CHAPTER
7
CORINNE: CITY OF THE UNGODLY T X he coming of the railroad greatly affected the population of Utah and Box Elder County with the influx of a significant number of n o n - M o r m o n s a m o n g the previously isolated members of the LDS faith. From the point of view of the M o r m o n s , this was not a particularly sought-for situation. They had, because of their religious beliefs, clannish nature, political solidarity, and problems with some elements of the frontier American culture, been forced to flee New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. The had come to the shores of Great Salt Lake to be alone and apart—to practice their religion without interference, and without pressures to conform to the norms of the surrounding society, which they considered un-godly, degenerate, and corrupt. From the point of view of those whom the railroad brought, this was a country and a continent of manifest destiny. A great railroad linked the raw riches of the American West with the industrial might of the East, and the rest of the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Far East beckoned. As the tracks approached Bear River, the hungry eyes of those
