Emery County Cabin
Encyclopedia
Emery County Cabin is one of the last few historic frontier
post office
s still known to exist in the United States. The cabin was constructed in 1879, and became the official post office of Muddy Creek (now Emery
), Emery County
, Utah
in the 1880s. The cabin is currently located in the Utah State Park system at This Is The Place Heritage Park
.
" the Lund cabin was the first log home to be built in the area. When Lund moved back to Spring City
, rancher Casper Christensen moved his family into the abandoned cabin. Christensen was named postmaster of the area in 1882, and his log home became the official post office of both Muddy Creek and Quitchupah. The logs were cut and hauled from nearby Miller’s canyon. The logs were smoothed on one-side with grooves chopped in each end. They were then placed on top of each other with the smooth side facing inward. Chinks between the logs were filled with mud or clay. Willows were used for lath, nailed to the logs, and plastered with mud. The mud was then rubbed smooth and painted with a whitewash of lime. The roof was made with cedar shingles.
Canyon, establishing a town that was known as "Muddy" for short. No one seems to know exactly why the town of Muddy received the name of Emery
instead of keeping the name Muddy as it was originally called by the Postmaster General
when Casper Christensen was first officially appointed postmaster
of Muddy on December 1, 1883. His daughter Hannah was appointed as his assistant. Perhaps it was in honor of Governor George W. Emery
who became the territory’s Chief Executive in 1875 and for whom the state officials christened Emery County in 1880.
The first settlers were able to get mail once a month, in the summer, and not at all in the winter. It was brought by horseback from San Pete County, through Salina Canyon by anyone who might be going through. In 1882, mail service to Muddy Creek was improved to once a week, making a 60-mile trek from Price, Utah
. Casper played a prominent role in Emery affairs during the settlement era. Prior to his appointment of postmaster, Casper was appointed Presiding Elder of the Muddy Branch of the LDS Church. In addition to a post office, the building also served the town as a doctor’s office, with Wiley Payne Allred, a former bodyguard of Joseph Smith
’s, using his in-laws post office as a place to set broken limbs, extract teeth and apply herbal remedies.
in Salt Lake City. The cabin is of historic importance as it is one of the few surviving frontier post offices to still exist. Some controversy ensued when it was found that the cabin was not being carefully preserved until renovation. The park fully renovated the cabin in 2009, titling it the "Emery County Cabin".
The Utah Home Builder's Association (HBA) adopted the building through This is The Place Foundation's "Adopt-a-Home" program. HBA helped reconstruct and provide assistance to the renovation of the frontier post office. Due to its historical multipurpose, it will serve as home to the park's interpretive potter. This entry will be the park's first entry from Emery County.
The cabin at This Is The Place Heritage Park was dedicated on June 20, 2009. In conjunction with the dedication, the park held Emery County Day, where Emery County residents were granted free admission for the festivities. Ellis V. Allred, a great-grandson of Casper Christensen, dedicated the cabin.
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s still known to exist in the United States. The cabin was constructed in 1879, and became the official post office of Muddy Creek (now Emery
Emery, Utah
Emery is a town in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 308 at the 2000 census.-Prehistoric:Emery sits at the base of the mountains that contain the North Horn Formation. Named after North Horn Mountain, near Castle Dale, Utah this formation in Emery County contain numerous...
), Emery County
Emery County, Utah
Emery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 10,860, and by 2009 had been estimated to decrease to 10,629. It was named for George W. Emery, governor of the Utah Territory in 1875...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in the 1880s. The cabin is currently located in the Utah State Park system at This Is The Place Heritage Park
This Is The Place Heritage Park
The This Is the Place Heritage Park is located on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA at the foot of the Wasatch Range and near the mouth of Emigration Canyon.-History:...
.
History
The cabin was one of two built by settlers Charles Johnson and Joseph Lund on Muddy Creek homesteads. While earlier arrivals had lived in "dugoutsDugout (shelter)
A dugout or dug-out, also known as a pithouse, pit-house, earth lodge, mud hut, is a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground. These structures are one of the most ancient types of human housing known to archeologists...
" the Lund cabin was the first log home to be built in the area. When Lund moved back to Spring City
Spring City, Utah
Spring City is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 956 at the 2000 census. Although it is still largely a farming town, Spring City is becoming increasingly known as an artist community. Many excellent examples of Mormon pioneer architecture exist throughout the town...
, rancher Casper Christensen moved his family into the abandoned cabin. Christensen was named postmaster of the area in 1882, and his log home became the official post office of both Muddy Creek and Quitchupah. The logs were cut and hauled from nearby Miller’s canyon. The logs were smoothed on one-side with grooves chopped in each end. They were then placed on top of each other with the smooth side facing inward. Chinks between the logs were filled with mud or clay. Willows were used for lath, nailed to the logs, and plastered with mud. The mud was then rubbed smooth and painted with a whitewash of lime. The roof was made with cedar shingles.
Post Office
In 1879, people had settled in Muddy CreekMuddy Creek (Utah)
Muddy Creek is a stream which drains portions of Emery and Wayne Counties in central Utah, in the western United States. It begins on the eastern slopes of the Wasatch Plateau at elevations above 10,500 feet . It turns southward near the town of Emery, then southeastward where it crosses under...
Canyon, establishing a town that was known as "Muddy" for short. No one seems to know exactly why the town of Muddy received the name of Emery
Emery, Utah
Emery is a town in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 308 at the 2000 census.-Prehistoric:Emery sits at the base of the mountains that contain the North Horn Formation. Named after North Horn Mountain, near Castle Dale, Utah this formation in Emery County contain numerous...
instead of keeping the name Muddy as it was originally called by the Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
when Casper Christensen was first officially appointed postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
of Muddy on December 1, 1883. His daughter Hannah was appointed as his assistant. Perhaps it was in honor of Governor George W. Emery
George W. Emery
George W. Emery was the eleventh governor of Utah Territory. Emery was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant for Supervisor of Internal Revenue for the confederate states from 1870 to 1874 and governor in 1875. After his term ended in 1880, the Utah Legislature named Emery County, Utah in...
who became the territory’s Chief Executive in 1875 and for whom the state officials christened Emery County in 1880.
The first settlers were able to get mail once a month, in the summer, and not at all in the winter. It was brought by horseback from San Pete County, through Salina Canyon by anyone who might be going through. In 1882, mail service to Muddy Creek was improved to once a week, making a 60-mile trek from Price, Utah
Price, Utah
Price is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The city is home to the USU-College of Eastern Utah, as well as the large USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum affiliated with the college. Price is located within short distances from both Nine Mile Canyon and the Manti-La Sal National Forest...
. Casper played a prominent role in Emery affairs during the settlement era. Prior to his appointment of postmaster, Casper was appointed Presiding Elder of the Muddy Branch of the LDS Church. In addition to a post office, the building also served the town as a doctor’s office, with Wiley Payne Allred, a former bodyguard of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
’s, using his in-laws post office as a place to set broken limbs, extract teeth and apply herbal remedies.
Demise and restoration
After a few years of stock raising and farming the settlers could see there was not enough farmland along the creek. Larger tracts of land lay several miles south of Muddy Creek suitable for dry farming. A canal was constructed in 1886 that diverted water from the Muddy to new available farm land. The present town site of Emery was surveyed in 1887. Almost immediately the settlers from Muddy and Quitchupah began filing on land and preparing to build homes. The town on Muddy Creek became a ghost town, leaving several structures still on its banks including the old post office as a new building was established in Emery. In the 1920s, Clyde Mortensen, being newly married and in need of home, went with a team of horses and relocated the old post office to Emery to function as temporary home, while he constructed a more modern home. The post office was utilized as a storage facility, and the cabin avoided being scrapped, similar to other pioneer cabins constructed in that era. In the early 2000s, Shaun Delliskave, a grandson of Clyde Mortensen, donated the cabin to This Is The Place Heritage ParkThis Is The Place Heritage Park
The This Is the Place Heritage Park is located on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA at the foot of the Wasatch Range and near the mouth of Emigration Canyon.-History:...
in Salt Lake City. The cabin is of historic importance as it is one of the few surviving frontier post offices to still exist. Some controversy ensued when it was found that the cabin was not being carefully preserved until renovation. The park fully renovated the cabin in 2009, titling it the "Emery County Cabin".
The Utah Home Builder's Association (HBA) adopted the building through This is The Place Foundation's "Adopt-a-Home" program. HBA helped reconstruct and provide assistance to the renovation of the frontier post office. Due to its historical multipurpose, it will serve as home to the park's interpretive potter. This entry will be the park's first entry from Emery County.
The cabin at This Is The Place Heritage Park was dedicated on June 20, 2009. In conjunction with the dedication, the park held Emery County Day, where Emery County residents were granted free admission for the festivities. Ellis V. Allred, a great-grandson of Casper Christensen, dedicated the cabin.