Brigham Young Historic Park

Brigham Young Historic Park sits on the northwest corner of the block east of the Church Office Building, at the corner of State Street and North Temple.

Photos taken by Andy E Wold, 04 Mar 2001.

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Brigham Young, 1801-1877

Brigham Young Historic Park

"Honored here for his roles as pioneer, colonizer, governor, and religious leader. Brigham Young was best known as simply "Brother Brigham." A beloved leader and wise counselor, he served as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 to 1877. This park is a representation of the lives and industry of Brigham Young and the early pioneers. The traditions of family care and wise management they established in the beginning are still honored by the pioneers of today.

"The Young family estate, which included this site, extended north of Eagle Gate nearly three blocks. It included the eastern half of the block containing the Lion and Beehive Houses and continued east up the hill for about two blocks. The property was large enough to accommodate carpenter, sho, and blacksmith shops; a pigeon house; a flour mill; barns; sheds; and corrals. What they called the “upper garder” had vegetables and fruit and an orchard of apple, peach, pear, and walnut trees as well as beehives.

The many buildings were needed to supply and care for the Youngs' extensive frontier family, help with Church projects, and assist pioneers. In addition to the chores family members had, full-time employees and many newly arrived pioneers found employment on the estate."

The city of Zion plat, for which this award was given, was designed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young's predecessor.  The plat defines a mile-square city laid out on a grid.  Three fifteen-acre blocks form the civic center.  The surrounding ten-acre blocks are subdivided into half-acre lots with one home per lot.  Farms with livestock, barns, and stables circle the city.
THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PLANNER
Shas designated
THE PLAT OF THE CITY OF ZION
as a
NATIONAL HISTORIC PLANNING LANDMARK
The 'Plat of the City of Zion,' incorporated in a remarkable treatise on urban design addressed to the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Joseph Smith on June 25, 1833, guided the development of over 500 settlements in the Intermountain West, establishing a continuing commitment to the building of well-planned and culturally nurturing cities.
Erected 1996
The American Institute of Certified Planners
The Society for American City and Regional Planning History
The Utah Chapter, American Planning Association
         
Pioneer gardeners made "the desert blossom as the rose."  Brigham Young, in his vision of their new communities, urged immigrants and missionaries to bring plants from around the world. 
All kinds of flowers; fruit and vegetable crops; medicinal plants; and fruit, nut, and shade trees resulted.  Daily work in the garden was an integral part of pioneer life.
    
Canyon quarries provided stone for may pioneer structures.  Much of the sandstone used in homes, civic buildings, and the temple's first foundation came from Red Butte Canyon, just east of here. 
Little Cottonwood Canyon, to the south, supplied granite for the massive temple walls and for replacement of the weaker, early sandstone foundation.
    
Waterwheels commonly powered pioneer mills.  The first mill on City Creek was a gristmill, built by hand in October of 1847 to grind wheat that the pioneers had brought across the plains. 
The energy harnessed from canyon streams in the area powered many early pioneer industries.  Blacksmith shops, furniture making, and clothing mills were among those to benefit.
    
Wooden flumes often had to be built to harness the power of streams and rivers.  Flumes took water from a stream's natural channel and directed it to the waterwheel.  Branch flumes
were used to control the water flow that bypassed the waterwheels.  Keeping the flumes repaired was vital to the success of any industry using power generated by the waterwheel.




Brigham Young's estate was surrounded by a nine-foot-high stone wall.  Built to protect gardens, orchards, and buildings from canyon flooding, it also helped secure the whole property.  Family members had keys for the conveniently placed gates, which were locked in the evenings.  Remnants of the estate's original wall have been incorporated in the wall that remains here today.