Prior to the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in Utah the first contact with Europeans were with the Spanish explorers. Father Dominguez led an expedition from Santa Fe NM to try to find a route to Monterrey California. Also, father Escalante explored southern Utah and today a city is named Escalante. The European explorers wanted to trade with the Indians.
The Mormon pioneers arrived in 1847 and at once settled Salt Lake City shortly thereafter Brigham Young sent groups of people both N South East and West to settle the inter-mountain region he sent people as far away as Saint George Utah, Las Vegas NV, and San Bernardino CA to establish Mormon settlements. Brigham Young is known as the colonizer of the West as he had such a large hand in the development and infrastructure of the intermountain west in the late 1800s.
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The Mormons were interested in building immigration routes to the Salt Lake valley.
With the completion of the transcontinental railroad, Utah was no longer an isolated community in the inter-mountain West. Both people and product and ideas could now be imported and exported with the rest of the nation. For people interested in joining with the Saints in the Salt Lake Valley the immigration method and routes became much faster and easier. For those trying to leave Utah, it was much easier to depart and begin a new life in the rest of the United States.
With the railroad, commerce became much more intertwined with industries and products from outside of Utah and pricing and competition was much more varied. The monopolies controlled by the Mormon religion were under pressure by the gentile establishments. Even though members of the Mormon religion were strongly encouraged to only frequent establishments from other members and not those from the gentiles who often had superior products. The railroad allowed for lots of immigrants to come in and diversify Utah, from religionists to Chinese workers on the railroad to miners working in the gold and silver mines.
Gold, silver, and copper mines were set up in Utah to help bring commerce and tradable currency to the territory. With the mining of those resources, money could be generated, goods could be bought from the other establishments in the rest of the United States, and improve the economy of Utah. Mining also brought in an influx of non-Mormon immigrants into the state Who had different ideas values an industry experience. With the influx of immigrants due to the mining operations, additional infrastructure, judicial systems, and governmental agencies had to be developed.
With the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the discovery of ores suitable for mining, a large influx of immigrants ensued. These immigrants were eager to put their skills into practice and help develop the economy of early Utah. These immigrants thrived in the conditions, and for many reasons decided that they wanted to remain after their work was finished. Some of these reasons included the strong economy the ability to discuss religious ideas and the opportunity to make a steady living. Having the ease of access to Utah’s landscapes provided a way for people to expand their leisurely activities.