Since we were making such great time getting to the kids home this trip, we decided to do a little exploring first. Every time we go to visit them we go through Echo Canyon. This canyon is primarily known because of The Utah War of 1857-58 which was a bloodless confrontation between the U.S. Army and the Mormons who had settled the Utah territory in 1847.
The "war" was primarily the result of misunderstandings on the part of both the Mormons and the U.S. government. Some of the reports filed by non-Mormon appointees in the Utah Territorial government painted an exaggerated or wholly fabricated view of the Mormons' opposition to the federal government and the illegal actions of Brigham Young and other church/political leaders. In addition to the effects of those reports, anti-Mormon attitudes in the East were stirred up by the dispute over polygamy. The Mormons claimed the right to engage in plural marriage as part of their religion, while the federal government and the nation as a whole staunchly opposed the practice, identifying it and slavery as the "twin relics of barbarism." As a result of those reports and disputes, President James Buchanan sent 2500 troops to Utah in the summer of 1857 to quell what he deemed to be a rebellion.
News of the impending "invasion" by the U.S. Army elicited a strong determination to resist them by the Mormons. Territorial governor and church president Brigham Young responded: "Liars have reported that this people have committed treason, and upon their representations the President has ordered out troops to assist officering the territory. We have transgressed no law, neither do we intend to do so; but as for any nation coming to destroy this people, God Almighty being my helper, it shall not be."
The "war" was primarily the result of misunderstandings on the part of both the Mormons and the U.S. government. Some of the reports filed by non-Mormon appointees in the Utah Territorial government painted an exaggerated or wholly fabricated view of the Mormons' opposition to the federal government and the illegal actions of Brigham Young and other church/political leaders. In addition to the effects of those reports, anti-Mormon attitudes in the East were stirred up by the dispute over polygamy. The Mormons claimed the right to engage in plural marriage as part of their religion, while the federal government and the nation as a whole staunchly opposed the practice, identifying it and slavery as the "twin relics of barbarism." As a result of those reports and disputes, President James Buchanan sent 2500 troops to Utah in the summer of 1857 to quell what he deemed to be a rebellion.
News of the impending "invasion" by the U.S. Army elicited a strong determination to resist them by the Mormons. Territorial governor and church president Brigham Young responded: "Liars have reported that this people have committed treason, and upon their representations the President has ordered out troops to assist officering the territory. We have transgressed no law, neither do we intend to do so; but as for any nation coming to destroy this people, God Almighty being my helper, it shall not be."
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To see all this, you exit the interstate and take a very old road down in the canyon. This road happens to be the Lincoln Highway which was the first major coast-to-coast “motor road” for automobile travel in the United States across America. This famed transcontinental highway, was the first practical automobile road that linked the East and the West coasts of the United States and is named after President Abraham Lincoln. Established in 1913, people follow the Lincoln from Times Square in New York City by the red, white, and blue logos and finish almost 3,400 miles later in San Francisco.
This highway also spanned the state of Utah. The Utah chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association preserves this heritage by placing distinctive markers along the route, and undertaking educational activities including tours over these historic avenues. The course travels through Summit County from Evanston to Salt Lake City. It was believed that this leg of the journey contained the most difficult terrain.
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| All along the highway are numbered sites which indicate a point of interest. And, on the side of the sign is one of the markers showing this road is part of the Lincoln Highway. |
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| You can see under many of the overhangings of the rock, pioneer names which date back to the 1800's. |
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| This is the sign erected below some of the breastworks. |
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| This is the old road that runs along the bottom of the canyon. |
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| One of the rain swollen creeks in the canyon. |
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| More pioneer names. |
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The completion of the Pacific Railroad brought opportunity for inventive advertising. This stone billboard shows an advertisement to stay at the Salt Lake House in Salt Lake City. Another one showed Plantation Bitters which was an early billboard for a new medicine whose active ingredient was 33% Santa Cruz rum. |
Then we drove into the very small town of Echo which was settled in 1854 by James Bromley, who ran the Weber Stage Station and it was a stopover along the Mormon trail as well as for the pony express. Fourteen years later, tents, saloons, and brothels sprang up as men built the transcontinental railroad.
When the railroad moved on, seven human skeletons were discovered under one saloon. When the old stage station was demolished a love letter to a Pony Express rider, a $5 gold piece, and a pair of gold rim spectacles were found in the walls. There was not much left of Echo after the Great Depression in the early 20th century. There are a few buildings left today, a church, an old school, some closed buildings and some homes.
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| An old outhouse. |
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| And the old cemetery. I'll have to go back and check this out more thoroughly. |
