Uinta County

In 1823 William H. Ashley, a Virginian, who had settled in St Louis, entered the fur trade. He was commonly known as General Ashley, having gained the title in the state militia of Missouri. With him was associated a group of men whose names have become famous in western Wyoming. Andrew Henry, whose services were invaluable both as organizer and explorer, became one of the partners, and he holds a unique place in that sturdy band. He was fond of reading and a skillful performer on the violin, which was his constant companion as well as an object of great … Read more

Romancers of the early frontier in western Wyoming have passed. With them the squawman, the covered wagon and the American Indian, who has whooped himself into a tame and stupid retreat. Old Fort Bridger is crumbling into ruins. Even the creek beds, along which the ponies of the cowboys used to splash in low water, have shifted with the years. The first phase of the great borderland show is at an end.  The First Settlers  Physical Features  Early Discoveries  Fur Traders and Trappers  John Robertson  James Bridger and His Post  The Oregon Trail  Further History of Fort Bridger  Early Transportation … Read more

Like all railroad towns, Evanston has labored under the disadvantage of a changing population, but she is indebted to the Union Pacific for many of her most valued citizens, as well as for her existence. Division Superintendent O. H. Earl was succeeded by A. A. Egbert, and he, in i88o, by E. B. Dodderidge. Mr. Dodderidge soon came to be known as one of the best operating experts in the country. For seven years he was vice president and general manager of the Missouri Pacfiic lines, and is now living in retirement in Chicago.1 With Mr. Dodderidge was associated Joseph … Read more

A description of the extent of Green River County, as recorded in the “Acts of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah,” reads as follows : “All that portion of the territory bounded north by Oregon, east by the territorial line, south by the parallel forming the southern line of Davis County, and west by Weber and Davis Counties, is hereby called Green River County, and is attached to Great Salt Lake County for election, revenue and judicial purposes.” The Act further states that the “sheriff of Salt Lake County is hereby authorized to organize Green River County whenever … Read more

Who were the first settlers in Uinta County? Where did they come from and when did they get here, the real old timers? It is not easy to answer these questions. Many a late arrival indulges the pardonable illusion that he is one of the original pioneers because this region was never inhabited in any practical, efficient way until he rose above our horizon. But the early history of Uinta County goes much farther back than that. Fortunately that early history has been written in the rocks, principally in those of the Bridger formation. Beside this story has a human … Read more

A firm by the name of Ellis and Fairbanks had the contract to supply ties for the railroad company. A large force of men was employed to cut down and trim trees in the mountains, some forty miles above Evanston, place them on the bosom of Bear River and direct their course down to the dam opposite the mill. In 1870 Jesse L. Atkinson, who had been engaged in getting out poles for the railroad company at Piedmont, bought out Fairbanks and the Evanston Lumber Company was formed. There were changes in the personnel of his partners, but from the … Read more

Soon after the completion of the railroad it was decided to make Evanston the end of the division, and work was begun on a substantial roundhouse and machine shops made of stone. Bishop Sharp of the Mormon Church had the contract and employed about one hundred fifty men in the construction. It was completed the Fourth of July, 1871, and engines and men moved in from Wasatch to the accompaniment of shrieking whistles and cheers from the assembled crowd. A town picnic was held across the river, in which all of the community joined. The speech of the day was … Read more

In 1848 a young Missourian by the name of Alexander Majors, who had been hauling freight on the Santa I* a trail, became so impressed with the future of the industry that he determined to go into it on a larger scale. W. H. Russell and Thomas Waddell, men who had also had some experience on the southern route, became his partners, and the company began business under the firm name of Russell, Majors & Waddell. The result was the organization of the biggest freighting company that the world has ever seen. In the zenith of its prosperity it employed … Read more

Soon after the completion of the railroad it was decided to make Evanston the end of the division, and work was begun on a substantial roundhouse and machine shops made of stone. Bishop Sharp of the Mormon Church had the contract and employed about one hundred fifty men in the construction. It was completed the Fourth of July, 1871, and engines and men moved in from Wasatch to the accompaniment of shrieking whistles and cheers from the assembled crowd. A town picnic was held across the river, in which all of the community joined. The speech of the day was … Read more

There is some reason to believe that the Spaniards were the first white men to enter Wyoming. Traces of ditches and relics of early mining implements have been found on the Big Horn and Yellowstone Rivers and there is a tradition that they penetrated what is now the confines of Yellowstone Park, but definite proof is lacking.1 Coming nearer to recorded history are stories of French and Canadian trappers having visited the streams of southern Uinta County in the days of the early fur trade, and it is highly probable that this was the case. Nothing definite, however, is known … Read more