History of East Carbon
In 1878 George and James Whitmore arrived in the area now know as East Carbon seeking a suitable location to establish a cattle ranch. The picturesque Book Cliff Mountains seemed like an ideal location. Upon their arrival, they found rich green grasses that were so tall they reached the belly of a horse. (Pilling) They also found a healthy flow of water running down from Whitmore Canyon, which he named Grassy Trail Creek, because of the thick grasses growing along its banks. This creek became the primary source of water to irrigate his fields and water his livestock and was also used by wildlife making their home in the area.
This location was also suitable because it was on ancient hunting grounds once claimed by the Native Americans that had long since disappeared and posed no threat to his operation. The land he claimed for his cattle operation included all the land north of the Price River from Colton on the west and then east along the Book Cliff Mountains to Sunnyside and then south to Lower Crossing (Woodside). (Beckstead, pg 56-57)
T the time of their arrive in East Carbon coal had yet felt the point of a pick, and would not for two decades. During the span of time between 1878, when they first arrived, and 1912, when George abandoned the ranch in East Carbon, they had built their herd to as many as 15,000 head of cattle, and several thousand horses. The location of George Whitmore's ranch is the curently the present location of the Sunnyside Park. (Pressett) It was George Whitmore that established his ranch just west of Sunnyside, while James maintained the site in Price. The passage of the Homestead Act in 1862 by the United States Congress made it possible for George Whitmore to claim this land. This Act allowed individuals like George up to one hundred sixty acres of land if they could prove they could bring water to their lands. Shortly after visiting East Carbon, the Whitmore’s filed on this land. Using the names of his wife and children, he effectively locked up most of the lands located near Grassy Trail Creek. He also filed for all the water rights to the Grassy Trail Creek. He was granted twenty-second-feet per second and any and all run off, on the rocks and sand surrounding the creek. This water was more then adequate to irrigate his fields of hay, wheat, corn, and oats.
The land was located in the flat lands that lay alongside Grassy Trail Creek, from present-day Sunnyside Park and west to the old ballpark behind the wooden school in Dragerton. George installed water lines to bring the water from the upper reaches of the canyon down to his ranch. He later built a large flume to enable him to effectively irrigate all of his fields furthest from the creek. (Jones/Jewkes, pg 377) Of most interest to him was the land situated north and west of Whitmore Canyon. The land to the south was down a deep bluff and not readily accessible or desirable for cattle grazing, but did later become the center of activity for the Big Spring Ranch.
Soon after his arrival in East Carbon, Whitmore began the construction of a home and a bunkhouse for his cowhands. It was estimated that at the peak of his operations, he employed as many as thirty cowboys. (Beckstead, pg 56-57) Large barns were built to store hay, and several corrals were erected to contain his horses and other livestock near the ranch. The barn and corrals were near the main house and the bunkhouse was situated just to the south, closer to the Grassy Trail Creek. (Jones/Jewkes, pg 377) The living quarters for the family were built among the Box Elder trees and consisted of a large living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a pantry. (Jones/Jewkes, pg 377)
Ancient Civilzations
Thousands of years prior to the arrival of white men into the area, the Fremont and Archaic Civilizations used the area now known as East Carbon as their ancient hunting grounds. These civilization shared a number of similar technological and adaptive characteristics, such as pottery, the bow and arrow, and settled villages. (Arizona Republic, June 2004) Evidence of their existence is found in the prehistoric petroglyphs and other ancient artifacts found beyond the Book Cliff Mountains in the Range Creek area. The discovery of these ancient etchings on property owned by the Wilcox family has brought great notoriety to the area of East Carbon. These extensive wall paintings (petroglyphs) and other ancient artifacts were exposed to the world with the recent revelation by Waldo Wilcox a former resident of East Carbon. These sites are estimated to be 4,500 years old, and the wall paintings reveal an almost perfectly preserved picture of their ancient way of life. This area was the site of extensive media coverage when word of this archeological treasure chest of artifacts was revealed. It contained pottery, stone pit houses, and granaries hidden away from modern civilization for centuries. (Arizona Republic, June 2004) Some archaeologists have called these petroglyphs, and ancient artifacts a "national treasure" and its discovery akin to "finding a Van Gogh in your grandmother’s attic." Another hailed it as "one of the most important archaeological collections in North America." (Kloor) Several petroglyphs have also been found near the towns of Sunnyside, East Carbon City (Dragerton) and Columbia.
After the departure of these ancient people from the area, it was uninhabited by humans for centuries, until the arrival of George and James Whitmore in 1878.
The Book Cliff Mountain Range
Without question one of the most fascinating aspects of East Carbon is the unique characteristic and natural features of the Book Cliff Mountains, and the sunbaked benchlands that surrounded them. Those massive majestic mountains, with their awesome crags and conical shapes and multiple colors are part of a larger range of mountains located throughout Carbon County.
The Book Cliff Range is part of the Rocky Mountain Range that stretches from northernmost British Columbia to the southernmost San Juan Mountains in New Mexico, a distance of 3000 miles. The creation of these mountains came about as the seas began retreating, leaving behind vast areas of swamps, which were created along the edges.
The Book Cliff Mountains is also home to some of Utah’s finest big game wildlife. It is in this area where residents of East Carbon went to bag a trophy buck mule deer or bull elk during the annual big game hunting season in Utah. Several buck mule deer and bull elk harvested by hunters in the Book Cliff mountains have scored high in the Boon and Crockett record books. Predators like the mountain lion, cougar, bobcat, and coyote also had their presence felt around East Carbon. They kept to the foothills and in the higher elevations of the mountains where they preyed on the mule deer, elk, pronghorn antelope or big horn sheep. At one time these mountains had a large population of black bear, but their numbers have disappeared, perhaps from the guns of the Whitmore and Scott-Elliott cowboys that maintained a vigilant watch over the cattle and sheep grazing in the area.
The section of the Book Cliff Mountains that face south toward East Carbon contained rocky ledges and conifer cover displaced the sage brush and bunch grasses present in the benchlands. Dry gulches and gullies created over centuries from spring runoff and torrential downpours spread like tentacles from the base of these mountains into the benchlands and the area known by the locals as “the cedars.”
Whitmore/Sunnyside Canyon
Sunnyside Canyon and Whitmore Canyon is the same canyon, and was named by the cowboys that worked for the Whitmore Cattle Company. The canyon extended east from the Whitmore Ranch that was located near the mouth of the canyon. At a point near the old machine gun nest, it turns north, heading toward Bruin Point at the summit. Eight miles above Bruin Point traveling up the right-hand fork is found the world’s largest Rock Asphalt Quarry. This quarry contains 800 million tons of material and was once a major contributor to the economy of East Carbon. Located just below and near the old Bruin Ski resort was the discharge area for the rock quarry which was built in 1949. The Pittsburgh Oil Company built a refinery and installed a rock crusher just below that area in 1905.
Just beyond Bruin Point is Dry Canyon, and the scenery at this point is extraordinary, in stark contrast to that found a few miles further north along the road. Visible from the serpentine road leading into the canyon and scattered throughout the valley floor are large boulders that have sloughed off the mountain, exposing cracked and crumbly light-colored cliffs.
Throughout Whitmore Canyon are outcrops, some containing sheer cliffs that are steep and narrow, others having rocky ledges, and some open up to reveal immense flat bottom meadows filled with tall grass, wild yellow flower clover and other vegetation suitable for grazing. Here the draws throughout the mountain hide an assortment of deciduous trees, such as aspen, poplar and cottonwood, which are not visible from the valley floor. These trees provide spectacular landscape and wildlife habitats throughout the year. The most breathtaking vistas occur during the fall, when the mountain changes to its beautiful rich fall wardrobe and comes alive with red, yellow, and orange leaves.
Further north atop the Tavaputs Plateau are found rolling hills with secluded patches of quaking aspen and sagebrush, scrub oak and along the edge of the plateau are canyons and gorges that drop five thousand feet to the valley floor. It was also in this area where several interesting events took place during the 1890s and early 1900s that will be discussed in later chapters.
Further east beyond Whitmore Canyon lies Range Creek — it was from this area that Utah Fuel obtained water for their mining operation, and for culinary use by the residents of Sunnyside. It is also east of this area where Florence Creek is located, where the exploits of Joe Walker, a nemesis of the Whitmore’s, came to an abrupt end. Jim McPherson established his cattle ranch in the late 1880s, which became a favorite hideout for many members of the Robber’s Roost Gang. Jim McPherson was the grandfather of Waldo Wilcox, a former resident of East Carbon during the 1940s and owner of the property that holds the world’s largest and oldest Art Gallery of well-preserved prehistoric villages and petroglyphs.
The Cedars
The term “Cedars” is a localism use to describe the undeveloped lands surrounding East Carbon. This area is covered with several varieties of sagebrush and deep-rooted needle grass and “thread” grasses and the feathery headed Indian rice, which the livestock and wildlife once grazed on. It was in this area at the entrance to Whitmore Canyon that the Whitmore Ranch was built. Its boundaries extended west to what was then known as the twelve-mile wash, near what is now known as the Mounds. (Pilling)
From the early 1880s, horses, cows, sheep and goats foraged on grasses and other vegetation throughout the benchlands surrounding these mountains. It was the result of over-grazing that left the land barren, together with the lack of irrigation and rain waters. Yet, somehow the few foolhardy men that maintained their herds on it managed to sustain a small semblance of a livelihood. One of these men was Shorty Nick, a goat rancher who began operating a goat ranch on this land in the early 1920s. Scattered throughout this benchland are woodlands of Juniper, Pinion, and Cedar trees. Today this barren wasteland’s only vegetation consisted of sage brush, desert shrub-saltbush, and patches of cacti, hardly suitable for livestock.
This undeveloped land surrounding the towns in East Carbon conveniently created a fantastic playground for the boys and girls living there. Several variety of rabbits, such as the cottontail, black and white jackrabbits inhabited the land. Squirrels and chipmunks are found in abundance and the young boys of East Carbon that dared to catch them often turned them into pets. Those from the reptile family making their home throughout the sunbaked benchlands are the common sagebrush lizard (bluebelly), the desert short-horned lizard — commonly called by the locals as the horny-toad — and several variety of non-venomous snakes that feed primarily on ants and other crawling insects. Other critters found in this vast and barren lands are porcupines, raccoons, and badgers. Bald eagles, golden eagles, the sharp-shinned, red-tailed sparrows and chicken hawks are some of the birds from the raptor family that make their nests along the rocky cliffs and pinion trees in the upper reaches of the Book Cliff Mountains. The Cedars also made for a great nesting area for other birds such as the sage grouse, California quail, sage sparrow, morning doves, western meadowlark, and the ever present black-billed magpie.
The Grassy Trail Creek
 In 1878, when George Whitmore arrived in East Carbon, he found a healthy flowing creek that originated from deep within the Book Cliff Mountains. The creek flowed down Whitmore Canyon and meandered through and into the benchland below. This small, placid creek was the only source of water for the Whitmore Cattle Company and later for the crops of Peter Jones.While operating the Whitmore Ranch in East Carbon, George Whitmore owned all the water rights to the Grassy Trail Creek. He encountered several challenges by various individuals that sought to gain access to it. The first attempt was made by a local sheepman, by the name of Scott-Elliott who was seeking to supplement his water supply from the three springs located on his vast land holdings. Scott-Elliott filed a law suit in the district court of Salt Lake to gain access to the water from this creek. After several years of litigation, the courts granted him the next five second feet. He then had an irrigation ditch dug from the creek to his property, which was below the bench land in a small, secluded verdant valley. The water from the Grassy Trail Creek, along with the three springs located on his property gave Scott-Elliott an adequate supply to meet his needs.
When Utah Fuel Company acquired control of the mining activity in Sunnyside, this important resource (water) was not available. Robert Forrester made several overtures to purchase the water rights from Whitmore, but balked at the price of 90,000 dollars demanded by George Whitmore. The lack of water at the coal camp in Sunnyside led to a fierce battle between Utah Fuel and George Whitmore. Undaunted, Forrester was determined to obtain the water one way or another and was left with little alternatives, but to resort to underhanded methods. He implemented a plan that involved tunneling from the number one mine to a point below the Grassy Trail Creek bed, to divert the water down through the mine.
In 1901, George filed a law suit against Utah Fuel Company and its subsidiary, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railways, to prevent them from taking his water. His suit alleged Utah Fuel was diverting water by means of excavating the water from underground springs, which formed a part of the sources of water of the Grassy Trail Creek, for their Number One Mine.
The litigation lasted two years before a judgment was rendered, with George awarded the sum of $3,775 for damages caused by Utah Fuel to his water source. (Eastern Utah Advocate, 1903) To prevent furtherents and damage to his water source by Utah Fuel or their agents, George hired a crew, to install a water line from a location above the ber One Mine in Whitmore Canyon, down to his farm on the western end. Although George had to invest the tremendous cost of $100,000, it Utah Fuel from stealing his water. These acts of mischief on the part of Utah Fuel officials were the first of many acts that tarnished Utah Fuel’s prevented legacy in East Carbon
Robert Forrester, the Superintendent of Mines for Utah Fuel Company eventually secured water from Preston Nutter, a cattleman who owned most of the land located at Nine Mile Canyon and the water rights in the mountain range known as Range Creek. In 1899, Utah Fuel began building a water line and installing large pumps in the mountains east of Sunnyside, to bring water over the mountain and down to Sunnyside. In the interim, Forrester had water transported from the town of Helper, Utah, a distance of 40 miles, in railroad tanker cars, which they used for both their mining operation and for culinary use by the residents of Sunnyside.
The lawsuit brought against Utah Fuel by George Whitmore provoked Forrester to continue his campaign against Whitmore. While the lawsuit was still pending, Forrester hired individuals to kill some of There is little doubt that water in East Carbon was a valuable commodity, essential for the survival of both the coal industries and the residents of Sunnyside. After the Whitmore Cattle Company ceased operations in Sunnyside, Peter Jones leased the land from the Whitmores and began raising vegetables. During his tenure on the ranch, he constantly battled the youthful exuberance of the young boys of Sunnyside, who dammed the creek to build their swimming holes. In one instance after having warned the young boys several times that he would bring his gun and shoot them, he found the creek dammed once again. Upon approaching the boys from behind, he fired a few shoots with his gun up toward the sky. The boys scattered like scared rabbits. One of the young boys ran away in the nude, leaving his clothing behind. This put a temporary end to his problem, but over the course of twenty years, he continued to battle with the young boys of Sunnyside for his water. (Pressett)
After Peter Jones left the area there is uncertainty about what happened to the water rights to the Grassy Trail Creek. In 1942, when the Defense Plant Corporation arrived and built the town of Dragerton, they constructed an earthen dam in Whitmore Canyon for the purpose of providing water for the residents of the town of Dragerton. In 1956, the towns of Sunnyside and Dragerton built a larger reservoir with a financial contribution from Kaiser and Geneva Steel.
Throughout its history and despite efforts by the coal companies in East Carbon, there was always a scarcity of water, often forcing town officials to impose water restriction upon the residents. In 1947, due to the low levels of water in the reservoir, the water became turbid, forcing the residents of East Carbon to boil it before using it for culinary purposes.
In 1997, questions about ownership of the water that flowed down the Grassy Trail Creek surfaced. The City of East Carbon was forced to file a civil law suit seeking declaratory relief against Penta Creek and the Magnificent Seven, a group of individuals that took over ownership of the property once owned by Kaiser Steel. The suit was filed to settle the legality of a 1951 agreement between the towns of Dragerton (East Carbon City), Sunnyside, and the coal operators — Kaiser and Geneva Steel. (U.S. Steel Corporation)
Geneva Steel and Kaiser Steel Corp. entered into this 1951 memorandum agreement to jointly build, own, maintain, repair and operate a storage reservoir and appurtment works on Grassy Trail Creek for domestic use in Sunnyside and Dragerton. A second agreement was entered into between Kaiser, Kaiser Frazier Parts and U. S, Steel, dated January 3, 1952, adding additional water rights to the purview of the memorandum agreement. In 1958 and 1960, Kaiser Steel and U. S. Steel Corporation — the successor to Geneva — reiterated and amended the 1951 agreement, adding additional water to its purview for storage in the reservoir and joint use and distribution.
The suit contends that by entering into the memorandum, relief action argues that parts and storage facilities and diversions were dedicated to joint use by them and their successors. The 1951 agreement assigns the water stored in, and specifies the distribution through the jointly constructed reservoir and dam. The memorandum agreement dedicated the water to joint use, regardless of ownership of such land, personal property or water rights.
The Penta Creek group argued that the 1951 agreement had no effect, andthat they were the legal owners of the rights to the water that flowed down the Grassy Trail Creek, and they had no obligation to distribute the water. (Sun Advocate, April 1997)
The courts ruled in favor of Sunnyside and East Carbon City, giving them legal rights to this water. As recently as January 2008, residents of East Carbon City became concerned about the unfair usage of the local water supply attributed to the town of Sunnyside.
The Whitmore Cattle Company
The early years of ranching in East Carbon were relatively peaceful at the Whitmore Ranch and during the first decade its only nemeses were the coyotes, bears, and mountain lions. It was a typical ranch where the daily life of a cowboy meant riding the range day and night, keeping the cattle from straying, and predators away from the herds. There was no need for fences because there were no boundaries to worry about. In the springtime, his cowboys participated in the roundup for the branding of calves. Wagons were loaded with hay and hauled out to the fields to feed the cattle during the winter months. Chores included irrigating and harvesting the fields of hay, grain and oats. After branding took place, the cattle were driven into the mountains by his cowboys through Whitmore Canyon, where they stayed during the summer, grazing on rich grasses. Payday at the ranch was a welcome event, as the ranch hands dressed in their best go-to-town clothes and headed off to Castle Valley, to spend their money at the nearest saloon. Occasionally Whitmore encountered few lost cows to a rustler, but as the second decade of his operation began, rustlers became one of his greatest concerns.
Outlaws & Lawman
 For several decades, before the discovery of coal in East Carbon and for a short time thereafter, the Whitmore and Big Spring ranches were buzzing with activity. It was during this era between 1878 and 1905 that the Sunnyside district had much in common with western novels written by the famous western author, Louis L’amour. Those literary phrases were imbued with accounts of gunfighters, cattle-rustlers, and deadly disputes over water and property. Such intriguing accounts painted vivid pictures of gunfighters standing on an empty, dusty street, with their colt 45 six-shooter hanging loosely from their hips, anxious to draw and shoot. It was a time when justice was often quick and swift, with the cattle and horse rustler given a guilty verdict after a short and decisive trail, then sentenced to death by hanging, with a clear message of deterrence in it.
Beginning in the late 1870s, visionaries began arriving in East Carbon to establish farms and ranches only to find an unforgiving land devoid of the life blood needed to survive. Ultimately and unfortunately many were forced to abandon them because of the lack of water. Those individuals that managed to survive the harshness of the land and drought also faced relentless harassment from members of the Robber’s Roost Gang. This group of misfit outlaw cowboys was active throughout Carbon and Emery Counties during this time, stealing livestock from these farmers and ranchers. Those farms and ranches were scattered from Colton on the western end of Carbon County to Sunnyside on the east, and some even further south and east toward the town of Thompson Springs. It was there that Harry and Arthur Ballard were firmly entrenched, building their fortune with cattle and later in the commerce business. During this era the towns of Colton, Price, Wellington, Lower Crossing (Woodside) and Blake (Green River) all served as major railheads for these ranchers to take their cattle and sheep to the midwest and eastern markets.
Because of their isolation from the populated towns, ranchers and farmers had little choice but to hire itinerant cowboys that wander into the area looking to hire on. Most were honest cowboys — men and boys willing to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wages and three squares a day. Occasionally a drifter came along and after only a few days of work picked up and left as quickly as he appeared, taking along a few of the owners cows. Some of these cowboys were looking to make a name for themselves, hoping to catch on with members of the Robbers Roost Gang, whose illegal activities in Carbon County (Castle Valley) centered around robbing banks, payroll hold ups, and rustling horses and cattle. Among this group of misfits was Robert Leroy Parker, a.k.a. Butch Cassidy. In the winter of 1884 at the age of 18, Parker hired on at the Whitmore ranch. The following spring he left Sunnyside and returned to Telluride, Colorado to resume his job as a mule skinner, taking ore down to the stock pile. (Anderson pg. 14) He returned the following winter and was put to work by Billy McGuire the Whitmore’s foreman. Parker last worked for the Whitmore’s in the fall of 1887 along with his pals Matt Warner and Bud Meeks. It was while working at the Whitmore ranch that Robert Leroy Parker met William and Brigham Thayne. They were put to work with Parker helping to break and ride out, several horses. The Thayne’s were the brothers of Annie Thayne, a.k.a, Etta Place, the love interest of both Robert Parker and Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. the Sundance Kid. (Anderson, pgs, 15-18)
The activities of the outlaws in and around the area of East Carbon during that era would hardly compare to Dodge City or Tombstone, Arizona, but was to a lesser degree similar to those early western novel descriptions. Between 1878 and 1905, such notable characters and events were present in the Sunnyside district. A few of these notable characters that dealt outside the law were the likes of Joe Walker, a cowboy drifter who turned cattle-rustler, Matt Warner, outlaw turned lawman and respectable businessman, Tom Dilly, a shrewd and clever con man, Butch Cassidy, and Harvey Logan (Kid Curry) members of the Hole in the Wall gang.
Equally rough and tough were the lawmen sworn to uphold the law and deal with these shady characters. The first Sheriff of Carbon County was Gus Donant who served from 1894 to 1897. He was replaced by Charles William Allred, a native of Spring City, in Sanpete County. Allred teamed up with Azariah Tuttle, the Sheriff of Emery County during the later 1890s to maintain the law in this area. Tuttle was a native of New York, who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young in 1847, and eventually settled in Spring City. It was Sheriff Tuttle that Joe Walker shot in the leg and was then left behind by Sheriff Allred, who had to return to Price to get medical help and a posse. It was also Sheriff Allred along with deputy sheriff Pete Anderson that had to deal with Joe Walker and his crew at Florence Creek. Anderson resided in the coal camp of Sunnyside and served as the town’s first Deputy Sheriff. Hyrum Wilcox, also a resident of Sunnyside at one time, was born in 1849 on the banks of the Green River, in Wyoming Territory. Wilcox was fifty-one years old when he was first elected Sheriff of Carbon County in 1900, and served two four-year terms before retiring to Sanpete County. He was serving as sheriff during the coal strike of 1903 and, along with Pete Anderson dealt with Tom Dilly who was very active in the area during this time.
The Big Spring Ranch
The Big Spring Ranch, established in the early 1880's, is the oldest historical landmark in East Carbon. During its early history, it played a major role in establishing the livestock industry that once flourished in East Carbon between 1878 and 1912. At the base of the magnificent Book Cliff Mountains in eastern Carbon County, cows, horses and sheep dominated the bench lands decades before the discovery of its rich coal fields.
The Big Spring Ranch again took a preeminent role in East Carbon’s history with the arrival of the Defense Plant Corporation in 1942. Set backs and delays in the culinary water system left the early residents of Drager(ton) without water. Representatives of the Defense Plant Corporation approached Woodrow Pilling — the owner of the ranch — to furnish water to those residents. Several times a day Pilling hauled water from his ranch in a large metal tank to the residents, who awaited his arrival with an assortment of containers to be filled for their water needs. (Fowler) Joseph Sharp operated the ranch from 1904 to 1933, and started a dairy to sell raw milk and cheese to the residents of Sunnyside and Columbia. Throughout the proceeding years — until the mid 1960's— Pilling also provided a source for raw milk from his dairy to the residents of East Carbon.
When the Big Spring Ranch was first established, it was named for the the largest of the three springs found on the property. The ranch is located in the area known as Clarks Valley. It is situated near the central part of a small verdant valley secluded below the bench lands. The ranch is nourished by three freshwater springs fed from an aquifer located deep below the massive Book Cliff Mountains. These springs stretch along an east/west corridor with the East Spring located several hundred yards above the Big Spring, which is the largest of the three springs.
The original owner built his dugout just north of the Big Spring, which provided his culinary water. Today, the spring still serves as the main source of water for Kent Pilling, the current owner. According to Pilling, little has changed since the ranch was established in 1884, stating that until 1959, the ranch was still without electricity and running water. (Pilling) Mud Spring, the last of the three springs, is located at the lower end of the ranch on its western side. Mud Spring was the source of water to irrigate the lands below the ranch, with additional water coming from the Big Spring, which flowed down an irrigation ditch that had been dug by its original owner Scott-Elliott. Water from the Grassy Trail Creek eventually provided additional water, but only in those years the overflow was not used by the Whitmore Cattle Company.
Petroglyphs found near the ranch suggest that the springs were once a major water source for Native American Indians that traveled between New Mexico and the Uintah Basin. Their route ran through the Book Cliff Mountains by way of Nine-Mile Canyon. (Robinson) These rocks contain a series of three circles etched on them, indicating three springs near-by.
In the early 1870s, trappers were attracted to the area by the healthy flowing creek that originated from deep within the Book Cliff mountains. These trappers scoured the streams and creeks within the massive Book Cliff mountains for the hides and pelts of beaver and other wildlife. Local legend has it that in the mid-1870s, a trapper staked claim to this land and built a jacal-type dugout in the hillside near the big spring.
Isolation from the populace of Castle Valley and the harsh terrain surrounding the Book Cliff Mountains in East Carbon prevented the area from receiving much consideration for settlement. Consequently, after George Whitmore and Scott-Elliott settled there, most of their activities went unnoticed. Even today after more then 120 years of existence many residents of East Carbon are unaware of its presence and it’s unique and colorful history, a history that without question, is more notable than that of the Whitmore Cattle Company which preceded it by several years and whose activities ended in 1912.
Lord Scott-Elliott
Much has been written about Scott-Elliott and his association with the Big Spring Ranch, but little is known of him. While some of what is written is true, most is based on hearsay and rumors. Suffice it to say, Scott-Elliott was not a curiosity, but rather more of a mystery to the residents of Castle Valley during his stay in East Carbon. Scott-Elliott was a loner for sure, keeping to himself at his ranch, seldom venturing out to associate with his neighbors or people living in Emery and Carbon counties.
Portrayed as a wealthy Scotsman looking for a suitable location to build a sheep empire, Scott-Elliott arrived sometime before 1884. His search led him to East Carbon, where he found the old trapper living in a dugout. Scott-Elliott convinced the trapper to sell him his land, along with the source of water from the springs. (Pilling) The remains of the dugout are still visible and are located a hundred yards north of the Big Springs. Scott-Elliott took up residence in the trapper’s dugout while he built his house. When it was completed, along with the barn and corrals, he brought sheep onto his land and placed them on the lower end of his property near Mud Springs.
This wealthy Scotsman, who carried the title of “Lord” was Lewis Alexander Scott-Elliott. (FHL, # 0483527 pg 83) Early rumors indicated he came from the British Isles and perhaps “Royalty.” There was also speculation that he may have started out with the Ballard brothers, Harry and Arthur who had also come from England in the late 1870's. The Ballards established a sizable ranch near Thompson Springs, located several miles east of Green River. It was also rumored that Scott-Elliott left his homeland under duress, bribed by his family to leave. According to Woodrow Pilling, “His departure from his homeland was a result of a marriage to a woman that was a commoner, which did not set well with his royal family.” (Pilling)
After arriving in the area rumors and speculation circulated questioning how Scott-Elliott got his wealth. Many were sure that it came through illegitimate means, perhaps a bank robbery. (Pilling) The mystery surrounding this foreigner created quite a stir around Price and the surrounding area. The fact that he was mentioned as a member of royalty certainly has enhanced the status of this legendary figure of East Carbon. Adding to the extraordinary uniqueness of Scott-Elliott was how he conducted his affairs at the ranch. Several times he brought in grouse and quail for his aristocratic guests that came to East Carbon from the British Isles. This caused quite a stir among many of the locals who viewed that as a pretentious act. The locals couldn’t understand how hard-earned money could be wasted on critters readily found in abundance in the area. (Pilling)
An entry in the Emery County Commission minutes dating June 1884 confirms that Scott-Elliott was already established at the ranch in Sunnyside at that time. (FHL, # 0483527, pg 83) While his presence in East Carbon during this era should not have garnered any more attention then usual, it did. According to local residents, there was something extraordinarily unique about him. He was physically described as a tall, handsome man, with a strong physical presence, a well-built stature, thin blonde hair, and purportedly well trained in the art of pugilism. (Advocate, June 25, 1991) According to Woodrow Pillings’ oral history, in 1886, his father, William, at the age of seventeen worked at the ranch for Scott-Elliott. While working there, he noticed that Scott-Elliott had an affinity for his six-shooter revolvers, and was seldom seen without three or four adorning his body. (Pilling) Those who knew him well indicated that he was a soft-spoken man, which belied any notion of his fascination with guns. (Pilling) It was also rumored that while riding on his prized stallion on his vast land holdings, he took great satisfaction from shooting at rocks, trees, and small critters. (Pilling)
Reports were that at one time he had as many as 30,000 sheep. Tax records in Emery County 1885-1886 indicated that he was assessed taxes on three thousand sheep. He also raised cows, and his corrals were filled with horses needed for use on the ranch for his cowboys to ride the range, and to pull the plows on his fields. It was a well-known fact that he refused to allow a hog on his ranch. (Deseret News, June 25, 1991)
Clarks Valley
It's hard to imagine a more desolate place than where the small farming settlement of Kiz, in Clarks Valley was established. Among those early stout-hardy settlers were Jacob and Erastus Workman, William Fausett, Nephi Perkins and Ephraim Dimick. These settlers arrived with an unshakable faith and determination to eke out an existence on that godforsaken land. For almost four decades these settlers suffered through years of persistent drought making it difficult for them to sustain any semblance of a livelihood.
Clarks Valley lays a few miles northwest of Sunnyside Junction. Where the remnants of sheep corrals and the ruined foundation of a once thriving service station and tavern are visible. This valley extends approximately twelve miles from its northern boundaries, west to the borders of Soldier Canyon and east toward Sunnyside, covering twenty thousand acres. Standing as sentinels along the northern border of this once thriving settlement are the Book Cliff Mountains. This mountain range offered little protection to those early settler from mother natures hot dried summer months and freezing winter winds.
This valley was named after Hartford G. Clark, who first arrived in Price in 1894. (Biggs S.) Clark was a native of South Carolina, while in Price he operated the Clark Hotel and tavern. He settled in Clarks Valley where he built a ranch house, stables, granaries, and a blacksmith shop, and purchased a large inventory of livestock. In 1897, Clark abandoned his ranch in Clarks Valley, sold his hotel and moved to Salt Lake. (Eastern Utah Telegraph, November 12, 1897
William Alexander Fausett a native of Montgomery County, Illinois, was also an early settler of Clarks Valley arriving in 1882. Fausett, along with his wife Julia and sons John and William Jr. also established a farm there and raised alfalfa for his livestock.
William Fausett constantly battled drought conditions and eventually abandoned the ranch and moved to Wellington in 1896. Two years after moving to Wellington, at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 13, 1898, William Fausett died after becoming ill the week before. (Eastern Utah Telegraph, Feb 17, 1898) While living in Clarks Valley, William was affectionately known by the locals as “Old Father Fausett.” (Eastern Utah Telegraph, Feb 17, 1898) Soon after the death of William Fausett, his son, John moved his family to Saint Anthony, Idaho and was later joined by his mother Julia. (M. Fausett)
In 1900, John Henry Higginson — a native of Spanish Fork, Utah — settled in Clarks Valley. His wife Alice Lavina Dimick was the daughter of Ephraim Dimick, who himself would later settle in Kiz. Upon his arrival in Clarks Valley, Higginson found the abandoned buildings of H.C. Clark and William Fausett’s somewhat deteriorated. The fields were overgrown with sagebrush and bunch grasses. Like Clark and Fausett, Higginson was unable to sustain his farming activities, sold his livestock and gave up on the land. He moved to Sunnyside where his half-brother, Ralph was serving as principal of the Rock School. Higginson then went to work for Utah Fuel as an electrician. (1920 Federal Census, Sunnyside)
In 1903, Nephi Perkins, Ephraim Dimick and his son Ruben together with Gratien Etchebarne and Nephi O. Perkins settled in Clarks Valley. These families that settled in Clarks Valley were squatters on federal government lands. In 1920, the United States government offered this area — created by centuries of floods from the upper reaches of the Book Cliff mountains — to veterans of the first world war. As an enticement to settle on this broad fertile valley, the government proposed bringing irrigation water from the Spring Glen canal — a distance of almost twenty miles — to irrigate the parched lands. Despite the federal governments enticements, their offer was ignored by the veterans. (Sun Advocate, 1920)
In 1912, after the death of his wife, Sarah Jane Thompson, George Carlos Mead left Elgin, Utah and joined his sister Lydia Kiziah Mead Dimick and cousin Nephi Perkins. After settling in Kiz, Mead become one of its leading citizen. In 1925, Mead and Lafayette (Lafe) Norton built a two-story house that contained a grocery store and housed the post office. They also helped to build a Latter-Day Saint chapel and a school house. Prior to his arrival in Kiz, George Mead served as Postmaster in Elgin and when Kiz was granted a post office, George Mead was appointed Postmaster. Because of the short period of time the town had a post office, George Mead was the only individual to serve as Postmaster in Kiz. (Jensen)
On November 2, 1926, the residents of Kiz received their first mail delivery. For the next eight years, this small settlement would continue to receive mail. In 1934, the post office was officially closed. (Jensen) Its closure came as a result of the theft of postal funds by Dora Wells, George Mead’s wife. As a result, George was removed from his position as Postmaster. He moved to Salt Lake to find employment to repay the post office for its losses. While at work on July 29, 1939, he sustained a fatal injury in an elevator accident. (Mead)
Lower Clarks Valley In its heyday — from 1920 to 1935 — Clarks Valley consisted of twenty farmhouses and a population close to 208 residents. There was five grocery stories, a school house, post office, a chapel, two cemeteries, a morgue, a reservoir, and two saloons scattered throughout the area. (Jensen) The largest segment of these households and businesses were located in lower Clarks Valley where Louis Olivetto, David Menotti, Fred Flaim and Mario Seppi all operated businesses. (1930 U.S. Census, Sunnyside precinct) There were at least thirty individuals listed in the 1930 U.S. Census that had settled in this area for agriculture and livestock purposes. There were at least eight individual of Greek ancestry and seven with Italian roots listed as farmers or stockmen, many of these stockmen were scattered below the dugway near the area where Fotes Kanakis maintained his goat ranch. Other farmers living in the area consisted of the John Alma Peterson, John and Benjamin (Bennie) McMahon, George Biggs, Henry Knight and John Brace, most of these individual were still living in East Carbon when the Defense Plant Corporation arrived in 1942.
Life for these individuals wasn’t much different from those living in upper Clarks Valley in the settlement of Kiz. These residents made weekly trips to Sunnyside on their horse-drawn wagons to pick up supplies. The school aged children rode horses to Sunnyside to attend school there. Before and after school the boys living at these farms were required to help around the farm, attending to various chores. Lorrine Knight, the daughter of Henry and Lena Knight remembers the long rides to school during the cold winter months. “Back then we had to depend on a wood burning stove to heat our home and lanterns to get ourselves ready for school. And there was nothing pleasant about those early morning trips to the bus stop because it got really cold.” (Miller, L.)
Some of the things that needed to be done on the farm was done with a teams of horses. Out on the Peterson farm, Dell and Andy Peterson would use a team of horses on their grandpa Peterson’s farm, to clear off sage brush, haul hay, brake up new land. There would always be jack rabbits, cotton tails, now and then a coyote would cross the road and they would watch the coyote as it ran through the brush, then too, almost always, a hawk would be a soaring in the sky high up in the air, blue jays, black birds, many kinds of birds. Always something to catch the eye. (Peterson, C)
Cloye Peterson the younger brother of Dell and Andrew Peterson also shares his experience with the young boys living in Sunnyside. “In Sunnyside, if mama wanted something from the store, always she would send two or three of us to the store, never one alone. Kids at Sunnyside also had gangs, and if you were alone and in the other kid’s territory, two, maybe three or four kids would catch you and beat you up. Sometimes the kids, upper town or lower town or middle town, gangs would send word they were coming up, or upper town would send word, “Were coming down.” Then maybe fifteen or twenty kids would march to the other’s territory and, what I mean, there would be some real gang scraps. Often clubs, rocks were involved and often a kid would be hurt quite bad. This happened with different age groups. We boys each had our gang. Generally, if we were in our part of town, we were ok, but let us get into another part of town, and there was hell to pay.” (Peterson, C)
Information from Shanna Wilkinson, a grand daughter of John Alma Peterson and Lena Olson reveals that her great-grandfather James Marinus Peterson owned a farm below Sunnyside about four and one half miles. His boys, James, David and John Alma (her grandfather) each owned eighty acres and James Marinus had a hundred and sixty acres of sagebrush filled land. (Wilkinson) James was a native of Aalborg, Denmark who had come to Utah in 1869 to live among the Mormons. (Wilkinson) He migrated to Castle Dale, where he settled and began farming. James maintained his farm in East Carbon for almost a decade and when he left he sold his 160 acres to John McMahon, who was the older brother of Benjamin “Bennie” McMahon. James Peterson eventually settled in Salt Lake City and in 1929 passed away at the age of eighty.
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