Sharing Something for Christmas

Just in time for Christmas, or the Christmas countdown, I thought I would share something we did last year that was fun. There are some beautiful advent candles for sale at www.Adventum5.com. Maybe a fun new holiday tradition.

H is for Honeyville

 

We have our very own H on the mountains above town.

Some may remember seeing the faint outline of an H on the mountains above Honeyville, up from Blue Rock.  Others are not aware that it exists at all, although somewhat less visible each year.  No one I have talked to seems to know for certain when it appeared.  Even to the longest of residents it has always just been there.

Being a trench, it can fill with snow and be visible for a short time as the snow melts.

See the light, snowy H?

Here is what I have been able to learn.

1. It likely appeared in the early 1930s (possibly a little earlier).
2. It was probably created by the local Scouts.
3. It was never finished.  It never got past being a trench that quickly filled in with growth.  The rumored plan was that they were going to fill the trench with rocks and paint them.  As filling the trench with rock was not particularly convenient, the project was abandoned.

You can hike to it and still see the trench.  It lies approximately 250 yards NNE of Blue Rock with a gain of about 300 feet.

Google Earth

The H sits on BLM land… just saying – if anyone felt like getting a permit to finish the project.

The Golden Spike

The meeting of the rails at Promontory is a great accomplishment in American history.  Growing up in Box Elder county, I have always had a great sense of respect for May 10, 1869.

Lego may make a Golden Spike set, if it gets enough votes. See the link below. 

vote here

Honeyville and the California Trail

Older than the town itself, Honeyville was a on the California Trail.

The California Trail had been used by settlers and mountain men crossing the continent long before the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.  The original trail passed through Wyoming before heading into southern Idaho, where the trail split to head to Oregon.  Those going to California went on through Idaho, passing through the City of Rocks, and barely clipping the north-west corner of present-day Utah.

In 1846, a few guides recommended taking a new route that dropped into the Salt Lake valley from Immigration Canyon, then passed by the Great Salt Lake before crossing 80 miles of western dessert.  This was called the Hastings Cut-off, and was supposed to save time.  While it did save miles, it cost time and exhaustion due to no real trail being forged yet and the grueling trek through the west desert.

The next year (1847), Mormon Pioneers blazed a better, though still difficult trail through Immigration Canyon.  In 1848, the returning Mormon Battalion created a rough trail from the north.  One year later still, as the 1849 gold rush got under way, travelers could take the first part of the old Hastings Cut-off, which had already fallen out of favor, and drop into Salt Lake for rest and supplies. They were then directed to the northern route to rejoin the California Trail at City of Rocks - thus was born the Salt Lake Cut-off variation of the California Trail. Even after the gold rush the trail continued to be a popular option to westward travelers for the next two decades.

Path of the California Trail, Salt Lake Cut-off

There were a lot of forks and branches along the Salt Lake Cut-off, but between North Ogden and Deweyville it was only one path, and that path crossed right through present day Honeyville.

An additional note, notice how the highway follows the old trail north and south of Honeyville, but not through it.  When Honeyville was divided up, the wagon trail had already gone dry and Main Street was jogged west to fit the needs of the locals.  When the highway came through, it cut through town, but houses were already in place, so it took still a different route.

See the current highway, the old Main Street, and the even older California Trail.

Who knows, maybe some old relics remain, covered by 150 years of time.


Additional Reading:

BLM Map

Trails Map and Guide (PDF)

Wikipedia

Stories and Histories

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Looking for History

History is revealed in the journals. 

 

The mundane journals of each individual, could collectively contribute more knowledge than all the study of history has produced so far. 

 

To that end, I believe that there is a good chance that early, unpublished journals, could help us piece together more than we currently know about the early days of the Honeyville settlement.  Specifically, it would be interesting if any of the railroad men recorded their impressions of Honeyville as the Utah Northern Railroad passed through. I have listed some of those men below, and by chance, someone may have some family journals for inspection.  Failing further first-hand accounts, there is still much unknown about the early days of the town.

First engineer to pass:   Charley (Charles) Paul
First train crew to pass:   Evan Jones (engineer), George Farnes (fireman), Dan Roberts (conductor)
First roadmaster:   William Toombs

Other early engineer and crew members:   Mark Jones, Parley P. Jones, Pilip Phillips, A.M. Carter, William Sprount, William Hopkins, Colline Fulmer, Ed Lives, Chancey West.

I hope to yet post more as I continue to learn.

Honeyville Elementary Yearbook 1990-1991

Another awesome scan from my sister.  The Honeyville Elementary Yearbook for the school year 1990-1991.  If I started getting enough of a collection, I would create a PDF repository to link to - so if you have yearbooks, scan them and send them to me.

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Honeyville Elementary Yearbook 1989-90

Thanks to my sister, I have a couple more Honeyville Elementary yearbooks to post - starting here with 1989-1990.

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