In This Issue

In a recent publication entitled, A Letter to America ,David Boren,a former United States Senator and now President of the University of Oklahoma,warns Americans that “…we are in grave danger of declining as a nation.”But he is also hopeful because,“…we Americans are natural problem solvers….”He goes on to urge Americans to take action to encourage bipartisanship among our politicians,support grassroots democracy by campaign finance reform,address challenges to our economic well-being including renewing the nation’s infrastructure and halting the erosion of the middle-class,fostering a sense of community,and building partnerships with other nations.This,he concludes,can only be done through the knowledge and respect that come from an understanding of our history.In his eloquent words,“For each of us,it is our life story that gives us our identity.What we have experienced—our personal histories— define us.If you were to lose your personal story,you would lose your personhood.The same is true for our national story.If we forget it,we lose our vision,our identity,our national soul….”

David Boren’s words apply to our state story as well as they reaffirm one important purpose of the Utah Historical Quarterly .The five articles that follow illustrate the breadth and diversity of Utah’s story and offer understanding as to what makes us Utahns.

When the vanguard exploring party of Mormon pioneers arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 22,1847,they encountered a number of thermal springs at the northern end of the valley. Four days later Brigham Young and other leaders visited the springs where several enjoyed a “…very pleasant and beneficial” bath. Our first article for this issue recounts the early history and development of the warm springs for bathing and recreation. If the sulphurous smell was offensive to many, at least the water temperature of approximately 100 degrees was nearly ideal. The springs and the facilities built nearby were well-known to several generations of Utahns.

When Edward Jenner Steptoe and the more than three hundred men under his command arrived in Salt Lake City on August 31,1854, Mormons braced themselves for increased hostilities with these latest representatives of the federal government.Steptoe was sent west from Fort Leavenworth with orders to escort soldiers and animals to the Pacific Coast for garrison duty,assist in the apprehension of those responsible for the massacre of John W.Gunnison and members of his party the previous year, and locate a better route from the Salt Lake Valley to California.Before Steptoe completed these assignments,a fourth was proposed—his replacing Brigham Young as Utah Territorial Governor.Our second article examines the behavior of Steptoe’s soldiers during their sojourn in Salt Lake City,the Mormon response,and how both influenced attitudes and events three years later during the Utah War.

Joseph Morris arrived in the Utah Territory in 1853,a year before the Steptoe Expedition.While Steptoe represented an outside threat to the Mormon Kingdom,the threat from Morris and his followers was internal. By 1862 Morris had won a substantial number of followers to his cause— particularly disaffected Mormons from Slaterville and Marriott—settlements located a few miles northwest of Ogden.The ensuing “Morrisite War”and the fate of the followers of Joseph Morris offer an important perspective on the turbulence,disharmony,and violence that occurred in Utah at the same time the United States was engaged in the horrors of civil war.

Marriner Eccles,a twentieth century citizen of Ogden,was chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1934 to 1948 and one of the most influential leaders of Franklin D.Roosevelt’s New Deal.Before his years of public service at the national level,Eccles was a successful businessman and banker.Our fourth article contrasts the way Eccles conducted his business affairs before his call to Washington,D.C., with those years after his return to Utah.

The health and well-being of citizens depends on the quality of health care they receive.Essential to an effective care system are well-trained nurses.Our last article describes the nature of nurses’training at three religious-based hospitals in Salt Lake City—LDS,Holy Cross,and St.Mark’s from the 1890s to the 1970s.As the hospitals expanded,practices were refined,and training became more sophisticated,the dedication of those who passed through the training programs remained high as humanitarian service was the motivating force for generations of nurses trained in Utah.

Each of the five articles in this issue represents a part of our state’s story and helps us,in the words of David Boren,to understand “…our vision,our identity,our…soul.”

ON THE COVER: A group of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees and leaders pose for this photograph at the entrance to Dixie National Forest in southern Utah. UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. ABOVE: These Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees from the Ferron Camp in Emery County are on their way to Joe’s Valley for summer conservation work during the late 1930s. UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.