Town #59: TOOELE, est. 1853

Here we are in front of our hometown welcome sign. Tooele was settled by farmers, but when the smelter was built up the canyon in the early 1900s, many eastern European immigrants moved into town. The immigrants created a second downtown area near the railroad. A third group of people moved into town during World War II when an army depot opened south of town, and in the last 15 years a new influx came as young families moved to Tooele because of affordable housing. Tooele is an unique mix.

No one seems to know exactly where the name Tooele came from, and few people outside of the county seem to know how to say it. Personally, I don't feel obligated to speak to any telemarketer who can't pronounce Tooele. " No, I don't live in Tul."

Town #58: STOCKTON est. 1862

Stockton sits on the west side of the Oquirrh Mountains. It was originally called Camp Relief by the California Volunteers under the leadership of General Connor who camped here to keep an eye on the Mormons. They soon renamed it Stockton after Stockton, California from which they had come. They did mining in the nearby canyon which is now called Soldier Canyon. You can still see the kilns that the soldiers built to smelt the ore that they found.

Town #49: RUSH VALLEY est. 1856

For those of you who may be following these posts, just so that you know, I am posting these photos a year after they were taken. I hope to be able to catch up and have more up-to-date posts on our progress through Utah soon. This is the last photo taken last year.

Rush Valley is situated south of Tooele in the middle of sagebrush country. Rush Valley is made up of the two towns of Clover and St. John which were combined at sometime into one town. It covers a large area. It also included the town of Vernon for a while. This area was also its own county for a short time. I don't think students are any longer memorizing the name of Shambip County.

This is one of the more interesting old buildings in town. I believe it was used as a firestation at some point.