George Washington GIBSON founder of Cottonwood

George Washington GIBSON cabin on Cottonwood Lane, Salt Lake County, Utah.

Founding Father

1) Big Cottonwood Canyon
Big Cottonwood…originally known as Holladay’s Settlement, was settled in the spring of 1848was settled by John Holladay, Porter Double, William and Benjamin Mathews, Washington Gibson, Allen Smithson, and others who arrived in the valley with the Pioneers in July 1847. They were known as the Mississippi Company because most of them were from Monroe County, Mississippi… After spending the winter of 1847-48 in the Old Fort, these families started out in the spring of 1848 to find a suitable place for locating farms. Finally they made a camp on Spring Creek, about a half mile southeast of the present Big Cottonwood Ward Building [book published in 1947]. They settled close together and built a number of log cabins.
(Tales of A triumphant People A History of Salt Lake County, Utah 1847-1900, Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Salt Lake County Company, Steven and Wells Press SLC, UT, 1947, Chapter II, And There Were Sites For Future Communities, Big Cottonwood Canyon, P.73.)

[Ella HAWKES SMITH was Second Vice-Pres. of the Salt Lake Company of DUP at the time of this books publication. Her picture is on p. 321.]

2) Holladay Camp
Holladay, originally known as Holladay’s Settlement, was settled in the spring of 1848 by John Holladay, Porter Double, William and Benjamin Mathews, Washington Gibson, Allen Smithson, and other pioneers who had arrived in 1847. Later came some who arrived in 1848 3with the Mississippi Company [a second Mississippi Company of 1848]. They were attracted by Spring Creek and Cottonwood Creek, limped mountain streams flowing from the Wasatch Mountains. Holladay was one of the First settlements made outside of Salt Lake City.
(Tales of A triumphant People A History of Salt Lake County, Utah 1847-1900, Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Salt Lake County Company, Steven and Wells Press SLC, UT, 1947, Chapter II, And There Were Sites For Future Communities, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Holladay Camp p. 85.)

3)Twin Peaks Camp
In the fall of 1847, after locating farming land along the creeks at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, the settlers spent the winter in the fort at Great Salt Lake City. Then, in the spring of 18487, a group of families made a camp on Spring Creek, a tributary to Big Cottonwood Creek, located about twelve miles southeast of the old fort in Salt Lake City. Some of these settlers were John D. Holladay, Philo Dibble, William and Benjamin Mathews, Washington Gibson, Allan Smithson and others, These families were members of three groups. Some came from Nauvoo, others were members of the Mormon Battalion, and the Mississippi Company who had wintered at Pueblo, Colorado. Each family was allotted ten acres of land along Spring Creek. They settled close together in village style. In April, William H. Walker, and member of the Mormon Battalion and Aaron Farr, an original pioneer of 1847, built the first two houses of logs. The little village thus created was the first of its kind founded in Utah outside of Salt Lake City. It was called Holladay’s Burgh, in the honor of John Holladay, one of the first settlers and the presiding elder of the settlement.
Before the close of 1848, the inhabitants in Holladay’s Burgh had been increased by the arrival of more settlers, among whom were Charles A. Harper, one of the original pioneers of 1847, William Bringhust, George and John Bankhead, Robert Green, Alvin G. Green, and a few others. Most of these settlers spent the winter of 1848-49 in the village proper, though a few families lived on the farms immediately above the village.

From 1848 to 1853 more settlers came. Among them were Milo Andrus [father of James Andrus-James married two Gibson girls], David Brinton, Archie Hullinger, Lyman Wood, William Howard, William Casto, and William Covert. There were at this time one hundred and sixty-one in the community.
(Tales of A triumphant People A History of Salt Lake County, Utah 1847-1900, Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Salt Lake County Company, Steven and Wells Press SLC, UT, 1947, Chapter II, And There Were Sites For Future Communities, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Twin Peaks Camp p.p. 96-97.)

NOTE: Joseph and Elizabeth NEWMAN family with five sons and one daughter Ann Elizabeth NEWMAN, arrive in the valley in 1853 and settles at the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon. Ann and many of her brothers are buried in Holladay Cemetery.

4) South Cottonwood Camp
The south end of the tract was selected as the site on which the South Cottonwood Ward erected its meeting house in 1856. Under Bishop Andrew Cahoon and his counselors Geroge W. Gibson and William Carruth.
(Tales of A triumphant People A History of Salt Lake County, Utah 1847-1900, Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Salt Lake County Company, Steven and Wells Press SLC, UT, 1947, Chapter II, And There Were Sites For Future Communities, Big Cottonwood Canyon, South Cottonwood Camp p. 259.)

NOTE: Holladay’s Settlment/Burgh founded spring of 1848, was divided over time to became Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood, Holladay, Twin Peaks. Some parts of Mill Creek, South Cottonwood, and Murray may also have been include.

FIELD TRIP:

Sons of the Utah Pioneers Monuments & Markers

HOLLADAY, UTAH

• 1^st Settlers in Holladay
  Sponsor: Holladay Chapter, 1994
  Location: 4782 Holladay Blvd.
  This monument and plaque shows the original survey in 1849 with the names of the first settlers, and the leader of the settlers, John D. Holladay, as branch president.

• Old Fort Site
  Sponsor: Holladay Chapter, 1975
  During the Walker Indian War in 1853, 161 settlers on Big Cottonwood Creek built a fort at this location. The fort enclosed four acres, but was not needed as the indians proved to be friendly.

Location of Old Fort marker: 2217 E 4800 South, Salt Lake County, 84121. This is at the east entrance of Olympus Jr. High School. The school was originally built on the site of the Fort in the 1800's and has been rebuilt since my sister and I attended in the 1960's.