Description

Pioneer Provo’s struggle for survival continues.

“Already recognized as one of Utah’s best writers of local Utah history, D. Robert Carter’s subsequent chronicle of the post-Fort Utah period of settlement is comparably rich and revealing as his earlier work on Provo’s inception. In light of Carter’s remarkable description of the Mormon satellite-village and its complexities in the 1850s, the reader is struck by the necessity of such analytical work in providing the essential context for the more glaring ‘headline’ events characterizing the period, such as kingdom-building, Anglo-Indian relations, and violence. This is well-crafted historical narrative.”

RONALD O. BARNEY | EDITOR OF THE MORMON VANGUARD BRIGADE OF 1847: NORTON JACOB’S RECORD

“This second volume on the early history of Provo illuminates the complex transformation of the community from an ‘old shabby fort’ to ‘a large thriving city,’ or perhaps more accurately, a typical Mormon village in the early 1850s. Robert Carter’s fundamental reliance on the fragmentary period sources provides a remarkably vivid account of a community struggling to survive and ultimately to thrive. The efforts of Provo’s settlers to lay out a city, foster basic industries, and establish government, legal, and social institutions from scratch, makes for a story more enlightening than many traditional versions of the pioneer saga.”

ALAN BARNETT | ARCHIVIST, UTAH STATE ARCHIVES