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UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, CHARLES R. SAVAGE PHOTO
802409 UHQ pgs 300-371
The Trapper, the Indian, and the Naming of Logan BY PATRICIA L. RECORD
T
he study of place names offers a window to the past that reveals much about the beliefs, values, and priorities of past generations. Cities, towns, settlements, mountains, valleys, and other natural features, and made-made objects are named for a variety of reasons —including national and local significant events as well as individuals who have made important contributions to society. Some geographic places have been named for purely fanciful whims.1 Geographic places in Cache Valley are named for a variety of reasons. For example, the settlers of Richmond named their community for the rich fertile soil found there, as well as for Charles C. Rich a Mormon apostle and regional leader, and for the town of Richmond, Missouri—a place where Orson Logan c. 1896. The John T. Caine, Hyde, another important church leader had Jr., House is in the foreground, the Logan Temple in the backlived.2 Some place names have changed. The first ground.
Patricia L. Record is a librarian at the Logan Library. 1 Many places in Utah were named after people.The towns of, Kanosh, Koosharem, and Kanarra were named for Indian leaders; the cities of Fillmore and Monroe and the counties of Millard and Garfield honor United States presidents; Ogden, Weber and Provo recognize the contributions of the mountain men. The towns of Ephraim, Nephi, Lehi, Hyrum, and Joseph are named for religious figures peculiar to the Mormon culture. And then there are the names of places like Elsinore that honor Elsinore, Denmark, former home of many of the earlier settlers. 2 John W.Van Cott, Utah Place Names, (Salt Lake City:The University of Utah Press, 1990), 315.
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