SALT LAKE VALLEY — Autumn is around the corner with back to school and early bedtimes.

But there is still time to get out and discover relics of history right in your own backyard. Hidden all over the Salt Lake Valley are clues to our past. You've probably driven past markers and monuments many times without notice.

Now forgotten to the passing of time, these sleepy tales were once breaking news. So get together with family and friends and go on a history hunt.

South Jordan

Heritage Park: 1938 Bus Tragedy Memorial

During a severe blizzard in the December of 1938, a school bus full of students collided with a northbound Denver & Rio Grande Western train crossing the tracks near 10200 South and 40 West in South Jordan. The bus driver and 23 students were killed and many more were injured. This horrific accident prompted nationwide bus safety laws that are still in place today. In Heritage Park, 75 years after the tragedy, a memorial stands in honor of the victims & survivors.

Holladay

Olympus Junior High School: Walled Village of Holladay Fort

In 1847, Holladay Fort became the first village established independently of Salt Lake under the direction of Brigham Young. Around 1853 a wall of adobe and straw constructed around the village protected the residents from possible attacks of Native Americans. Although the wall was never likely completed, the settlement flourished.

The plaque and location for the original fort are on the eastern end of Olympus Junior High School's grounds.

Salt Lake City

600 East: Lone Cedar Tree

When the Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, they found a majestic cedar tree towering over the rest. It became Utah's first famous landmark and a meeting place for weary travelers under the shade of its branches. In 1933 a shrine was made by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, though the tree had long since died. When the giant tree still stood, locals called it the "Old Cedar Post." Regrettably, vandals cut the trunk, leaving only the stump in 1958. Look for this marker in the median of 600 East, between 400 and 300 South.

Jordan River Parkway: Donner-Reed Campsite

The Donner-Reed Wagon Party passed through the Salt Lake Valley on their migration westward. The group had hoped that crossing through the Great Salt Lake Desert would save valuable time. Instead, the party lost days through the sticky salt flats, entering the Sierra Nevada Mountains late in the season. The pioneers got stuck for three weeks without food in the snowy mountains, eventually resorting to survival cannibalism. There's a historical marker for a campsite on the pathway of the Jordan River Parkway trail, accessed off 2780 South and 900 West.

Bluffdale

State Prison, Frontage Road: Rockwell’s Station

Not a quaint locale, but an obscure gem that's worth the trip. Named after the famed Orrin Porter Rockwell, personal bodyguard to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and Mormon folklore legend. Rockwell’s Hot Springs Hotel and Brewery was a frequent stop on the Pony Express and the Overland Stage. Not much remains except a historical marker placed in 1934, but if you search the field you can find real stones from the station. A short excursion, but a fun journey for the adventure taker. Found across the street from the Bluffdale Park and Ride on a narrow gravel road.

West Jordan

Old Bingham Highway: Ghost Town Welby

An abandoned town consumed by the growth of West Jordan, students of Welby Elementary may not realize their Alma mater namesake is after the respected superintendent of the Rio Grande Railroad in Welby. A railway junction built in 1905 bore Welby's name, soon after, in 1908, the post office did also. The town disappeared after the loss of the railway contract. Pack a lunch and picnic on the tables provided by the marker on Old Bingham Highway and 4200 West.

Evelyn Hatch is proud to be a Utah native and mother of three boys. Contact her at evelynrimmasch@hotmail.com.

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