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Harold Schindler notes: "This is the place where the Donner-Reed Party buried Luke Halloran at what is known as Lake Point. Mr. Yates (standing) remembers as a boy that there were emigrant graves here on this spot, 20 feet from where their wagons passed." The Prince Albert can (not Donner era) was probably attached to protect notes of some kind from the weather.
(See footnote regarding images.) |
Utah'sFirst Emigrant Graves
In August 1846, the first emigrants to take the Hastings Cutoff to California arrived in the Tooele Valley. They left two of their number behind. John Hargrave, traveling with the Harlan-Young Party, died of pneumonia on August 22 and was buried the next day. The Donner-Reed Party reached the valley two weeks later. On August 26, a member of their company, Luke Halloran, died of consumption and was buried "at the side of an emigrant who had died in the advance company." Historians have suggested present-day Grantsville or Lake Point as the site of these graves. Though the exact location may never be known, a panel commemorates John Hargrave and Luke Halloran, the first emigrants buried in Utah Soil.
Twenty Wells
Emigrants bound for California in 1846 rested in this vicinity because of the cold, pure spring water welling up from holes in the ground. These holes were six inches to nine feet in diameter and more than 70 feet deep. When water was dipped out it was replaced immediately from an underground source but did not overflow the hard sides. Because of this phenomenon, the springs were called wells. Twenty of these wells were scattered over the area of present-day Grantsville.
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Harold Schindler notes: "Captain Davis points in direction of trail."
(See footnote regarding images.) |
Some of the first emigrants called the area Hastings Wells, named for Lansford W. Hastings, who pioneered a wagon route to the Humboldt River near Elko, Nevada. This alternate route to the California Trail through Tooele Valley was used by emigrants and gold-seekers from 1846 through 1850. The plentiful grass and water in the valley made it a major campsite and resting place for wagon trains and pack parties taking the Hastings Cutoff.
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The Donner-Reed Museum in Grantsville, UT.
Courtesy of the National Park Service, Long-Distance Trails Office, Salt Lake City, UT. |
Two markers are located on the grounds of the Donner-Reed Museum in Grantsville, Utah, on the route of the Hastings Cutoff-California Trail. The marker project was begun in April 1996 and completed August 9, 1996. The project was initiated by the Utah Crossroads Chapter of OCTA and jointly sponsored by the Tooele County Historical Society. The project was funded with corporate donations and individual contributions from members of Utah Crossroads. The Tooele County Commission was a major contributor. Grants were received from the Utah Pioneer Sesquicentennial Council and the Utah State Historical Society. Utah Crossroads volunteers planned and coordinated the project and installed the panels. Al Mulder of the Crossroads Chapter was project manager. The Tooele County Historical Society collected the aragonite stone used in the pedestal and arranged for the masonry work.
On August 11, 1996, the 150th anniversary of the death of John Hargrave, the markers were dedicated.
Location
Grantsville, Tooele County, Utah. NW1/4, Sec. 36, T2S, R6W.
Access
Open to the public
Directions
Proceed west on U.S. 40 through Grantsville, turn north on Cooley for one block to the corner of Cooley and Clark. The museum is located at the southwest corner of the intersection, on the west side of the street.
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