OGDEN -- When the Mormon pioneers settled the Salt Lake Valley, all of the land wasn't free for the taking. About $2,000 had to be paid to Miles Goodyear in early 1848 for the Ogden area before the colonization of Weber County could begin.
It was gold, earned by the U.S. Mormon Battalion, that paid that bill, and now 151 years later, a modern Mormon Battalion group is being organized in Weber County.A meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Weber State LDS Institute of Religion, 1302 Edvalson Ave., to organize "Company C" of the Mormon Battalion.
According to Robert P. Paul, enlistment officer for the Mormon Battalion, this will be the eighth company for the Battalion. "We're not a big group, but we have a lot of spirit," he said. The companies have about 250 members combined.
There are two Battalions in Salt Lake and others in Kanab, Logan, St. George, San Diego and Mesa, Ariz..
He said Battalion members need not be descendants of the original group but simply be honorable persons who will seek to have the memory, accomplishments and colorful stories of the historic group live on.
The Mormon Battalion is raising funds to build a headquarters that will also provide a museum and a library. Paul said the group has gathered a lot of old diaries and books. It needs its own place to store them and do more research.
More information on the Battalion, its new Ogden group and fund-raiser are available on its Web site, at (www.mormonbattalion.com).