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Add residents of Heber Valley, Utah, including Charleston, Daniels, Heber City, Midway, and Wallsburg, from any time period to this project. You can visit HistoryLink to find out which projects include your ancestors.
The Heber Valley/Wasatch County area was originally discovered by Native Americans; the Timpanogos Utes being the most recent. The area was used primarily as a summer hunting ground and as an area where materials for hunting tools could be found and produced. "Wasatch" in the Uto-Aztecan language means "mountain pass" or "low pass over high range".
On a summer morning in 1857 workers employed at a sawmill in Big Cottonwood Canyon hiked to the summit of the Wasatch Range and viewed a high mountain valley to the southeast that had been reputed as a "paradise land". Hearing promising reports from the sawmill workers and others, a group of cattlemen left Provo in the Spring of 1858 and drove their herds up Provo Canyon to establish ranches in the south end of the valley while others during the spring and summer of 1858 explored the area with an eye toward future settlement.
A pioneer party consisting primarily of LDS converts from Great Britain arrived on May 2, 1859. They camped about one mile north of present Heber City and christened the townsite "London". The London townsite was surveyed in June 1859 by the Utah County Deputy Surveyor, Jesse Fuller. The initial point of Fuller's survey was established at what is now the north of end of Heber City Main Street. In 1862 Wasatch County was created by the territorial legislature and at that time the London townsite was renamed Heber City in recognition of the love the LDS settlers from Britain had for their Mission Leader, Heber C. Kimball. As the largest settlement in the area, Heber City was established as the county seat.
October 1858 - A road is completed up "Provo Kanyon" at LDS Church President, Brigham Young's request; a bridge was constructed to cross the Provo River at the mouth of the canyon.
July 1859 - Settlers build their houses closely together to form a fort (Fort Heber) located between First West and Third West and Second North and Fifth North for protection from Native Americans.
1862 – Issac O. Wall carries mail on horseback to the community during summer months. During spring the Provo River is too high to cross and Mr. Wall extends a cable from trees on either side of the river to transfer mail pouches with the Provo mail carrier.
1864 and 1865 - Homes and community buildings are built from native Red Sandstone.
Spring 1866 – Heber City's population grows as people from surrounding settlements move together for protection from Native Americans during the Black Hawk War.
March 23, 1889 – The Wasatch Wave under the ownership of William H. Buys publishes its first edition.
1889 - Heber City incorporates as a township.
Friday, September 29, 1899 - Rio Grande Western Railroad completes connection from Provo to Heber City with seven stations on the line.
1900 – Charles and Lavisa Alexander start their telephone company servicing 12 telephones; the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Co. purchases the Alexander's company in 1911; 170 telephones had been installed by this time.
1904 - Heber City's first bank, The Bank of Heber City, is constructed at the corner of Main and Center Streets.
November 1907 - Heber City's first public library is established in two rooms above the Heber Mercantile Building.
Fall 1909 – Construction of the Heber Light and Power Plant north of town is completed and residents of Heber City, Midway, and Charleston enjoy electric power for the first time.
1918 – The Ideal Movie Theater opens.
Winter 1937 - A fire severely damages the Bank Building at Main and Center Street.
- Heber City Corporation, accessed Dec. 4, 2014.
Charleston
In 1858, trapper Aaron Daniels moved to a place on the Provo River just north of where Charleston is today.
The first farmers put in crops at Charleston in 1859, and the first house was built by William Manning late that year. Manning and George Noakes were the only residents until 1863, when a few others moved in. In 1866, there were about a dozen families, and after that, the population began to grow even faster.
Noakes was the first Presiding elder in Charleston. Until 1877, the branch was part of the Heber Ward. The Charlston Ward was formed in July 1877, with Nymphus C. Murdock as bishop. The ward had 397 members in 1930, with 467 people living within the ward boundaries.
Daniel
Daniel was first settled in 1874.
Heber City
Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert Broadhead, James Davis and James Gurr. John W. Witt built the first house in the area. The area was under the direction of Bishop Silas Smith who was in Provo. In 1860 Joseph S. Murdock became the bishop over the Latter-day Saints in Heber City and vicinity.
The original Heber City town square is located on the west side of main street between Center street and 100 north and currently houses city offices as well as the historic Wasatch Stake Tabernacle and Heber Amusement Hall.
Midway
The first known European-Americans to visit the area, a valley just northeast of Mount Timpanogos, were members of a fur-trapping 1824 brigade led by Étienne Provost, a French-Canadian. The area was referred to as upper Provo, and is also the name of the river running south through the valley.
A wagon road was completed through Provo Canyon in 1858 which brought the first settlers to the area. Two small communities were established: Mound City and a lower settlement sometimes referred to as Smiths Grove. Mound City was named for the many nearby limestone formations. Smiths Grove was first settled by the Robey, Epperson, Bronson, McCarroll, and Smith families.
Indian hostilities grew, and territorial governor, Brigham Young, encouraged settlers to build forts for protection. The two settlements built a fort, "midway" between the two communities. In the 1860s and 70s, a large number of Swiss immigrants arrived, including the Gertsch, Boss, Huber, Kohler, Probst, Zenger, Durtschi, Krebs, Murri, and Abegglen families. Descendants of some these families still live in Midway.
Midway was incorporated June 1, 1891; its industry based on livestock and farming. As the town grew, so did the need for building materials. In the early 1850s, sawmills were built, operated by Henry T. Coleman, John Watkins, and Moroni Blood. John H. Van Wagoner constructed the first commercial gristmill in 1861. Bonner Mercantile Store was the first retail store.
Wallsburg
Wallsburg was established in 1862, and was named for William Madison Wall.