Long before Mormon leader Brigham Young stood on top of the Wasatch Mountains and declared, "This is the place," John Henry Weber was exploring the mountains and desert floor below.
Weber, a trapper who explored northern Utah in 1824, was officially recognized for his contributions some 167 years later.Last Friday night in Ogden, a monument honoring Weber was unveiled during a brief ceremony at Municipal Gardens, outside the Municipal Building on Washington Boulevard.
Bill Terry, an 85-year-old local historian who has researched the history of the man for decades, said Weber's recognition was long overdue. The county, the river, the university, the school district and numerous other local entities were named after the trapper-explorer, said Terry.
The 6-foot-tall monument has no statue because no one now has a record of what Weber looked like. Terry, a former Weber High School language teacher, said he and other members of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers are now raising $5,000 to pay for the monument.
From his research, Terry quoted one historian's description: "Weber remained a hidden figure in the trapper industry."
Another wrote: "He had his high moments and his low moments. He had a good Roman nose."
Terry became interested in Weber back in 1919, when he joined the Boy Scouts and hiked old Indian trails in Ogden Canyon. He soon learned that Weber got around the mountains the same way, Terry said.
"He (Weber) was unique because of the things he did to get around the mountains without getting lost," explained Terry. "He wasn't bewildered. He followed Indian trails."
Born in Denmark in 1779, Weber grew up to be a captain in the Danish Navy before coming to the United States in the early 1800s. By 1807, Weber was on the Mississippi River. A few years later, Weber married a French woman by the name of Clementine Nissercau, and together they had several children.
While his wife remained in the East to raise the children, Weber came west in 1822 with 52 others to explore and trap animals. Two years later, Jim Bridger found the Great Salt Lake; later that fall, members of the expedition named the river that flowed into the lake after their leader: Weber.
Five years later, Weber headed back east, where he died in 1859 in Bellevue, Iowa. There he was buried, and Bellevue officials have named an annual mountain man rendezvous after the explorer.
After the Mormon pioneers settled the valley, Young came to Ogden in 1850 and told residents they should name their county after the Weber River.
On Jan. 26, 1851, the name Weber County was approved by the Utah Territorial Legislature.