INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to trace the development of public education in Daggett County, Utah, including certain areas of Sweetwater County, Wyoming and Moffat County, Colorado, adjacent to the county political unit under consideration in this report. The region concerned in this research consists at the present time (1959) of Daggett County, Utah, the southwestern area of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, and the northwestern area of Moffat County, Colorado.

Upon early investigation into the problem, it became apparent that many schools in the Daggett area were organized to serve the needs of pupils according to geographic location, rather than political boundaries. Territorial and state boundary lines were usually aligned for political expediency without regard to geographical features such as rivers, creeks, deserts, and mountain ranges. Schools, on the other hand, were organized at the time and place where they were needed.

A certain school would be established across the line in Colorado, yet serve the needs of pupils residing in what is now Daggett County, Utah. This was also true of schools located along the Wyoming boundary. Daggett County pupils might have attended this particular school for years because it served the citizens of the region for miles around. This was especially true of the early schools when transportation was poor.

It was felt that a comprehensive picture of public education in Daggett County could not be adequately presented without the inclusion of these Wyoming and Colorado Schools.

Greater emphasis is placed upon the schools of the town of Manila, the county seat of Daggett County. In regard to the number of pupils attending and modern day educational importance, the Manila schools hold the center of attention. Consolidation brought about through improved transportation narrowed the number of operating schools in the region to the elementary school at McKinnon, Wyoming, and the new Flaming Gorge School at Dutch John, Daggett County. The foregoing schools, with the exception of the Flaming Gorge School, have been in session longer, due to their location at population centers of crossroads, and they merit more consideration in this study.

Research into the problem was commenced by personal observation in the Daggett School District for a period of five years. The sites of the schools under study were visited several times. Personal interviews were undertaken with superintendents, principals, teachers, and pupils, past and present, along with the patrons and residents of the area under investigation. Research was carried on through the records of the Sweetwater County schools, the Minutes of the Board of Education of Daggett School District, the archives of Daggett County, the Biennial Reports of the Utah Territorial and State Superintendents of Public Instruction, and the records and reports of the individual schools concerned.

Reading was done on the general history of the Daggett County region. The inventory of Daggett County Records No. 5 and a short history of Daggett County written by Dick and Vivian

Dunham were used as specific references. For a general history of public education in Utah, the work of Dr. John C. Moffitt served as a valuable source. Several unpublished master’s theses dealing with the subject were studied. In regard to thorough history of the schools of Daggett County, no published reference would be located.

The services of the University of Utah Library, the Brigham Young University Library, the Salt Lake City Public Library, and the Sweetwater County Public Library were utilized extensively in this research.

Throughout the implementation of this study various inconsistencies were noted among sources in regard to certain facts. Where possible, written records and reports were given precedence over oral information based on the memory of the person being interviewed, and the statements of those personally participating in a given activity were given credit over the statements of those who were not so intimately involved. Some of the information contained herein was based wholly upon the memory of a person, as no written record could be discovered. This was particularly true of the earlier schools of the region.

A combination of the chronological and topical methods of writing history was considered the most appropriate mode in writing up the results of this research.

Much of the history of the Daggett County area schools is a repetition of the events and occurrences of other similar districts. However, each school system and school represents a story of evolution and development. In view of its comparative isolation, until recent years, and the historical interest of the region, the schools of the Daggett County area present a unique story in and of themselves. It is hoped that this study will serve as a contribution to the general history of education in Utah and will aid in encouraging an appreciation of their system of public education for the people of Daggett County, Utah.

CHAPTER I

A SYNOPSIS OF DAGGETT COUNTY AND ADJACENT AREAS

The Geographical Format

The region under study. Daggett County is situated in the extreme northeastern corner of the state of Utah at the point where the boundaries of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado conjoin. This county assumed legal existence on January 7, 1918 and the Governor’s Proclamation of November 16, 1917 declared the bounds of the new state subdivision to be:

Commencing at the point of intersection of the boundaries of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, thence west to the one hundred and tenth meridian of west longitude, thence south to the watershed of the Uinta Mountains, thence east along said watershed to the Colorado state line, thence north to the point of beginning.¹

In view of the fact that there is no clearly marked watershed line in the eastern section of the Uinta range and the controversy that soon followed between Daggett and Uintah Counties, in 1943 the Utah Legislature established the present political limits of Daggett County.²

Irregularly rectangular in shape, Daggett County averages approximately fifty miles in length and seventeen miles in width. Sweetwater County, Wyoming, joins it on the north, Moffat County, Colorado, on the east, Uintah County, Utah on the south, and Summit County, Utah, on the west.

The northern, eastern, and western boundaries were established by legislative enactment, however, the southern county limit is marked by one of the most unique mountain ranges in North America, the Uinta Mountain Range, which is, apparently, the only major mountain system in this continent running in and east-west direction. The geological history of the region reveals that millions of years ago, the range was one hundred and fifty miles long and thirty-five miles wide, reaching a height of 32,000 feet, surrounded by a great sea.³

Glaciation and river and stream erosion have created some of the most spectacular and beautiful scenery in Utah, and Daggett County has its full share. The Green River and its tributaries have carved canyons of outstanding beauty and grandeur. The Flaming Gorge, Horseshoe, Red and Ladore Canyons of the Green are magnificent to behold. Sheep Creek Canyon, with its vertical rock ledges and folds provides scenery to rival that of Zion Nation Park.

Deep, rugged canyons cleaving the Uintah sandstone and quartzite; the steep, narrow hogbacks, with the narrow gaps of gateways cutting through them; these show the work of fast flowing water. The rounded summits of the “Baldies,” the great glacial cirques and mountain show the carvings of the flowing

¹Utah, Governor’s Proclamation: document in files of Secretary of State, November 16, 1917.

²Dick Dunham and Vivian Dunham, Our Strip of Land: A History of Daggett County, Utah. (Lusk, Wyoming: The Lusk Herald, 1947), p. 91.

³Ibid., 1.

rivers of ice. And all these things bear witness to the millions of years of building up and tearing down

which have made this area called Daggett County one of the most rugged, isolated and beautiful spots in the nation.⁴

The Green River, tributary of the Colorado, enters Daggett County at a point on the Wyoming boundary about eight miles east of Manila, the county seat. It travels in a general southerly direction, turning east about seven miles south of the Wyoming line and flowing in that direction until it reaches Brown’s Park in eastern Daggett about five miles from the Colorado limit. It then turns south for a few miles and east again into Colorado.

Two of the Green’s tributaries, Henry’s Fork and Sheep Creek, shared an important part in the settlement of the Daggett area. Henry’s Fork flows in a general easterly direction along the Utah-Wyoming border, entering the Green about eight miles east of Manila. Sheep Creek, arising in the Uintas, flows in a northeasterly path, pouring into the Green about five miles southeast of Manila. Other tributaries of the Green, in the county, are extant throughout the Uinta area, most of them flowing in a north or northeasterly direction into the Green where it bisects Daggett County east and west.

In the northwestern zone of the county line are two tributaries of Henry’s Fork, along which various ranches and home were established. They are Birch Creek and Burnt Fork, the former running in a general northerly direction and entering Henry’s Fork about 12 miles west of Manila, just across the Utah-Wyoming border.

The Uinta region abounds with lakes, some of which are Daggett, Weyman, Spirit and Green Lakes. The creeks and lakes of the locality are visited throughout the season by sportsmen and seekers of recreation. The Ashley National Forest includes the greater portion of the Uinta watershed and coniferous trees are plentiful.

To the north and east of this great Uinta mountain range lies a vast area of semi-arid land, extending into Wyoming and Colorado, covered with various arid-type vegetation, such as sage and juniper. These semi-arid areas in and around Daggett County have become extensive sheep ranging lands, while cattle are grazed in the grassier sections of the county, particularly along the Green and its tributaries. The settlement of the region was largely determined by the location of sources of water.

The towns and hamlets. Beginning in the western extremity of the county, in the southwest corner of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, near the point where the Summit and Daggett County lines intersect the Wyoming boundary, lies the settlement of Burntfork, consisting of several scattered ranches. The 1950 census lists one hundred and seventy persons living in the Burntfork region at that time.⁵

About three miles east of Burntfork is the hamlet of McKinnon, Wyoming, in which there

⁴Ibid., 2

⁵U.S. Bureau of the Census, Seventieth Census of the United States: 1950. Population, I, p. 50-9.

is a church, a general store, a school, and a few homes and cabins. The population of McKinnon, in 1950, was given as seventeen persons.⁶There are numerous ranches throughout the locality which center their business, church, and educational activities at McKinnon.

On some maps the name “Antelope” appears, which designates a number of ranches situated about four miles west of Manila. The residents carry on their social, educational and business affairs through the town of Manila.

Continuing further east there is the town of Manila, located just across the Wyoming-Utah boundary. There were one hundred and forty-seven persons living in Manila in 1950.⁷ A church, a school, a theater, and a quantity of homes are found there.

Across the Wyoming line, about three miles northeast of Manila, is the hamlet of Washam. Fifty-four persons are listed as living there in 1950.⁸ It consists of a number of ranches centering around a school which is no longer in use.

About four miles due east of Manila, along the Utah-Wyoming boundary, lies the village of Linwood, Utah. Its population in 1950 was eighteen persons.⁹ There are placed there a few cabins, homes, a post office and a general store.

Eight miles southeast of Linwood, in the Uinta Mountains, are situated some isolated ranches marked on most maps as the locality of Greendale. The Green’s Lake Fishing and boating resort is also in this area.

Seventeen miles southeast of Manila stands the new town of Dutch John, Daggett County, which is the site of the construction of the Flaming Gorge project on the Green River. This is the most modern city in Daggett County, with paved streets, some permanent-type homes, various Bureau of Reclamation buildings, construction camp structures, a school, a post office and shopping center. At the present time (January, 1959) this town numbers about five hundred persons.¹⁰Within the next few years it is expected to grow to over 2,500 workmen and their families.¹¹ After completion of the dam, a smaller number will live at Dutch John for the purpose of maintaining the dam and power facilities.

Twenty-seven miles due east of Manila is Clay Basin Camp of the Mountain Fuel Supply

⁶Ibid., 50-9.

⁷Ibid., 44-10.

⁸Ibid., 50-9.

⁹Ibid., 44-10.

¹⁰Deseret News, January 2, 1959

¹¹Ibid., May 15, 1958

Company, which is the center of the development of natural gas wells in Daggett County. It includes buildings and homes erected by the company.

Approximately eight miles southeast of Clay Basin lies an area known as Brown’s Park, consisting of a few scattered ranches and the uninhabited hamlet of Bridgeport. Just across the Colorado line, continuing as a section of Brown’s Park, are some isolated ranches comprising the Moffat County precinct of Ladore, the 1950 census of which was thirty-three persons.¹²

The total population of Daggett County, in 1950, was three hundred and sixty-four persons, residing in an area of seven hundred and eight square miles.¹³ Since 1957, however, the number of people living in the county has tripled as a result of the Flaming Gorge project, and still more growth is expected during the next three years.

Roads and highways. As early as 1881, a military road was constructed by Judge Carter’s interests, joining Fort Bridger with Fort Thornburgh, across the Uinta Mountains near the present site of Vernal, Utah. Although it was extremely rough, the road was maintained until the abandonment of Fort Bridger in 1890.¹⁴

Another road followed Henry’s Fork from the Burntfork area, east, toward what was later to become Manila and Linwood. It continued on east to Brown’s Park, crossing the creek several times. Two roads joined Green River, Wyoming, with the Henry’s Fork settlements, one north from Linwood and another northeast from Burntfork, Wyoming.

Until 1954, Daggett County could not be reached via a paved road. In that year, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, completed the paving of Highway 530 south from Green River to the Utah-Wyoming line at Linwood. A paved road, Highway 43, joins Linwood and Manila, and continues west through Daggett County along the Utah-Wyoming boundary, linking with the Wyoming road through McKinnon and Burntfork, Sweetwater County.

Daggett County’s main connection with Utah is Highway 44, which extends south from Manila and then turns east and again south over the Uinta Mountains and into Vernal. A new paved road has been constructed east from Linwood to the dam site town of Dutch John, Daggett County. This highway also marks the erection of a temporary bridge across the Green River about four miles east of Linwood, thus ending the extreme difficulty of vehicular travel between eastern and western Daggett County. A former trip from Manila to Clay Basin, for example, involved a roundabout journey through Rock Springs, Wyoming, except for short periods when the Green was frozen in winter.

Another bridge was recently completed at the dam site making it possible to motor directly from the Greendale area to the town of Dutch John.

¹²Census, op. cit., p. 6-15.

¹³Ibid., 44- 9-10.

¹⁴Dunham, op. cit., p.

There are a number of other county roads, including a scenic drive along Highway 44 south from Manila, thence west along Highway 165 to the Summit County line and north , again, down Birch Creek to the McKinnon-Burntfork area. The latter road is one of the routes to the Spirit Lake fishing area in the high Uintas. These byways are not paved, but work towards their improvement is progressing.

Natural resources. The resources of the county are primarily agricultural, with sheep and cattle as the principal livestock raised in the region. Crops include wheat, oats, barley, hay and legumes, and white potatoes, along with varying amounts of other vegetables. The Uinta Mountains have yielded a quantity of coniferous timber throughout the years.

Natural gas wells were drilled in the Clay Basin zone of eastern Daggett County during the thirties, but resources, other than agricultural, have not been highly developed. Small deposits of metallic ores have been discovered in the Uinta Mountains and a small coal mine existed near Linwood for a number of years. The county has a large deposit of phosphate which has not been tapped.

The power potential of Flaming Gorge Dam is now being developed and the probability of expanded tourist and recreational activity, within the county, is certain to increase with the completion of the project.

The Historical Background

Early fur trappers and explorers. The Spanish explorer, Father Escalante, passed to the south of the Uinta Mountains and did not enter Daggett County, however, there is some belief, among certain historians, that other Spanish explorers and traders might have visited the area before 1776.

The history of the Daggett County region is quite unique in that it was the first area in the state of Utah to be visited by White Americans.¹⁵ In the spring of 1825, William Henry Ashley, the founder of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, determined to try to find an easier route for the transportation of his company’s furs to the east. He decided to explore a portion of the Green River and to select a site for a general rendezvous for his trappers.

Beginning near the point where Henry’s Fork empties into the Green, Ashley and his party followed the course of the river through Flaming Gorge, passing into Brown’s Park and on to Ladore Canyon, arriving far down the river at the present site of Green River, Utah. Indians convinced them of the inadvisability of navigating the river further. They recrossed the Uintas to the point of rendezvous at the mouth of Henry’s Fork.¹⁶ According to some accounts, the rendezvous was moved further west on Henry’s Fork to the present site of Burntfork.

Ashley thus became the first white American to visit the Daggett area and write about it. Among his company of trappers were the names of men who were to become famous through the history of western America; Jim Bridger, Etienne Provost, Andrew Henry, Jedediah Smith, James Beckworth, Thomas Fitzpatrick, and Antoine Robidoux.¹⁷

The name “Browns Hole” or “Browns Park” was derived from one Baptistie Brown who settled in the area in 1827 or 1835, and is reputed to be the first white settler in Daggett County.¹⁸ In 1837 three trappers, Thompson, Craig, and Sinclair, built Fort David Crockett in Brown’s Hole.¹⁹

Another trapper who came to the Daggett County area during the fur era was “Uncle” Jack Robinson, who built the first permanent home in the county. It still stands as a portion of

¹⁵Charles Kelly, The Outlaw Trail (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Author, 1938), pp. 55-56.

¹⁶Harrison C. Dale, The Ashley-Smith Explorations (Glendale, California: Author H. Clark Co., 1941), pp. 138-139.

¹⁷Dunham, op. cit., p. 10.

¹⁸Kelly, op. cit., p. 57.

¹⁹William M. Purdy, An outline of the History of the Flaming Gorge Area, Anthropological Papers, No. 37, University of Utah (Salt Lake City: U. of U. Press, 1959), p. 7.

the Keith Smith property in Linwood.²⁰ Jim Baker arrived at an early date, making a name as a mountain man and guide, later becoming a rancher in the region.

By 1840, the supply and market for beaver pelts began to decline rapidly, and this signaled the end of the day of the trapper.²¹

In 1843 John Charles Fremont, with Kit Carson as guide, came east from Salt Lake through portions of Daggett County. During this period the Brown’s Hole region was frequently visited by other travelers heading west. The place was well suited for the wintering of cattle, and during the eighteen fifties, it was used for that purpose.²²

The Mormons, who were the figure so strongly in the colonization of the western United States, bypassed the Daggett area in 1847, their route being some sixty miles to the north. Attempts were made to settle Ashley Valley on the south of the Uintas, but no Mormon colonists arrived in quantity until near the turn of the century.

Scientists were studying the geological and natural resources of the area following the Civil War, including Mr. Clarence King of the Fortieth Parallel Survey, who was working in the Uintas by 1872.²³

The later history of Brown’s Park. In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell conducted his exploration down the Green River, and in 1871, traveled the Green and Colorado.²⁴ To him is given the credit for changing the name “Brown’s Hole” to “Brown’s Park” because he was so greatly impressed with its beauty. Powell also named the Flaming Gorge Canyon. He noted where Ashley had left his name and the date, near Ashley Falls on the Green.

One of the most interesting episodes of the history of this region was the “great diamond hoax” perpetrated by two prospectors, Philip Arnold and John Slack, against some of the richest and most influential financiers of California. In 1871, diamond samples, supposedly from a newly discovered deposit located somewhere “a thousand miles east of San Francisco,” were presented to William Chapman Ralston and his associates. Ralston, who was the head of the Bank of California, was duped, along with other men of means, into investing some $660,000.00 into the project, after mining experts had assured him of the authenticity of the find. It was only after Clarence King, the surveyor, noted that some of the diamonds were not placed where natural formation would require them to be, that the hoax was discovered. Ralston shouldered

²⁰Ibid., 17.

²¹Dunham, op. cit., p. 12.

²²Ibid., 19.

²³Ibid., 32.

²⁴John Wesley Powell, Explorations of the Colorado River of the West, (Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1875), pp. 19-23.

the total loss himself, and the confidence men escaped with their loot. Diamond Mountain, in eastern Daggett County, is a memento of the swindle.²⁵

As early as 1872, J. S. Hoy brought in a herd of cattle to Brown’s Park, and in 1875, he established a cattle ranch in Colorado, near the mouth of Ladore Canyon.²⁶ In 1873, Hardin and Sam Spicer moved cattle into the Park, followed by Valentine Hoy. In the seventies, W. G. “Billy Buck” Tittsworth settled a ranch north of the Park. J. C. “Judge” Allen had a claim on the Green River in Colorado, and Charles Crouse arrived and purchased the Jimmie Reed cabin on the south side of the river opposite the mouth of Willow Creek.²⁷

In 1879, “Doc” Parsons instituted a store and Edward Rife and C. B. Sears moved in. John Jarvie started a store in the Daggett end of the Park. Tom Davenport settled a ranch on Willow Creek. Others who soon followed were Martin Goffonti and Lewis Caro, who established a ranch at the mouth of Beaver Creek, with Charles Crouse. George Bradshaw, Frank Goodman, Jim Warren, Jim McKnight, James Peterson, Alfred Morey, George Kelvington, Speck Williams, Aaron G. Overholt, and others, too numerous to mention, soon appeared.²⁸

Brown’s Park gained some notoriety in the eighties and nineties as the abode of some of the most notorious outlaws of the late West, the most famous of which was Butch Cassidy. Others, such as Matt Warner, “Bignose” George Curry, Lonny and Harvey Logan and Harry Longabaugh used the Park as a headquarters from time to time.

Trouble between the large cattle ranchers and smaller operators over alleged rustling on the part of certain Brown’s Park residents, resulted in the arrival of the controversial Tom Horn, thought by some to be a fearless fighter for law and order, and by others to be nothing but a ruthless, paid killer.

By 1900, the forces of the law had pretty well ended the reign of the rustler and train robber in Brown’s Park.²⁹ Some of the most interesting stories of the West center in and around this section of eastern Daggett County, Utah, and western Moffat County, Colorado. Today, Brown’s Park consists of a number of scattered ranches and a sparse population. There are no paved roads and it is still a remote and isolated section.

The Burntfork and McKinnon region. In 1857, Colonel Johnston was sent west with an army to punish the Mormons who were supposedly in rebellion against the authority of the

²⁵George D. Lyman, Ralston’s Ring, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons., 1937), pp. 190-201.

²⁶Dunham, op. cit., p. 41.

²⁷Ibid., 42.

²⁸Ibid.

²⁹Dunham, op. cit., p. 41.

United States government. Through the efforts of Mormon raiding parties and the lateness of the season, Johnston was forced to take to winter quarters at Fort Bridger. The post sutler, William A. Carter, who was to figure prominently in the history of the area, took a number of government horses, mules, and cattle down to Henry’s Fork to winter, and became acquainted with the possibilities of cattle raising in that zone.³⁰

One of Johnston’s scouts, a Mr. Phil Mass, aided in the removal of the army stock to Henry’s Fork, and some time later, after his discharge from the army, settled at Montoya Meadows on Henry’s Fork, about two miles north of the present McKinnon, Wyoming. He thus became the first resident cattle rancher in the upper Henry’s Fork or Burntfork area. In 1862, he married Irene Beauxveaux and from this union there arrived nine children. An interesting sidelight into the life of this man is that he served as one of the original drivers of the overland stage into Salt Lake City, and as a pony express rider for a short time.³¹

The first permanent settler at Burntfork, some three miles southwest of the Phil Mass homestead, was Mr. George Stoll, who established a ranch there in 1870. Mr. Stoll had served in the First Nevada Cavalry commanded by General Connor, and traveled with his regiment to Salt Lake City. In the spring of 1864, the troops moved to Fort Bridger, crossing the mountains near Burnt Fork and Mr. Stoll became interested in the region at that time. In March, 1866, he married Miss Mary A. Smith and from this family came the first school children at Burntfork. One of his sons, George Jr., became the postmaster at Burntfork in 1895, marrying one of the early teachers, Miss Lillian McDougall, November 4, 1890. The John B. Anson and James Widdop families soon followed the arrival of George Stoll Sr. and these three groups became the first continuous residents of the settlement of Burntfork.³²

Approximately two miles east of Burntfork is Birch Creek, a tributary of Henry’s Fork, along which were established a number of ranches, including that of Robert Hereford, who was the first to homestead on the latter creek. Hereford removed from his ranch in 1896.³³ Garibaldi “B” Gamble, Charles Wyman, and Clark Logan also commenced ranching in this section.

Coon Hollow is a tract of land located about four miles east of Burntfork which was inhabited by permanent settlers by 1898.³⁴ The area is just north of the present McKinnon, Wyoming.

The earliest permanent ranches were thus established at both the western and eastern

³⁰Ibid., 19.

³¹Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming (Chicago: A. W. Bowen and Co., 1903), pp. 146-147.

³²Ibid., 525-526.

³³Dunham, op. cit., p. 48.

³⁴Ibid., 101.

extremities of the Daggett region, however, ranches were soon to appear along the Henry’s Fork and its tributaries parallel the Utah-Wyoming line.

The central Daggett County region. In the eighteen sixties, on Al Conner left his name to a basin lying five miles southwest of Manila and this later became the George Solomon ranch.

Further east, along Henry’s Fork, Charley Davis had a ranch about one-half mile west of the present site of Linwood, by 1873.³⁵ A. W. A. Johnson is supposed to have run cattle on the lower Henry’s Fork in the early seventies and Shade Large was living on the Charley Davis ranch by 1878. Lige Driskell settled further east along Henry’s Fork at an earlier date. At the mouth of Henry’s Fork was the George Finch ranch. George Hereford lived just west of the Driskell and Finch ranches, about one mile east of the present site of Linwood. Dick Son instituted a ranch about three miles due north of Manila on Henry’s Fork, and Dave Washam located himself just west of the Dick Son ranch about 1890. His name still designates the area, including the school built there.³⁶

Starting west from the river and going up the Fork around about 1890, you’d probably have stopped to say hello to Lige Driskell, George Finch, and George Hereford, not far from each other. You might have stopped to visit at the little school just between the Finch and Hereford ranches, where Charley Driskell, Neal’s son, was teaching, or at Jim Large’s cabin close by. Then, where Keith Smith how has his home in Linwood, you’d find Bill Large. Going up the stream a ways, you’d come to Shade Large’s ranch. Then if you turned off up Birch Springs Draw, or “Dry Valley” to where Cliff Christensen now lives, you’d find the Finch horse ranch, with a small cabin and corral; and where the C. F. Olsen ranch is, you’d see a similar setup, the Shade Large horse ranch.

If you had the time, you might go over to Conner Basin to see George Solomon, but more likely you’d cut back over to the Fork to Dick Son’s store and post office. Then going up to Burntfork, you’d pass the ranches of Dave Washam, John Wade, John Stouffer, Si Erdley, Alex Hayden, C. B. Stewart, Clark Logan, Henry Perry, Jim Hauser, Tom Welch, Will Harvey, Phil Mass, Billy Pearson, and Robert Hereford. Then if you cut back over to Birch Creek you’d find the ranches of Zeb Edwards, B. Gamble, and Charles Wyman.³⁷

The formation of political units; Manila. In 1893, Ellsworth Daggett, first surveyor-general of Utah, sent Adolph Jessen to northeastern Utah in order to complete a survey of the area. Jessen became aware of the potentiality of the region for farming, if water could be secured, and with the aid of Daggett and Mr. R. C. Chambers, he formed the Lucerne Land and Water Company. Shares were sold to prospective buyers, many of whom came from Beaver County, Utah. The valley which was to be developed came to be known as “Lucerne.”³⁸

In the summer of 1895, The company completed a canal from Conner Basin to what was known as the Birch Springs ranch, about four miles southwest of the present site of Manila, and

³⁵Ibid., 44.

³⁶Ibid., 50.

³⁷Ibid., 72.

³⁸Ibid., 76.

on November 6, 1895, the first settlers, Mr. Frank Ellison and his family, arrived. Ellison was to serve as foreman of the Birch Springs ranch. Other settlers soon followed, including the George Warby family, Steve Warby, Joe Warby, the Franklin Twitchell and Daniel Nelson families and Alvin E. Smith. Others located farms throughout the Lucerne Valley. Among them were E. J. Briggs, Fred Robinson, Charles Potter, J. K. Crosby, Billy McKnight, and Jim Merchant.³⁹

Because of a desire of the pioneers for community benefits, such as church and school, Jessen determined to survey a townsite, following the Mormon pattern of north-south, east-west streets. The three north-south streets were named Jessen, Chambers, and Daggett, while the east-west lanes were numbered, the first being the present state highway. Jessen had planned to name the new hamlet “Chambers” in honor of the third founder of the company, however, the news of Dewey’s victory at Manila Bay in 1898 arrived and it was decided to name the town in recognition of that event. This town was to become the county seat of Daggett County.⁴⁰ Manila was a “town” only in the sense that there were a group of homes and buildings clustered together. Until 1959, the hamlet was believed to be the only unincorporated county seat in the United States, however, in that year it became and incorporated town.⁴¹

Linwood. In 1899, following the example of the Lucerne Company, the People’s Canal Company was organized to bring water from Henry’s Fork into the lower half of Lucerne Valley. George Solomon, Edward Tolton, M. N. Larsen, George W. Stevens, and Daniel Nelson were the incorporators. Original shareholders were Frank Ellison, Ben F. Marsh, John DeSpain, J. B. and Hugh Hughbert, Daniel Nelson Sr., Frank Twitchell, Joe, Sam, Steve, James H. and George Warby, Charles Large, George Finch, Alvin E. Smith, James Reid, William McKnight, Fred Robinson, and Willard Schofield.⁴²

George Solomon laid out a townsite some four miles east of Manila, naming it “Linwood” after a variety of cottonwood trees planted in the tract. In 1902, Keith and Sanford Smith and their father, Frank W. Smith, purchased a number of ranches in the area, including the townsite itself. A village more or less “grew.” A store was started in 1903, which is still active.⁴³

By 1906, business became brisk with the use of the town facilities by the sheepherders of the region, and because of its location, a thriving trade grew in supplying the wants of the sheepmen. Gambling and other associated activities prospered, and one particularly noteworthy

³⁹Ibid., 77-78.

⁴⁰Ibid., 84.

⁴¹Personal interview with Nels Philbrick, Daggett County Assessor and resident of Manila, June 14, 1959.

⁴²Dunham, op. cit., p. 84.

⁴³Ibid.

establishment situated just across the Wyoming line was known as the “Bucket of Blood.”⁴⁴

Within a few years, however, the sheep boom died out, with the coming of trucks and easier freighting of supplies to the camps from Green River City. Several large sheep companies went bankrupt and the roaring days of Linwood were over.

Daggett County. As can be noted from the geographical description of Daggett County, the Uinta Mountains presented a natural barrier which separated Daggett from the rest of the state of Utah, particularly in winter. By 1916, the citizens of the northern slope of the Uintas felt that they were not receiving their rightful share of the benefits from taxes collected as a portion of Uintah County.

In conformance with a state law of 1914, a petition was prepared for the separation of the portion north of the Uinta Mountains as a new county, and in July, 1917, an election for this purpose was carried.⁴⁵ The county assumed legal existence on January 7, 1918, and was named after Ellsworth C. Daggett, the only surviving member of the Lucerne Land and Water Co.⁴⁶

At an election held the preceding November, the following officers were elected: George C. Rasmussen, Nels Pallesen, and Marius N. Larsen, county commissioners; A. J. B. Stewart, clerk and recorder; Daniel M. Nelson, assessor and treasurer; Ancil T. Twitchell, sheriff; and C. F. Olson, county attorney. On January 16, the Board of Commissioners held their first meeting in a room attached to the rear of the old dance hall, which served as the county courthouse until 1922.⁴⁷

Thus, Daggett County came into existence with virtually the same boundaries as it has today. Before 1865, it had been included in the old Green River County, Territory of Utah. In that year much of the Green River County land was lost to Idaho (later, Wyoming) and in 1868, the present Utah-Wyoming border was established, with Daggett County becoming an extension of Summit County, Utah. In 1880, the unit was attached to Uintah County, Territory of Utah, and, as was indicated, became a separate political entity in 1918.⁴⁸

Clay Basin and Dutch John. In 1924, natural gas wells were drilled in an area about twenty-seven miles due east of Manila, known as “Clay Basin.” A small community or “camp” was set up in 1929 by the Mountain Fuel Supply Company for employees and their families, which is still in existence.

⁴⁴Ibid., 85.

⁴⁵Ibid., 89.

⁴⁶Ibid., 90.

⁴⁷Ibid.

⁴⁸Milton R. Hunter, Utah in her Western Setting (Salt Lake City, Utah: Sun Lithographing Co., 1951), pp. 429-430.

The Congress of the United States approved an appropriation for the construction of a concrete dam on the Green River about eighteen miles southeast of Manila, in 1956. By he winter of 1956-57, a townsite was in the process of being surveyed under the direction of the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, which was to be located about seventeen miles southeast of Manila, just north of the damsite. The new town was named “Dutch John” after an early resident of the area.

Dutch John is the largest population center in Daggett County, numbering between five and six hundred persons, and it is expected to grow even larger. After completion of the project, the community will house about two hundred people in connection with operation and maintenance of the dam.⁴⁹

This summary of the history of the Daggett County region was attempted in order to contribute toward an understanding of the background of the citizens of the area, and their schools. Many of the names mentioned earlier will appear again as a more detailed study of each school is undertaken. These were the patrons of the schools of Daggett County and its environs, and the history and character of public education in this region was largely determined by these people.

⁴⁹Deseret News, January 2, 1959.

Summary

The foregoing chapter told how the region under study is rich in the lore of western history having been visited by many whose names are among the most famous in the tradition of America’s frontier.

An attempt was made to show how life in Daggett County was, and is, determined by geography and economic resources, with the earliest settlers seeking locations where there was sufficient water and grassland for their stock. In turn, many of these early cattle ranchers were superseded by the Mormon farmer and the county has remained predominantly L.D.S. in religion and white in race.

Politically joined to Utah, most of the county’s economic, social, and recreational activities were associated more with Wyoming than with the parent state.

A rugged and arid land with an economy based upon agriculture resulted in a sparse population, spread over many square miles, preventing the growth of large towns, which is indicated by the fact that as late as 1950, there was no doctor, hospital, drugstore, bank, library, or movie theater in the entire region.

With the advent of Flaming Gorge, a community was established, larger than all of the other hamlets in the area combined. The immediate effects of this activity are now being experienced by the residents of the county. That there will be an increase in the number of visitors to the area is almost certain. What permanent changes will result in the life and economy of Daggett County, perhaps, only time will tell.

CHAPTER II

THE BURNTFORK AND MCKINNON AREA SCHOOLS

A Private Ranch School

The private school at the Phil Mass ranch. In Chapter I of this research report a short paragraph was devoted to the mention of Mr. Phil Mass, who settled on Henry’s Fork sometime around or after 1862. His ranch was located about twelve miles west of Manila and two and one-half miles north of the present McKinnon School.

Fig. 1. – The Phil Mass Ranch

Mr. Mass was sincerely interested in the education of his four boys and five girls, and during the eighteen seventies he hired private tutors, maintaining the school at his ranch home.¹ He engaged Mr. William Pearson as the first tutor about the time of the coming of the railroad. (1869) Mr. Pearson taught at the Mass ranch until 1884, when he began teaching at Burntfork.²

It seems evident, from the research done in the area, that this school was, in effect, the first in the region under study. Judging from the opinions of those who knew him, Mr. William Pearson was an outstanding teacher and it may be assumed that the Mass school was one of comparative high character.

¹Personal interview with Mr. Vorhees Pearson, son of William Pearson and native of Burntfork, January 26, 1957.

²Personal interview with Mr. Mark Anson, early resident of Burntfork and lifelong citizen of the region under study, January 16, 1957.

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