WHO WE ARE
Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society
Photo shows railroad bridges over the Weber River heading into the city of Ogden in 1880.
OUR ROOTS
I
n the 1820s, the abundant marshes stretching along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake and the two rivers flowing from the Wasatch Mountains drew trappers hunting for beaver and muskrat. One of those trappers was John Henry Weber, who spent nearly five years in the Rocky Mountain fur trade, much of it in northern Utah. Today, Weber’s contribution to the early economics of the area now known as We-
ber County is memorialized in the county name as well as in the names of Weber Canyon, the Weber River, Weber State University and more. The tenacity and determination of Weber County’s first Native American residents, early fur traders and eventual settlers continued as communities were built, industries established and technologies of the future developed. Early Native Americans who lived in the area had an advantage: plentiful water,
Weber County encompasses 644 square miles extending from the scenic Ogden Valley perched in the Wasatch Mountains at nearly 5,000 feet to the Great Salt Lake approximately 1,000 feet below. The variety of its scenic vistas is remarkable, ranging from rocky cliffs and high alpine meadows to flowing rivers, wetlands, tree-lined city streets and open farmland.
Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society
Photo shows an aerial view of Defense Depot Ogden circa 1941-1964. 12 | OGDEN-WEBER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • ogdenweberchamber.com
