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Iron Manufacturing in Southern Utah in The Early 1880's: The Iron Manufacturing Company of Utah
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 July 2012
Extract
Building “Zion” in the intermountain West was a constant challenge to the officers and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) in the last half of the nineteenth century. The practical problem of developing a balanced and progressive economy in the arid mountain valleys and formless desert wastes of the Great Basin required perseverance, cooperation, and intelligent planning. The development of Utah is unique among western states in the form and extent of group planning and in the close supervision and direction of social and economic activities by a dominant church. The heroic efforts of the religious leaders of early Utah to develop the resources of the Great Basin are partly responsible for the progressive growth of employment and production after the permanent settlement of the region in 1847.
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- Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1951
References
1 In establishing their theocratic commonwealth in the Great Basin, the Mormons revived many biblical concepts, among which was that of gathering the faithful to “Zion”—a holy place. Every Latter-day Saint worthy of the name was expected to use his talents and property in such a way as to build Zion into a veritable Kingdom of God on earth.
2 For a description of the Pioneer Iron Company, see the speech of William R. Palmer at the dedication of the marker which marks the site of the pioneer iron industry, “Christmas Bulletin” of the Minnequa Historical Society, December, 1938, pp. 18–23.
3 Crook, John G., “The Development of Early Industry and Trade in Utah” (Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Economics, University of Utah, 1926), pp. 37–64.Google Scholar
4 Deseret News, May 18, 1870; August 30, 1871; Salt Lake Herald, December 16, 1871; “Record of Incorporations,” Iron County Court, Book A. This company was also known as the Pinto Iron Company because its townsite, “Iron City,” was located on the Little Pinto Creek.
5 Deseret News Weekly, October 8, 1873; Deseret News, June 24, 1874; November 11, 1874; October 1, 1875. This company was reincorporated in 1874 under the name, “Great Western Iron Company.”
6 Utah Works Progress Administration, Utah: A Guide to the State (New York, 1945), p. 298.Google Scholar
7 Larson, Gustive O., Cedar City, Gateway to Rainbow Land: A Community Portrait (Cedar City, Utah, 1950), p. 46.Google Scholar
8 L. D. S. Journal History (MS in the Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, hereafter referred to as “JH”), December 29, 1849.
9 Deseret News, April 20, 1881.
10 The spiritual and business affairs of the Mormon Church are under the general direction of a First Presidency, consisting of a president and two “counselors,” and the Council (or Quorum) of Twelve Apostles. The president of the Church also serves as legal “trustee-in-trust” of all Church property. The collection of tithing, the construction of buildings, and the management of land projects are handled by a Presiding Bishop and two counselors. See Homer Durham, G., “Administrative Organization of the Mormon Church,” Political Science Quarterly, vol. lvii (March, 1942), pp. 51–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11 JH, July 27, 1883, p. 6. It is interesting to note that Cannon was only twenty-four years of age at the time he made this statement.
12 See the writer's “Zion's Board of Trade: A Third United Order,” in The Western Humanities Review, vol. v (Winter, 1950–51), pp. 1–20.
13 Deseret News, April 7, 1884. Remarks of George Q. Cannon.
14 A few weeks later Professor Newberry read before the National Academy of Sciences a lengthy account of the iron and coal veins in southern Utah. He said: “Its iron ore is without rival, and the Territory possesses, not far from these ferruginous beds, four thousand square miles of coal veins that are equal to any in Illinois.” Deseret News, January 21, 1881.
15 Ibid., April 20, 1881.
16 Idem.
17 Idem.
18 Tullidge's Quarterly, vol. i (1881), p. 420.
19 Deseret News, May 20, 1881.
20 Taylor appears t o have had no blood relationship to President John Taylor.
21 Deseret News, August 8, 1881.
22 Ibid., August 26, 1881.
23 Ibid., October 12, 1881.
24 Salt Lake Herald, November 4, 1881.
25 Ibid., April 22, 1881.
26 Deseret News, November 30, 1881.
27 It does not necessarily follow that $62,500 represented the cost of the Church's iron and coal claims. It is the writer's guess—and only a guess—that the cost of the patents obtained by the Church (and by Thomas Taylor) was one-tenth of the value given the claims when they were exchanged for stock in the Iron company. Thus, Taylor's claims would have cost $10,650, and the Church's property rights would have cost, originally, $6,250. The value of the remaining initially-subscribed stock, $6,450—all of which was subscribed by prominent Mormon businessmen—seems to have been the operating cash of the company at the time of its organization. The company eventually sold about 220,000 shares of stock, which would have represented $51,000 in cash and $169,000 in property. It is probable that some of this additional stock—say $20,000 worth—was later taken by the L. D. S. Church to push the enterprise along.
28 Incorporation papers on file with the Secretary of State, Salt Lake City, Utah.
29 Bancroft, H. H., History of Utah; 1540–1886 (San Francisco, 1889), p. 735.Google Scholar
30 Descret News, February 28, 1948. See also Daniels, Joseph, Iron and Steel Manufacture in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah (University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station Series, Report No. 2 [Seattle, 1929]), pp. 10–15.Google Scholar
31 Deseret News, August 4, 1883.
32 JH, September 24, 1883.
33 Deseret News, October 5, 1883.
34 Salt Lake Herald, October 16, 1883.
35 Deseret News, October 30, 1883.
36 Ibid. October 10, 1883.
37 Salt Lake Herald, October 16, 1883; (Provo) Territorial Enquirer, November 16, 1883.
38 Deseret News, April 7, 1884.
39 Idem.
40 Ibid, January 16, 1884
41 Salt Lake Herald, January 17, 1884.
42 JH, February 11, 1884, p. 14.
43 According to William R. Palmer, Cedar City, Utah, in a letter to the writer, dated October 16, 1950, the engines, care, rails, and other effects of the short Nevada railroad were stacked up on a vacant lot belonging to Thomas Taylor. Most of the rails were used in the coal mines around Cedar City, and for other similar purposes, but the remainder of the equipment was sold as scrap iron to a junk dealer during World War I and went to the smelters in Salt Lake County.
44 Salt Lake Herald, April 17, 1884; Territorial Enquirer, April 18, 1884.
45 JH, May 26, 1884, p. 7.
46 Salt Lake Herald, April 26, May 4, 1884.
47 Ibid., May 9, 1884.
48 Salt Lake Herald, April 18, 1884.
49 Deseret News, August 16, 1884.
50 Salt Lake Herald, October 6, 1886.
51 Indeed, the title to these properties seems never to have been transferred to the Iron Manufacturing Company, which was hardly just, if true.