UINTAH COUNTY LIBRARY REGIONAL ROOM FILE FOLDER NO. 25 EARLY HISTORY OF ASHLEY VALLEY, PATRICK CARROLL’S FAMILY, AND THE FIRST SAWMILL IN THE VALLEY By Iva Carroll Gray a grand daughter Compiled by Kay Beers http://www.myfamily.com/isapi.dll?c=site&htx=main&siteid=Rxc*CQ In the spring 1878 my grandfather, Patrick Carroll, with his two older sons moved their sawmill and heavy farm machinery from Heber out to Ashley Valley. It was a difficult task bringing heavy loaded wagons over the rough road, which then was scarcely, more than a trail. The time required to make this trip was three weeks with eight horses drawing the two loaded wagons. Now we can make the trip in a car in less than three hours. In the Deseret News of May 1, 1878, was this item: “There are about one hundred inhabitants now in Ashley Valley. The roads that lead to this Valley, whether by Fort Bridger or Heber, are very rough and twenty two hundred is a heavy load for animals. There are as yet no mills in the country. A Post Office and a Mail Route have been applied for and we expect they will be established this summer.” Patrick’s homestead was located in the northwestern part of the valley on what is now Elmer Gardner’s farm land in Maeser along the southeast side of Ashley Creek. Here Patrick and his sons built a log cabin, cleared land for farming, planted a garden, made a ditch to bring water from the creek, and built a considerable amount of fencing on the homestead. As there were no mills at this time to saw the logs, many of the cabins were built of round logs squared in at the corners; others were built of whipsawed logs. Most of those first logs were cut from cottonwood trees that grew along the creek. Teancum Taylor was the first man to go up on the mountain, which bears his name, and bring down pine logs for building. Pete Dillman and Johnnie Steinaker went up on Taylor Mountain, built a log cabin known as the Dodds Cabin, and here made selections of pine trees. With a whipsaw they sawed out smooth, flat boards, and were able to get out 150 feet per day, but this did not begin to supply the demand for lumber. After the spring work was under way at the homestead, Patrick and his sons were anxious to get the mill in operation. The site had been decided upon and now they planned out the best route to take the water from the creek to the homestead to an elevation high enough to install the flume. This was at the base of the Rock Point Hill (this ditch or small canal can be traced now where the flume was built) where a dam was made in the ditch to force the water into the flume, turning the wheel which produced the power by which the mill operated. Later in the local paper appeared this item: “The fall of 1878 witnessed the first sawmill in Ashley Valley. Pat Carroll erected an old Up and Down mill run by water power along the creek near Rock Point and the Colton Ranch. The logs are hauled down to the mill from Spring Creek.” Also this notice was advertised: “Notice – is given that the undersigned will make application to the Hon. Secretary of the Interior for a permit to cut and remove various kinds of Timber from a tract – commencing at a point (a rocky point on the south bank of Ashley Creek) about one mile west from where Fort Thornburg and Bridger wagon road crosses the Soldier Park Fork of Ashley, running thence south; Patrick Carroll and Sons, P.O. Address: Ashley, Uintah Co., Ut.” The building of this old-fashioned mill was no problem for Patrick and his sons, as they were accustomed to this type of work. His father was his constant instructor and efficiently guided his efforts, especially in the choice of timber on the mountains, of calm, steady control in handling the saw and other equipment used in the mill, and the exact placement of choice lumber pieces in the right places to produce the best finished product. He owned a sawmill in Heber, Utah, where his boys learned the trade as they grew old enough to help in this project. Patrick also acquired the skill and experience of a carpenter and a cooper (a cooper is one who makes barrels, tubs, etc.) Patrick was trained and experienced in both trades; he could make wooden buckets, tubs, etc., even the water wheel that was used to run his sawmill. But best of all he enjoyed his carpenter work -- as he expressed it, “working at the bench.” At this time household articles were difficult to obtain, and many were made by Patrick for his own home as well as for other homes in the new settlement. Patrick, the builder, had a devoted love for God, his family and associates. He exhibited fair play and consideration in all his dealings, gave careful thought and planning to each day’s undertaking, and possessed an ample amount of the Irish sense of humor. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, on November 25, 1827, and came to Heber, Utah, in 1861 with his wife Margaret and their two small daughters. Margaret was a kind, loving wife and mother, a conservative and energetic homemaker, always willing to share with others. Together they taught the children with love and understanding, the important lessons of life. It was in the year of 1877, after their tenth child, Fredrick was born, that Patrick investigated Ashley Valley. At that time there were about thirty single men and four families that had settled around the Pardon Dodds farm, where the first house had been built in 1873. That fall, one company of settlers with Ira Burton as leader and another company with Thomas Bingham as leader settled in the lower part of the valley on the Green River at Incline (later called Jensen). The settlement along the creek near the Dodds farm was called Ashley Fork, later Old Ashley Town. When Patrick moved his sawmill and farm machinery out to the Valley in 1878, the Hatches also came out to Ashley Valley from Heber. They settled on the bench land south of Old Ashley Town. This settlement was first called Hatchtown, later Vernal. That spring settlers from Incline and other locations went up the canyon past Old Ashley Town and settled in Mountain Dell, later called Dry Fork. The first store in the Valley was in the basement of the Gibson’s house, and the people met in each other’s homes for church and social affairs. In 1878 William Britt built and operated the first post office in the Valley. He also operated a store in the same building. Gibson’s store was moved to Old Ashley Town. That fall a log schoolhouse was built near the Nathan Davis farm, and William Britt taught a three-month term of school that winter. In the spring of 1879 Patrick moved most of his family out to Ashley Valley. His oldest daughter had married Heber Moulton in 1874, and the younger daughter, because of a health condition remained in Heber with her sister. Emily, the second daughter, was now 20 years of age; Henry, the older son, was 18; Edmond, 15; William, 11; Robert, 8; Joseph, 6; Heber, 4; and Fredrick, 2; all came to Ashley with their parents. They missed their former home and associates in Heber, and there were many home and social advantages there, which they must now get along without. The older ones had grown up in a new settlement, and the younger ones soon enjoyed the change. The Carroll homestead and sawmill were in a favorable location, just off the main road that followed along the creek and near the mouth of Dry Fork Canyon. Here the cool mountain breeze whispered hope and promise, while the creek with its clear refreshing water babbled the secret of majestic canyons and mountains yet to be discovered. The hills and mountains that surrounded the Valley seemed to embrace it within their protective care. The winter of 1878 had been mild in the Valley, and the vegetables stored in pits the previous fall came out fresh and crisp. The fertile creek soil was ready for spring planting. This was the spring and summer that the family always remembered as one of activity and joy for everyone; burning brush, planting seeds, sawing the logs hauled to the mill last fall – all the activities bringing their rewards. Then there was church each Sunday, and usually a dance once a week down at Old Ashley Town that was attended by all the family. Most of the old settlers and all of the new were in need of building materials, and a trip to the sawmill was one looked forward to by most members of each family. While the men loaded their wagons, the women prepared lunch in the shade of the cottonwood trees. There were no trees upon the bench land where many of the settlers now lived, and a picnic in the shade with cool, refreshing water was enjoyed by all. The children explored the nearby foothills or played “Indians and Outlaws” along the creek and on Rock Point hillside. From the top of Rock Point Hill one had a beautiful view of the valley and mountains. Many were the stories they heard of the outlaws in the mountains to the north and of the Indians that rode through the Valley. From the top of the hill could often be seen Indians and outlaws as they followed the old trail along the creek toward their destinations. Many were the celebrations held at the old mill setting in the late 1870’s and early ‘80’s. Joseph Bodily in his late 90’s recalls many happy days and fun times he spent there as a lad. He remembers swinging there higher than in any other swing. Some of the men working at the mill sawed the lower limbs off two very tall cottonwood trees and built a high swing for the more adventuresome ones wanting the thrill of really going up in the air. Ike Jones was one of the men that sawed off the limbs and, while high up in one tree and having only one more limb to cut off, he hurriedly sawed it off while he was sitting on it. The large pile of limbs on the ground below luckily saved Ike from injury in falling such a long distance. These were the days when all members of the community worked and played together, sharing each other’s sorrows and joys. When the second crop of wild hay was ready to be harvested and the grain was turning, word came to the Carroll family that their daughter living with her sister in Heber was very ill. She was very weak and lived only a few days after her parents arrived in Heber. She was buried in the Heber cemetery on September 8, 1879. Then a few weeks later, on September 29, 1879, the Meeker Massacre happened near Meeker, Colorado. Since the Indians were to be moved after that from Meeker to Whiterocks and their trail came through Ashley Valley, this brought the settlers here anxiety for their safety. Word had been taken by Indian carriers of the Indian uprising in Colorado to the Uintah Utes in Whiterocks, asking the young bucks to help destroy all white people between Meeker and Whiterocks. A fort was hurriedly built at Hatch Town up on the Bench and one on the Burton ranch in Jensen. Everywhere in the valley people prepared for defense against an attack. The younger Carroll boys had located a cave on the other side of the creek and insisted that if the family would go there in case of an attack, they could ward off any band of Indians that would try to attack. A great number of people had moved into the Valley in 1879. Some came in time to plant crops, but most of them were too late to take advantage of the growing season. One group came in December, and the 19 people lived in one room all that winter. Wheat became scarce before spring. On the Bench where the soil was parched and dry, the crops were infested with bugs and smut. The snow came early and by November the entire Valley was under 18 inches of snow. For 60 days the frost never fell from the trees, and Ashley Valley was practically snowbound. Most of the cattle and horses starved or froze to death. The settlers were in desperate need of food before help was obtained the spring. Those who lived through the winter always regarded it as “The Hard Winter.” The Carroll family was able to cope with the Indian scare, cold and hunger. They had food to share with others and a warm, comfortable house. The most difficult situation of that winter was when the dreaded diphtheria epidemic struck their home. Margaret had kept close watch on the three boys going to school for any sign of a cold or sore throat, but Henry was the first victim. He had worked hard at the homestead and mill getting everything ready for winter, and made his father’s work and exposure to the cold weather as light as possible, which left his resistance very low. His condition became very serious, and on January 16, 1880, he passed away; Henry was one of the first to be buried in Rock Point Cemetery. Little Freddie was the next victim. He died in February and was buried beside his brother. Mark M. Hall dedicated both graves but no public services were held because the disease was so contagious. The family had met with death the third time in a few months. The daughter that was not able to be with them in the new home, the little brother they all tried to help so much, and the brother that had accepted responsibility so willingly, helping them all in so many ways. The lonesome feeling came often for those loved ones who could not enjoy more of this wonderful life with them. Still they not only understood why death must come, but also that the bonds of love would hold through eternity. They prayed for faith, strength, and courage that in no way any one of them would ever sever this bond. They were learning fast the worthwhile lessons of life, and the few years they spent at the homestead and sawmill near the Ashley Creek were gratifying and profitable years. In 1881 the L.D.S. Church was organized into two wards in the Valley, Mt. Dell and Ashley. The next year, Fort Thornburg was moved from Ouray to the mouth of Ashley Canyon to protect the settlers of the Valley from the Indians, and Patrick Carroll’s homestead was included in the Military Reserve. At this time Patrick and his son Edmond filed on land in the southwestern part of the Valley. A new two-story sawed house was built on the land where Roy Carroll’s house now stands, and here the family lived for several years. The place where they now lived was called Mill Ward because of the many mills built there. The Mill Ward was organized in 1882 and after Patrick had established his homestead there, the sawmill was moved from Rock Point to a park on Taylor Mountain. The mill was built on the stream of North Fork that ran through the park. A short distance above the mill a dam was constructed to form a pond where the water was stored and released at intervals to furnish the power to run the mill. A headgate and a flume were built on a grade to bring the water to a good height above the large water wheel, which was constructed by placing arms at regular intervals around the axle with buckets at the outer rim that received the water as it passed over the wheel. This furnished efficient as well as cheap power for the mill. Lumber of all dimensions, as well as lathe and shingles, was produced at the mill. The logs were brought into the mill yard with oxen and the lumber was hauled to the Valley with oxen as well as horses. Patrick and his sons, with other help, ran the mill for several years. In 1885 Ashley Townsite, now Vernal, was surveyed, and Blythe and Mitchell opened the first store in that locality. In 1886 a post office was established and the townsite was called Vernal. The same year the Uintah Stake of the L.D.S. Church was created. In the spring of 1887 the Rock Tithing House and the White Stake House were completed. Conference was held in the Stake House on May 16, 1887. The third big party held there was the wedding reception for my father and mother, William Carroll and Marinda Wamsley. It was a double wedding as my uncle and aunt, Edmond Carroll and Esther Wamsley, were married the same night, February 29, 1888. The following was taken from the Vernal Express: “The third big party held at the White Stake House was a double wedding reception of Ed and Will Carroll, brothers, and by-the-way, their brides were sisters, Esther and Marinda Wamsley all of Mill Ward. This was a very stormy night, but people came in wagonloads. Many wagons were overloaded and were stuck in the mud, and the young huskies had to carry the opposite sex to a high spot. Some suggested they offer a prize to the man having the most mud on his clothes. “The funny thing was hearing them wading and splashing through the mud during the midnight recess, as the crowd was going to the free wedding supper given by the newlyweds in the, then new, Vernal Hotel. This was the opening night for Vernal’s first hotel, built and owned by Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Hardy. This hotel stood Just north of the Imperial Hall.” The Carroll family had been in Ashley Valley ten years from 1878 to 1888. Patrick and Margaret’s dream of a home for each of their sons in the beautiful Ashley Valley was now a reality. Well-trained and efficient, the boys took over the responsibility of the two large sections of land and the sawmill. Their parents now lived in a new two-story frame house on the lower section. Patrick had a workshop built just north of the house where he was able to spend much of his time working at the bench. He still made many trips up on Taylor Mountain to the favorite park to oversee the activity he had set into action, and was happy to see it working out as he had planned it years ago. Everyone enjoyed dealing with him at the mill, and today everyone knows that once he owned a sawmill where the sign tells the location of “Pat Carroll’s Mill Setting.” The last 15 years of my grandfather’s life were spent in Ashley Valley, and here as in the Heber Valley he had witnessed a settlement grow into a town. He had helped in bringing about the many changes that had taken place. He had worked under difficult conditions with unceasing efforts to give his family and community the things most needed for their future growth and happiness. By efficient example he left for others life’s real wealth – lasting characteristic qualities of devoted love, fair dealings, efficient planning, understanding, and the ability to be optimistic even on dark days. He passed away from the effects of Bright’s disease (chronic inflammatory disease of the kidneys) on Jun 14, 1893, and was buried in the Mill Ward, now Maeser, Cemetery. Roy Carroll, Patrick’s grandson and my double cousin, explained the building of our Grandfather’s sawmills to me. When his father returned from his L.D.S. mission in Ireland soon after the death of our grandfather, he went to live at the sawmill with his father, mother, and two sisters. They enjoyed living at this beautiful park in the summer time. Many wild animals came to the park for the tender grass and clear water. The oxen were fed rock salt, and the deer would come to lick the salt with the oxen. One night my Uncle Joe Carroll and Al Hodson came up late to the sawmill, and while they were turning their horses out to graze, Joe saw a small animal run out into the brush. Thinking it was one of Ed’s pigs out of its pen, he called to Al Hodson to bring the lantern so he could get the pig back in the pen. The light revealed its identity to be a small cub bear. There are many beautiful parks and resorts we visit each summer that are within a distance that we can go visit and be back in a day. This summer as soon as the snow melts we have planned a trip to Pat Carroll’s old mill setting. On October 28, 1970, I went with a group: Sue Watson, Joseph Bodily, Roy Carroll, Glen and Thelma Oaks, up to Rock Point area where Patrick Carroll built the first sawmill in Ashley Valley. We followed the Taylor Mountain road up to the top of Pitt’s Hill, then took the dirt road at the first turn left. This road went down to Elmer Gardner’s 160 acre farm along the creek. (It was almost 100 years earlier that Patrick Carroll took out a claim of 160 acres in this same location.) We were able to locate the remains of the canal that carried the water from the creek to where the flume was built at the base of the Rock Point Hill. This elevation was high enough so that the water, when forced into the flume that held the wheel, made the wheel turn, giving the power to run the mill. Joseph Bodily, now 94 years of age, remembers the old sawmill as a small boy, then later when he was herding sheep in the area and camped with his brother in the remains of the old mill bunkhouse. This was several years after the mill had been moved up on Taylor Mountain. Thelma Oaks remembers back in the early 1920’s when with a group of young folks, she went swimming in the creek and passed the old mill site area on the way to the creek. There were still piles of old sawdust and pieces of slabs scattered around; some of them had been washed down from the base of the hill and were lodged among the thick brush and cottonwood trees. The fellows stopped at the area where the flume was once installed. While they were deciding just where and how the mill was built, Thelma, Sue and I climbed upon the Rock Point Hill to where we could get a good view of the surrounding area. Thelma pointed out about where she had seen the remains of the old mill sawings. Here I was able to get some Kodak snapshots of the area. Facing the south we could see the dirt road leading up to the bridge from the main road. Out away from the creek were many homes, surrounded by beautiful trees and land, that for many years had yielded the necessary crops for the inhabitants. Farther on, the houses were closer together, and then the taller constructions of the city buildings. West was the old creek bed with thick brush growing in the swamps. North and west, a colorful view of the farm land reaching over to the creek. The distant mountains to the north stand now where, as in years ago, pine logs are being hauled off Taylor Mountain. To the north and east could be seen the tops of the buildings at Doc’s Beach. On farther to the north and east were the buildings of Croft’s Sawmill. After descending to the bottom of the Rock Point Hill we wandered down on the north side of the fence to an interesting and well built Beaver dam. Here the fellows came down in the car and Glen took us from the Gardner farm up to the Croft’s sawmill. As we stopped in front of the mill, it was amazing to see the well-equipped setup and the activity going on. The working men were keeping in tune with the buzzing electric machinery. We watched the man running the Log Handler come down to the huge pile of logs and pick up a number of logs, (like one would pick up an armful of wood). Then take them to the Line Deck, where the Bucking Saw cut them into certain lengths before they were cut into lumber by the head saw. Glen came back where we were watching outside the car. He had been talking to his friend, John Croft, who gave us permission to go up where the sawing was in progress. That was really something to see. The logs were cut into lumber the same length, passed on along the Green Chain, where they were then sent on to the Stacker. The refuse, like slabs and small pieces, were thrown down where the Refuse Conveyor took them up to the Trash Burner. The Refuse Conveyor, working like an escalator, took care of the scraps while the lumber was conveyed by the Green Chain to the Stacker. Here men stacked the lumber in a special manner so the Log Handler could convey them out to the lumberyard. The Crofts have been in the lumber business since 1908. There are four brothers interested in the Croft sawmill located near Doc’s Beach on the Taylor Mountain Road. The mill was erected in the fall of 1968 (just 90 years after Patrick built the first sawmill in Ashley Valley). The Crofts mill started out sawing 25,000 feet of lumber per day and they have doubled that amount. They have improved the road and are making a year-round project. Besides all the other convenient modern equipment, a dry kiln is in construction, almost completed. After the 2” x 4” dimension lumber is cut it will be treated in the dry kiln and be ready for use when it leaves the mill. The dry kiln will be run by natural gas; all other equipment is run by electricity. My visit at the Crofts sawmill was very gratifying and profitable. As I watched all the skill, activity and achievement displayed, I thought of my grandfather at his old sawmill 90 years ago just a short distance down the road. I do appreciate very much his unceasing efforts and the things he accomplished under the trying circumstances of the times. Not only in quality and quantity of the production of lumber, but in all vocations of life. We can see that we are indeed living in a wonderful age and should appreciate the efforts of those that have gone on before. In order to make claim on the future of this wonderful world and its great strides in progress, we must be able to appreciate the past. In every soul should be the desire to know about those efforts made to accomplish these wonderful things we enjoy, giving us opportunity to excel and enrich our lives each day. Research for remembrance of past events and putting the remembrance in writing in order to leave a more worthwhile record for the future is, to me, an enriching experience. My Grandfather Carroll died two years before I was born, but I want very much to learn all I can about him and the times in which he lived and to see him sometime. A granddaughter, Iva C. Gray