed so evenly charred that logs a foot thick were almost uniform
in appearance from bark to core. A large business was done with all the
smelting companies in the western states, and a small smelter was put up
at Hilliard, but this proved to be a poor investment because of the
expense in shipping the crude ore, and was soon discontinued. The decline
of the charcoal industry began with the use of coke in smelters, and
resulted in the shutting down of the Hilliard kilns. The price of charcoal
fell from twenty-seven to seven cents a bushel.
There was a falling off, too, in the demand for native lumber, due to
shipping in of a better quality from the Northwestern states. The Hilliard
Flume and Lumber Company, in which not far from $200,000 had been
invested, was sold to a company of Boston capitalists, Bean, Biglow &
Chapin, but not before it had passed from the experimental stage when it
was laughingly referred to as "Sloan's Folly", to a paying investment that
had brought employment to a large number of workmen and had stimulated
business of various kinds in Wyoming. The new company faced the same
difficulties as had the original one, and failed to make a success of the
work. At length G. W. Carleton, telegraph operator at Hilliard, paid $500
for the holdings consisting of the kilns, the company's buildings at
Hilliard and the flume that was rapidly falling to pieces. He repaired ten
miles of it, floated down wood for various purposes and for some years
continued to turn out charcoal that he shipped to Salt Lake for use in
restaurants and other places. After even this demand ceased, the flume
fell into ruin and the ranchers appropriated the lumber for buildings.
About the only trace today of this once active industry is to be found in
the plant life that marks its course. Seeds from the mountain sides that
were carried down by the waters have found beds in the soil of the
lowlands, perpetuating as nature only can the records of the past.
Hilliard attracted to it the Myers family from Bear River
Crossing, and they conducted a boarding house for some years. Another
boarding house was opened by Mr. and Mrs. Clement C. LaChappelle. He was a
French-Canadian, and his wife was from an English family that had settled
in Utah. They took up a: ranch on Sulphur Creek, and after a time moved to
Evanston, where two of their children still live, Roger, who is an
engineer on the rail-
ITS PLACE IN HISTORY 181
road, and who married Marion, the youngest daughter of Thomas Scott, and
Valerie, who became the wife of Frank Cashin. Louise taught school here
for many years, and married J. Whitney of Kemmerer, and they now make
their home in California. Flo LaChappelle, clerk of the court of Lincoln
County for some years, was appointed State Librarian by Governor Ross.
W. S. Smith was another resident of Hilliard who later moved to Evanston,
and who served the county as deputy sheriff in the early days. His
daughter Grace taught the first school at Hilliard, a position that was
filled some years later by Annie Sloan, daughter of William K. Sloan. She
became the wife of C. M. Bissell, a prominent railroad man of New York
state and makes her home in Albany, as does the youngest daughter, Ella,
who married E. M. Cameron of that city. Another daughter, Alice, was
married to Frank Walker, who came from the East to manage the flume. They
are living in Boston.
G. W. Carlton was a Canadian by birth. He came to Salt Lake with the first
telegraph operators after the completion of the line. Here he met Miss
Cora Georgia Snow, daughter of an associate judge on the supreme bench of
Utah, and a strong friendship was formed that culminated in their marriage
late in life. Mrs. Carleton was a remarkable woman, whose story is in
itself a romance embodying the most thrilling experiences of the life of
the isolated State of Deseret and its development. She was the first woman
to be admitted to the bar in Utah, an honor that was conferred on her and
Phoebe Cousins at the same time. The Carletons divided their time between
their home in Hilliard, the town of Evanston, and San Diego, California,
where Mrs. Carleton was honored by being the first woman to be elected to
the position of trustee of the public schools.
Mr, Carleton was a member of the state legislature of Wyoming for one
term. Both Mr. and Mrs. Carleton died in California.
A man by the name of Ferguson was the first to settle on upper Bear River.
He did not have a patent, but for some years held the place by "squatter's
right". In i 88 i George C. L. Goodman took up a claim near by, and the
next year a soldier's homestead was taken up by his father, Elias Goodman.
The Ferguson buildings and improvements were bought by them.
182 UINTA COUNTY
The first member of the Goodman family to come to Wyoming was John S., who
worked for the railroad at Green River as early as 1872. The next year he
was joined by George, the youngest of the four brothers, and together they
moved to Hilliard to work on the flume. The father, Elias Goodman, with
his wife and his two remaining sons, followed them and all engaged in the
sheep business. The ranches were models in their way and were brought to a
high state of efficiency. Elias Goodman died in 1896 and his widow some
twelve years later. John Goodman had four children and now lives in
southern California. Job, the second son, married Amelia Brewer, a native
of New York, and they are the parents of two sons, Arthur and Albert, who
married the two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathon Jones. Arthur's family,
in which there are two sons, lives in Evanston with Mr. and Mrs. Job
Goodman in the home built by D. B. Rathbun. Albert, with his wife and
daughter, moved to Stockton, California. job Goodman has served the county
both as assessor and treasurer. The brother William moved to Idaho, where
he died. George Goodman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elias Goodman, was for many
years engaged in the lumber business in Evanston, where two attractive
homes now belonging to J. E. Martin and John W. R. Rennie, are among the
monuments to his memory. Mr. Goodman was one of our foremost citizens. He
married Ruby Billings, a teacher who came here from Boston and who, with
her daughter Elynor, lives in California. Mr. Goodman died in 1920 and was
buried in the Evanston cemetery.
John Hatten was for many years a well-known hunter and trapper at the bend
of the river on Mill Creek, where he was in charge of the dam. He came in
1877 and his wife two years later. For three years Mrs. Hatten lived in
the home cabin without seeing a white face other than those of her own
family. There are two sons, the oldest of whom is Jesse, a prominent
business man of Evanston. He married Anna, daughter of C. A. Lannon, and
the family, in which there are four girls and one boy, live in the home
built by Senator Clark. Mrs. John Hatten also lives in Evanston. Edgar,
the second son, lives in Salt Lake.
Jesse Hatten owns a valuable ranch running east from the river. Across the
river is the Homer place. Below the Hatten ranch we come to those of
George Barker, J. F. McKinnon and
ITS PLACE IN HISTORY 183
the Crown, which was originally taken up by R. M. Lewis. Emmet Hare's and
the Phipps ranches lie between it and Charles Myers.
South of Hatten's is the ranch taken up by Michael Lowham, a Scotch-Irish
settler, who had one daughter and nine sons, all of whom were well known
in the vicinity.
Charles Danielson was the first to demonstrate the raising of vegetables
in this high-lying region. Emil Pauly and Michael
Mariarky took up ranches near the river. +
In the days of the eastward march of the Coxey Army there dropped off in
Evanston a man with his roll of blankets. His name was James Havorka.
Nobody asked his nationality, but they soon found out that he belonged to
the brave race of men whose steadfast purpose is the building of a home.
In the course of time he located highest up on Bear River. Today the $40
he had in his pocket on the day of his arrival has been multiplied a
thousand-fold. His wife and two children, one of whom is a teacher in our
high school, have added to the lasting worth of our county.
The Lewis families are fondly remembered, though they left Uinta County
many years ago. R. M. Lewis, who now lives in Boise, Idaho, was employed
for many years by Beckwith, Lauder & Company. He married Miss Sarah Reed,
a teacher from the state of Maine. They have one son, who has achieved
success as a civil engineer, and one daughter. Thomas Lewis married Rose
Clinton, and they have a son and two daughters. They went from here to
Wenatchee, Washington.
The tract of land south of the railroad at Hilliard was for a time known
as Poverty Flat, not because of the character of the land, but from the
financial condition of the settlers, most of whom came from the Almy coal
camp. They made every sacrifice, many working in the mines in winter to
earn money to buy a cow or two with which to start a herd, while their
wives and small children were often shut off from communication with the
outside world for weeks at a time by the deep snows. A striking example of
success that has repaid such efforts is seen in the Barker Brothers Land &
Livestock Company. Today the Hilliard Flats is a prosperous ranching
district, with modern schools, that produces more hay than any other
section of the
18.E UINTA COUNTY
same size in the mountain region, as well as a good yield of hardy grain.
The deprivations of ranch life are offset by many advantages, and one of
these is the pleasure of guests in the home. Besides the invited friends
there are many who make the ranch a stopping place for their own
convenience, and these often add unexpectedly to the joy of life,
especially to that of the children, who are always on tiptoe to catch a
glimpse of the things that lie just beyond their horizon. The forest
ranger, the government expert, the church worker, the hunter or the
fisherman caught by storm or accident far from his expected stopping
place, all write their paragraphs on pages not blurred by too frequent
inscriptions. Surely the guests of the ranch home have but a faint
conception of their importance! They may be found wanting, but they are
sure to be weighed in the balance, not by ignorant admirers, but by minds
unspoiled by too much worldly wisdom.
When in 1887 Charles Moslander took up land on the Big Muddy the county
assessor, J. Van A. Carter, made the remark that a man with courage enough
to settle on the Aspen ridge deserved to have his taxes rebated. Today
this same ranch, which has always been devoted to cattle, is one of the
most flourishing in the country. Mr. Moslander is a native of Missouri.
His wife, from a pioneer Utah family, possessed all of the courage
necessary to bring success. There were many sacrifices made in order to
give the seven children the benefits of education, but they were
cheerfully endured.
The LaChappelle ranch was on the same side of the range, and it now
belongs to Schmidt & Rupe. Three Scotch families, the Grahams, Hursts and
Gordons, are remembered as early settlers here.
Charles Guild had a store at Piedmont that dated from the time of the
building of the Union Pacific and is now conducted by his daughter, Mrs.
Mary M. Cross. The family engaged in ranching, and George Guild and Mrs.
James Guild have extensive interests here. Joseph Byrne, son of Moses
Byrne, has, a fine ranch adjoining.
On Yellow Creek, west of the town, are the Wright ranches and those
belonging to J. M. Peart, the Stahley brothers, Charles
ITS PLACE IN HISTORY 185
Hagerman, the Spencers and David Dean. On school days a wagon brings the
children from this district to the Evanston schools.
The Bear River valley lying north of Almy is commercially tributary to
Evanston, although most of it belongs to Rich County, Utah. The first
settlement, called Woodruff, from the Mormon apostle of that name, was
made in the year 1869 by three men named Joseph Fife, George Eastman and
John Burns. The first mentioned was the only one to remain there
permanently, and his descendants are well known in Evanston. Among the
citizens of Evanston who have come to us from here are Bishop Baxter, the
Eastmans, George Neville, the Spencer brothers, the Reeds, and the Dean
family.
The outcroppings of coal in the Spring Valley district received mention in
Stansbury's and other early government reports. About the year 1898 the
Union Pacific Coal Company sent out miners from Almy under the leadership
of James Bowns, and he was made superintendent of the mine opened there.
In 1900 the work was extended and David G. Thomas was appointed
superintendent. There were at one time about three hundred and fifty men
in the camp. A school under W. H. Moss, who taught in Almy, was opened.
Among the leading men of the camp were Joseph Dean, William J. Starkey,
Seth Thomas, Joseph B. Martin and other old Almy residents, who, in 1905,
when the mine closed on account of the inferior quality of coal, moved to
Evanston. Dr. E. E. Levers, who had succeeded Dr. Gamble as mine physician
at Almy and who held the same position at Spring Valley, was for three
years in partnership with Dr. J. L. Wicks. He was a native of Ohio, as was
also his wife, who will be remembered here as an accomplished musician and
one of the sweetest singers it has been our good fortune to have in our
midst.
The first to open a mine in this valley was judge Carter. It was later
known as the Lezeart mine, and was for years operated by M. W. Isherwood.
The production was steady but not large, and the coal is fine for
household purposes.
The presence of oil in the Spring Valley region was known to the early
trappers, but the first published account is contained in a small volume
called the "Mormon's Guide Book," that ap-
186 UINTA COUNTY
peared in 1848.1 After describing the crossing of Sulphur Creek, the
passage reads as follows : "About a mile from this place in a southwest
course is a `tar' or `oil' spring, covering a surface of several rods of
ground. There is a wagon trail running within a short distance of it. It
is situated in a small hollow on the left of the wagon trail, at a point
where the trail rises to a higher bench of land. When the oil can be
obtained free of sand, it is useful to oil wagons. It gives a nice polish
to gun stocks, and has been proved highly beneficial when applied to the
sores on horses." A shallow well was dug out around the spring and it was
called the Brigham Young Oil Spring.
In 1868 Judge Carter, in driving a tunnel for coal about three miles west
of Spring Valley, struck a flow of oil and developed a well there and
another near by that produced about six barrels a day of heavy lubricating
oil. It was sold to the Union Pacific at prices varying from forty cents
to a dollar a gallon.
In 1867 the ever-enterprising C. M. White began to drill a well in NW 1/4,
section 33, township 14 N., range i 19.2 Drilling was done to the depth of
four hundred eighty feet, but misfortunes in losing tools and the great
difficulty in supplying them at that early date, caused him to abandon the
undertaking the next year.
The importance of this oil region was never lost sight of, but it was not
until the beginning of the present century that capital became
sufficiently interested to take up the work in earnest. In August, 1900,
the Union Pacific, in drilling for a water well, struck sand containing
oil of a high grade at the depth 0f a little less than 50o feet.
Excitement spread and the country was soon staked out under the placer
mining laws. Big companies appeared on the field and claims were located
by the American Consolidated, the Atlantic & Pacific, the Pittsburg-Salt
Lake, the Jager Oil, the Michigan-Wyoming and others. Sinclair and Doheny
of Teapot oil fame were on the ground, and it is remembered that in
January, 1901, the latter gave a lecture on oil production to an
interested audience in the Downs Opera House. Among the local concerns
that started drilling were the Nebergal, the Texas King, the Citizens, the
Roberts, the Producers, and
1 W. Clayton, "The Latter Day Saints Emigrant Guide.'° z Veatch.
Government report.
ITS PLACE IN HISTORY 187
the Mountain Oil Companies. The last three named were combined under the
Mountain Oil Company, and this company has held on and has produced oil
continuously.
An act of Congress, dated July i, 1862, had granted to the Union Pacific
Railroad every alternate section along its course for twenty miles on
either side of the road, these being the odd numbered sections. The rights
of the road did not extend to mineral wealth, other than coal and iron.
The road had the coal mine on section 27, township 15 north, range 118
west. The right to drill on this section was claimed by some promoters,
and a contest rose between the Union Pacific and the General Land Office,
with the result that the contention of the road was sustained for this
particular section, which was declared to be more valuable for coal than
for oil. December i, 1903, was placed for the limit for other contested
sections, and this served to stimulate operators in developing the field.
The work was pushed and a wonderfully fine quality of oil was taken out ;
but, like many other precious things, it was not found in great quantity.
Many difficulties were encountered in drilling, and the operators claimed
that the Union Pacific, on which they were dependent for transportation,
discriminated against them. In the years 1905 to 1910 the work declined.
During the years of inactivity a well-known man named Clem Morrison has
been general caretaker of the properties.
C. A. Dorn, one of the Spring Valley oil men, lived f or a time in
Evanston with his wife and three children. He was connected with the
Commercial Club, an organization that met in the upper story of the
Beckwith Building and for some years did good work. The Dorns moved to
Oklahoma, where he met with great financial success.
E. W. Trenan of the Mountain Oil Company is remembered as one who held on
perseveringly until 1913, when adverse conditions caused him to leave the
field, to engage in business in Salt Lake City.
F. A. Miller, an experienced driller, also lived in Evanston, where he
bought the home now owned by Thomas Bird. Mr. Miller became superintendent
of the Ferris Oil Company.
C. E. Hummel worked f or many years for the Vulcan Oil Company. He has a
home on Morse Lee Street in Evanston,
188 UINTA COUNTY
where live his wife and daughter Esther, who became the wife of Elmer
Ewer.
One of the oldest men in the field is A. H. Whiteman, whose faith has been
rewarded by a producing well of great promise that he has drilled on
section 13, township 15 north, range 118.
The well was "shot" September the twenty-first, making a twenty-five
barrel well of 43° gravity oil. It is not too much to say that the
prospects for what Veatch calls "a very interesting field" are full of
hope.
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