Salt Lake City History

Salt Lake City has an enchanting and chequered history. Records show that the area that is now an amazing city had Native American tribes (the Ute and the Shoshone) as the first inhabitants of the area. Exploration of the area started in the year of independence (1776), and it was spearheaded by Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a priest from Spain. However, the clergyman was only able to reach the fringes of Salt Lake City as we know it today. After de Escalante blazed the trail, other explorers and pioneers made attempts to traverse the area, with varying results.

The most prominent of the historical figures are the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are regarded as the first people to establish a permanent settlement in the area in the mid-19th century. A team of Mormons led by Brigham Young arrived at the Salt Lake Valley where they decided to pitch their tents permanently. Interestingly, there is a site in the city that commemorates that remarkable event and is known to many tourists as "This Is The Place" Heritage Park.

For the Mormon Pioneers, Salt Lake City was the ideal location and without wasting time, Young took over the administration of the area and by the late 1840s, a council was set up to enact orders to used in governing the area. It was later on that a city council and the idea of having a mayor for the city was raised. The early pioneers were able to survive in the territory by being hardworking and united, with communal farming and harvesting being the order of the day. A lot of historians also point out the important role of faith in the group.

With time, the Gold Rush in California changed the fortune of the city forever. Gold prospectors and speculators on their way to the West Coast had to pass through the Salt Lake City and in no time, the city became a hub for those after Californian gold. Since they traveled with goods such as clothes and various items, it did not take long before they started bargaining with the local farmers in the city. At this period, the city was known as the 'City of the Great Salt Lake' and it was not the capital of the state of Utah. That distinction belonged to Fillmore but this changed in 1856 when Salt Lake City became the capital and got its new name.

The cocoon of the city was punctured in 1869 when the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in the city bringing outsiders, especially miners who came to take advantage of the Wasatch Mountains mineral deposits. The city officially became the capital in 1896 when Utah became a part of the Union. During the Great Depression, Salt Lake City was particularly hit but the World War II strengthened the local economy with the establishment of various defense industries. The city became so prosperous that it attempted to host the Olympics in the 1930s although this was achieved in 2002. Today, the city continues to grow and expand, and one thing that is quickly observed is its multicultural and sophisticated nature.

Salt Lake City History

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