How would the pioneers who first settled the Salt Lake Valley react if they could visit today?
We might be surprised.
They might be less impressed by our skyscrapers, sports arenas, airports and large, sturdy houses, and more concerned about our visions for the future. They took progress and discoveries as inevitable parts of modern life. Change was accelerating in the 19th century.
But character, morals, virtues and faith — those were, and are, the things of lasting value.
A different drive and determination
Any student of history can quickly see that the pioneers who settled Utah were different from those who settled many other parts of the American West. They had a different sort of drive and determination. They didn’t set out in search of gold or of the lush green forests of the Northwest. They set about making their own unique riches, cities, farms and homes out of some of the most barren and hostile landscapes anywhere on the continent, giving God the credit and glory.
Not only that, they were determined to look after those who would come later, whether they be future immigrants or the children, grandchildren and endless generations that would follow those already in their group. Cooperation was valued over competition. Selfishness was drowned by the need for shared responsibilities.
It’s hard for 21st century Utahns to imagine the vast solitude of the American West in the mid-1800s. In the civilized and settled Eastern states, life was abuzz with inventions and activities. The telegraph, begun a decade earlier, was shortening distances and enhancing the rapid spread of information. The transatlantic cable was only a few years away.
Railroads were shortening distances for travelers and mail service. Several new lines were started that year, while others expanded.
In Europe and the British Isles, physicians were beginning to understand the value of hand washing and sterilization in relation to the spread of disease and infection. Chloroform was introduced as an effective anesthesia during childbirth.
In London, Charlotte Brontë, writing under the pseudonym Currer Bell, was about to publish Jane Eyre.
An isolated desert
But for the pioneers who first entered the Salt Lake Valley, all that chatter and buzz had long since faded to total silence. There was no news from the rest of the world, other than what fellow travelers along the trails may have brought with them. There were certainly no hotels, way stations or newspapers.
What they did have was a vision.
Brigham Young confidently declared, “This is the right place, drive on,” when he first saw the valley.
Wilford Woodruff was with him on that occasion. He often spoke about it and the vision President Young had before uttering those words.
“Brother Woodruff, drive on,” he said, according to an account on wilfordwoodruffpapers.org. “Here is our home. This is the place God has pointed out for us to plant our feet.”
Honoring their legacy
While not everyone who lives in Utah today is of the same faith, it is important for all to celebrate Pioneer Day in remembrance of the sort of grit and resolve that was able to turn a barren desert into a world-class metropolitan area. It is important to remember pioneers who left that area and performed similar miracles by establishing settlements and cities in other parts of the West. We owe our comfort and relative ease to them.
But amid the fireworks and parades, it is important to pause and ponder what we are doing to carry on that legacy. What are we doing to ensure a bright future for immigrants, our children, our grandchildren and the endless generations that will follow us?
Today’s Utahns face tough challenges, including a persistent drought that threatens the existence of the Great Salt Lake, and a housing shortage that has helped fuel backlogs among those who want to move here, raising home prices to unaffordable levels.
The pioneers showed the way to solve problems through optimism, innovation, hard work and faith. They started by believing solutions were possible.
The stakes for today’s generation are just as high as they were 178 years ago. The future prosperity and livability of the state is in question. As Utahns celebrate, they should contemplate their own part in the unfolding history of the place in which they live.