The Geographic Factor and Its Influence on Utah Administrative Units

YEARBOOK OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS Vol 3 1937 The Geographic Factor and Its Influence on Utah Administrative Units Q-EOKCI-E H. HANSON Brlgham Young University, Provo, Utah When the Mormon Pioneers settled in the Great Basin in 1847, they claimed a vast expanse of territory, extending to the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west, to San Diego en the south", to Oregon on the north, and to the summit of the Rocky Mountains on the east. Their hopes for a sea port were denied when in September, 1850, the United States Congress passed a bill providing for the organization of the Territory of Utah. The boundaries were defined as follows: "Bounded on the west by the State of California, on the north by the Territory of Oregon , and on the east by the summit of the Rocky Mountains, and on the south by the 37th parallel of north latitude. (Bancroft's History of Utah). Although a large portion of their claim had been taken on the south, the pioneers were granted a great region, including what is now Utah, and most of Colorado and Wyoming, Settlement of the outlying regions of the new Territory began almost immediately. Not only were the pioneers eager to validate their claim to the land by habitation, but hundreds of immigrants from the East and even from Europe were arriving in Utah every year, and needed land on which to make a living. Consequently, a steady flow of settlers out of Salt Lake City toward the north and south was seen in the following years. This expansion continued until settlements were found in many places hundreds of miles from Salt Lake and the necessity of subdividing this vast region for governmental purposes was recognized, even before the official establishment of Utah Territory by Congress. In the winter of 1849-50 the legislature of the unofficial State of Deseret created six counties : Great Salt Lake, Weber, Utah, Tuilla, San Pete, and Juab (Fig. 1). Their method of determining the boundaries of these first counties was simply that of conforming to the natural or physiographic divisions which they found and recognized as logical units for government administration . The following are sample definitions of the first six counties as established by the Deseret Legislature early in 1850. (From Ordinances of the State of Deseret, 1850.) "An ordinance providing for the location of counties and precincts therein named, etc." Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the General Assembly of the State of Deseret, that ell :M$¥'MWm^¡ state, of G%???? DESERET ? ' ^j* .'s'^fam^.iiwmuaa^ttvmBœÎ,i PIGTJBE 2 ignation of the Territory of Utah, its entire area had been divided into counties, despite the fact that it covered about 250,000 square miles and very little was known of the country beyond the region immediately ¡surrounding Salt Lake City. The motive for such hurried action in dividing this immense tract of land into counties even before it was entirely explored is seen in the fact that the early settlers were eager to lay firm hold upon the Territory, thus resisti 'ig encroachment by other groups. This gaining of political control was probably considered by the pioneers as a gesture which would be recognized at the National Capitol. It was a notice of their intention to colonize the entire Territory, although for practical purposes the small valleys were the most logical county units. Some Utah counties in 1852 were nearly 800 miles long. Just why these counties were defined in such a manner is explained by the fact that only one means of determining boundaries was available: parallels and meridians. These imaginary lines which encircle the earth could be located on a map in the absence of information pertaining to physiographic features. The Territory's southern boundary . was fixed by Congress at the 37th parallel of latitude and the northern boundary at the 52nd parallel. These specifications provided a relatively easy method of marking off sections-on a map. The authorities defining the new counties, merely had to draw lines across a, map. of the Territory parallel to its north and south boundaries. W Every year following the establishment of Utah Territory witnessed the arrival...