History of Salt Lake City
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- The following article is about the history of Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information about the city, please see the main article at: Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Prehistory
Originally, the Salt Lake Valley was inhabited by the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute and Ute Native American tribes. Spanish explorers first visited the area in 1776, and the first American of European descent in the area was Jim Bridger in 1842.
Early years
On July 24, 1847 143 men, three women and two children founded Salt Lake City on the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. These members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Latter-day Saints, LDS or Mormon) sought to escape religious persecution and were the first people of European descent to permanently settle in the area now known as Utah.[1]
Brigham Young was leading the Saints west after the death of their church founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. Upon arrival to the Salt Lake valley, Young reportedly confirmed a vision by saying, "It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on." (This is commonly shortened to, "This is the place"). There is a state park in Salt Lake City known as "This is the Place State Park," commemorating the spot where Young is supposed to have made the famous statement.
Salt Lake City was originally governed by a high council which enacted the original municipal orders in 1848. This system was later replaced with a city council and mayor style government.
The 1849 California goldrush brought many people through the city on their way to seek fortunes. Salt Lake, which was at the cross-roads of the westward trek, became a vital trading point for speculators and prospectors traveling through. They came with goods from the East, such as clothing and other manufactured items, trading with the local farmers for fresh livestock and crops.
The Congress organized the Utah Territory out of the "State of Deseret" in 1850, and a few months later on January 6, 1851 the city was formally organized as "The City of the Great Salt Lake". Originally, Fillmore, Utah was the territorial capital, but in 1856 it was moved to Salt Lake City, where it has stayed ever since. The city's name was officially changed to "Salt Lake City" at the same time.
In 1857, when the Mormon practice of polygamy came to national awareness, the people were accused of being "un-American" and "antidemocratic". In response, President James Buchanan sent an army of 2500 soldiers, called the Utah Expedition, to "watch" the Mormons and install a non-Mormon governor to replace Brigham Young. In response, Brigham Young imposed martial law, sending his own men to act as guerillas and harass the soldiers, a conflict called the Utah War. Young eventually surrendered to federal control when the new territorial governor, Alfred Cumming, arrived in Salt Lake City on April 12, 1858. Most troops pulled out at the beginning of the American Civil War.
In order to secure the road to California during the Civil War, more troops arrived under the command of Colonel Patrick Edward Connor in 1862 . They settled in the Fort Douglas area east of the city. Thouroughly anti-Mormon, Connor viewed the people with disdain, calling them, "a community of traitors, murderers, fanatics, and whores." To dilute their influence he worked with non-Mormon business and bank owners, and also encoraged mining. In 1863 some of his troops discovered rich veins of gold and silver in the Wasatch Mountains.
In 1868 Brigham Young founded the Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI) as a way to ward off dependency on outside goods and arguably to hinder ex-Mormon retailers. ZCMI was the nation's first department store.
Change was inevitable. The world started to come to Salt Lake City in 1869 with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, north of the city. By 1870 Salt Lake had been linked to it via the Utah Central Railroad. People began to pour into Salt Lake seeking opportunities in mining and other industries.
City government was dominated by the People's Party until 1890. The non-national People's Party was an LDS-controled political organization, and each of the early mayors of Salt Lake City was Mormon. Sparks often flew between Mormon city government and non-Mormon federal authorities stationed just outside Salt Lake. A dramatic example occurred in 1874 when city police were arrested by US Marshals, who took control of the national election being held in Salt Lake City. Mayor Daniel H. Wells, also an LDS First Presidency Counselor, declared martial law from the balcony of the Old Salt Lake City Hall. Federal troops arrested the mayor, but he was soon released.
In the 1880s, the anti-polygamy Edmunds-Tucker Act systematically denied many prominent Mormons the right to vote or hold office. Polygamists were detained in a Federal prison just outside of Salt Lake in the Sugar House area. Consequentially, the non-Mormon Liberal Party took control of City government in the 1890 election. Three years later the Liberal Party and People's Party dissolved into national parties anticipating Utah statehood, but both Mormon and non-Mormon leaders would govern Salt Lake City from that point onward.
The city became Utah's state capital on January 4, 1896 when Utah entered the union upon President Grover Cleveland's decree after the LDS Church agreed to ban polygamy in 1890.
The 20th Century
Salt Lake City adopted a non-partisan city council in 1911. As Mormon/non-Mormon tensions eased people began to work together for the common good, improving roads, utilities and public healthcare.
The Great Depression hit Salt Lake City especially hard. At its peak, the unemployment rate reached 61,500 people, about 36%. The annual per capita income in 1932 was $276, half of what it was in 1929, $537 annually. Jobs were scarce. Although boosted by federal New Deal programs as well as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the economy did not fully recover until World War II.
After suffering through the depression Salt Lake's economy was boosted during World War II due to the influx of defense industries to the Wasatch Front. Demands for raw materials increased Utah's mining industry, and several military installations such as Fort Douglas and Hill Air Force Base were added.
After the Second World War, Salt Lake City grew rapidly. It began to suffer some of the same problems other cities face. Urban sprawl became a growing problem due to a combination of rapid growth and an abundance of available land. Military and aerospace also became dominant industries.
Salt Lake began its bid for the Winter Olympics as early as the 1930s, when the Utah Ski Club tried to bring the games to the valley. At the time, however, the Summer Olympic host city had the option of hosting the winter games, and all attempts failed. Salt Lake tried again throughout the decades until 1995, when the International Olympic Committee announced Salt Lake City as the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
After 132 years in business, ZCMI was sold to the May Department Stores Company in 1999. Remaining ZCMI stores, including one in downtown Salt Lake City, were converted into Meier and Frank stores, although the facade still reads "1868 ZCMI 1999".
In April of 1999, the Salt Lake City council voted 5 to 2 along LDS membership lines to sell to the LDS Church the segment of Main Street that lay between Temple Square and the LDS church office buildings for $8.1 million. The Church planned to build a large plaza on the land as well as a parking structure below. There was much public outcry about the sale of public lands to a private organization, but a Church representative assured residents that the plaza would be a "little bit of Paris," a characterization that would be used against the LDS Church later. Concerns also lied in plans to ban such activities as demonstrations, skateboarding, sunbathing, smoking, and other activities it considered "vulgar". The Utah ACLU believed that these restrictions were incompatible with the pedestrian easement that the city retained over the plaza. ACLU attorneys claimed this made the plaza into a public free speech forum. Nonetheless, the property was sold to become the Main Street Plaza. After the Utah District Court ruled against the ACLU, they were vindicated by the 10th Circuit Court in the Fall of 2002. Scrambling to satisfy residents, Rocky Anderson offered a plan for "time and place" restrictions on speech as suggested by the court. However, the LDS Church held firm to get the easement rescinded. Although The Salt Lake Tribune backed the mayor's initial plan, the city council disliked it. In its place, Anderson offered to waive the easement in exchange for west side property from the LDS Church to build a community and a commitment of donations for it. All parties agreed to the arrangement, and the Main Street Plaza is now wholly owned by the LDS Church. Some suppose Anderson's compromise was an effort to strengthen his 2003 re-election campaign among Latter-day Saints and west side residents. Both groups tend to have less favorable impressions of the Mayor.
Today
At the dawn of the 21st century, Salt Lake City continues to grow and change. Attempts are being made to revitalize the city's downtown. Growth of suburbs, as well as the change in downtown traffic patterns due to the building of the Crossroads and ZCMI Center malls across the street from one another decades earlier, all helped contribute to its decline.
The 2002 Winter Olympics threw Salt Lake into a global spotlight. The games were a success, being one of the few to make a profit. The impact the Olympics had on the area can still be seen today, from the new freeways surrounding the city, to the Olympic torch memorial at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Salt Lake City still struggles with its identity, trying to strike a balance between capital of a major religion and modern secular city.
References
- Bagley, Will (2004) World Book Encyclopedia, Volume S-Sn, pp. 76-76a. World Book Inc. ISBN 0716601044
- Salt Lake City History Page, retrieved September 2004.
- McCormick, John S., History To Go Page, retrieved September 2004.
- McCormick, John S., The Gathering Place: An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City, Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-132-5
