Mountain Green, Utah
Encyclopedia
Mountain Green is a census-designated place
in Morgan County
, Utah
, United States
. The population was 2,309 at the 2010 census. Located 16 miles (25.7 km) up the Weber River
from Ogden
, Mountain Green is the world headquarters of the Browning Arms Company
.
, just north of I-84
at the interchange
with Utah State Route 167
(Trappers Loop). The community is located in the northwest corner of Morgan County, and includes the lowest point in the county.
in May 1825. Peter Skene Ogden
, leading 58 trappers from the British Hudson's Bay Company
, camped here on May 22, 1825. The next day, 25 American Rocky Mountain Fur Company
trappers belonging to John Henry Weber
's "brigade" arrived under the command of Johnson Gardner. Étienne Provost
was also encamped in the area, with his own company of 15.
This contact led to a territorial dispute. Gardner and his men claimed the Hudson's Bay Company trappers were violating United States
soil, while Ogden insisted the area was jointly controlled by the U.S. and the United Kingdom
. Provost, who remained neutral in the argument, was in fact the only one with a valid claim. The Adams–Onís Treaty had recognized Spain
's rights to the territory in 1819. Control had then passed to newly-independent Mexico
, whose government had granted Provost a license for his activities in the region.
On May 24, 1825 Gardner personally ordered Ogden and his men to leave, but Ogden refused. Gardner offered higher wages and low prices to any trapper who would join the Americans. Several men who had previously deserted encouraged others to come along. In the end 23 Hudson's Bay Company trappers deserted to Gardner's group, taking some 700 pelts with them. Ogden and his remaining men fled the area the next day. The site became known as Deserters Point. Today there is a rest stop there, with a historical marker
.
. He and his brother James had apparently been trading with the Shoshone
in the vicinity for some 20 years. Such early settlers as George W. Higley and Gordon Beckstead moved to Mountain Green in the 1850s with permission from the Simons and the Native Americans. The settlement was named Mountain Green due to its abundant green grass. In 1877 the population was about 150, but a number of families left in fear of conflict with the Indians, and the 1880 census showed only 75 residents.
found the need for a rural test-firing facility. They purchased a Mountain Green farm in 1961, and by 1968 Browning had relocated its executive offices, research and development, sales and data processing to the Morgan County location.
A volunteer fire department
called the Mountain Green Fire District was established here in July 1971. It was started due to a perceived need for faster response times than the county fire station
some 10 miles (16.1 km) away in Morgan
could provide. A separate fire station was built in 1973. In 1997, the Insurance Services Office
evaluated the Mountain Green Fire District and gave it a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule rating of class 6, equal to the grade of the Morgan Fire Department.
Mountain Green has remained unincorporated and largely undeveloped, but it is growing quickly. In 2007 the northern Utah section of the American Institute of Architects
offered a design assistance team to develop guidelines for a new Mountain Green town center.
As of the census
of 2010, there were 2,309 people residing in the CDP. There were 688 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.8% White, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, 0.5% from some other race, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population.
, Mountain Green Elementary School. Older students attend Morgan Middle School and Morgan High School, both in Morgan.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
in Morgan County
Morgan County, Utah
Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2010 the population was 9,469. It was named for Jedediah Morgan Grant, father of Heber J. Grant, who served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 2,309 at the 2010 census. Located 16 miles (25.7 km) up the Weber River
Weber River
The Weber River is a c. long river of northern Utah, USA. It begins in the northwest of the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake. The Weber River was named for American fur trapper John Henry Weber.-Weber River:...
from Ogden
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, Mountain Green is the world headquarters of the Browning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....
.
Geography
Mountain Green lies in Morgan Valley at the east end of lower Weber CanyonWeber Canyon
Weber Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range near Ogden, Utah, through which the Weber River flows west toward the Great Salt Lake. It is fed by 13 tributary creeks and is 40 miles long.- History :...
, just north of I-84
Interstate 84 in Utah
In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 84 heads southeast from the Idaho state line, overlapping Interstate 15 between Tremonton and Ogden and ending at Interstate 80 at Echo.-Western segment:...
at the interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
with Utah State Route 167
Utah State Route 167
State Route 167 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Utah that connects Weber Canyon at I-84 in Mountain Green with the Ogden Valley near Huntsville over a span of .Nearly the entire route comprises Trappers Loop Road....
(Trappers Loop). The community is located in the northwest corner of Morgan County, and includes the lowest point in the county.
Deserters Point
The present-day site of Mountain Green was the location of a historic meeting of three groups of mountain menMountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
in May 1825. Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
, leading 58 trappers from the British Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, camped here on May 22, 1825. The next day, 25 American Rocky Mountain Fur Company
Rocky Mountain Fur Company
The Rocky Mountain Fur Company, sometimes called Ashley's Hundred, was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1823 by General William H. Ashley and Major Andrew Henry . They posted advertisements in St. Louis newspapers seeking "One Hundred enterprising young men . ....
trappers belonging to John Henry Weber
John Henry Weber
John Henry Weber was an American fur trader and explorer. Weber was active in the early years of the fur trade, exploring territory in the Rocky Mountains and areas in the current state of Utah....
's "brigade" arrived under the command of Johnson Gardner. Étienne Provost
Étienne Provost
Étienne Provost was a French Canadian fur trader whose trapping and trading activities in the American southwest preceded Mexican independence...
was also encamped in the area, with his own company of 15.
This contact led to a territorial dispute. Gardner and his men claimed the Hudson's Bay Company trappers were violating United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soil, while Ogden insisted the area was jointly controlled by the U.S. and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Provost, who remained neutral in the argument, was in fact the only one with a valid claim. The Adams–Onís Treaty had recognized Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's rights to the territory in 1819. Control had then passed to newly-independent Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, whose government had granted Provost a license for his activities in the region.
On May 24, 1825 Gardner personally ordered Ogden and his men to leave, but Ogden refused. Gardner offered higher wages and low prices to any trapper who would join the Americans. Several men who had previously deserted encouraged others to come along. In the end 23 Hudson's Bay Company trappers deserted to Gardner's group, taking some 700 pelts with them. Ogden and his remaining men fled the area the next day. The site became known as Deserters Point. Today there is a rest stop there, with a historical marker
Historical marker
A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...
.
Settlement
When Mormon pioneers began to arrive in Morgan County in the 1850s, they found a man named Ben Simon already in possession of the land in the Mountain Green area. The Mexican government had granted Simon the use of this land for grazing cattle, sometime before the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
. He and his brother James had apparently been trading with the Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
in the vicinity for some 20 years. Such early settlers as George W. Higley and Gordon Beckstead moved to Mountain Green in the 1850s with permission from the Simons and the Native Americans. The settlement was named Mountain Green due to its abundant green grass. In 1877 the population was about 150, but a number of families left in fear of conflict with the Indians, and the 1880 census showed only 75 residents.
The modern era
Around 1960 the Ogden-based Browning Arms CompanyBrowning Arms Company
Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....
found the need for a rural test-firing facility. They purchased a Mountain Green farm in 1961, and by 1968 Browning had relocated its executive offices, research and development, sales and data processing to the Morgan County location.
Volunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
called the Mountain Green Fire District was established here in July 1971. It was started due to a perceived need for faster response times than the county fire station
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
some 10 miles (16.1 km) away in Morgan
Morgan, Utah
Morgan is a city in Morgan County, Utah, in the United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is named after Jedediah Morgan Grant, a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,687....
could provide. A separate fire station was built in 1973. In 1997, the Insurance Services Office
Insurance Services Office
Insurance Services Office, Inc. , a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, is a provider of data, underwriting, risk management and legal/regulatory services to property-casualty insurers and other clients...
evaluated the Mountain Green Fire District and gave it a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule rating of class 6, equal to the grade of the Morgan Fire Department.
Mountain Green has remained unincorporated and largely undeveloped, but it is growing quickly. In 2007 the northern Utah section of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
offered a design assistance team to develop guidelines for a new Mountain Green town center.
Demographics
As an unincorporated community, Mountain Green lacks official boundaries, so population estimates vary. An informal estimate in 2003 gave the population as 4,000, approximately half the total Morgan County population.As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2010, there were 2,309 people residing in the CDP. There were 688 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.8% White, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, 0.5% from some other race, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population.
Education
Mountain Green has its own elementary schoolElementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, Mountain Green Elementary School. Older students attend Morgan Middle School and Morgan High School, both in Morgan.
External links
- Mountain Green, Utah Town Center (PDF), March 2008 draft, accessed June 29, 2009