June 2024 | Vol. 34 Iss. 6
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HERRIMAN CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF INCORPORATION By Elisa Eames | e.eames@mycityjournals.com
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The carnival at Herriman Towne Days features rides, games and food. (Courtesy Herriman City)
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Bangerter construction
his month, Herriman recognizes its 25th anniversary of becoming a city. Officially incorporated on June 1, 1999, the small farming settlement that began in 1851 has grown to a population of approximately 60,000. “As we celebrate 25 years of incorporation, Herriman stands as a testament to what community and forward-thinking can achieve,” Mayor Lorin Palmer said. Born in Massachusetts in 1804, Henry Harriman was the city’s namesake. He was a prominent leader within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved west with other church members to escape persecution. First relocating to Kirtland, Ohio, he and others then moved on to Missouri and Nauvoo, Illinois, finally arriving in Utah Territory in 1849. Harriman was accompanied by fellow pioneers Thomas Jefferson Butterfield, Robert Cowan Petty and John Jay Stocking. The group first settled in the West Jordan area near the Jordan River. “While hunting one day in 1851, Butterfield came across a small stream flowing from a canyon… (present-day Butterfield Canyon),” Herriman City said via Instagram. “Having faced less-than-ideal growing conditions in the West Jordan Settlement, he determined this area, present-day Herriman, would make a good location to move to.” The four men resettled in Herriman in 1852 with their families, though at first, the area was called the Butterfield Settlement. A year later, church leader Brigham Young directed 20 families to join the settlement to provide protection and create a population large enough to establish a town.
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Herriman track and field
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At Young’s behest, construction on a fort built of hay, mud, grass, gravel and straw began in 1855. The fort was located at what is now 12733 Pioneer Street in present-day Herriman at the site of the current community garden. At the fort’s gate, John Stocking planted two black locust trees, which still stand today. Settlers built homes within the fort, but many abandoned the structure in 1857 to pursue other opportunities. “After Fort Herriman was built… the town started being referred to as Herriman. Spelling in the mid-nineteenth century was fluid, and… eventually, the official spelling of the town became Herriman with an ‘e,’” city officials wrote on social media. Only a handful of self-sufficient families stayed to continue the establishment of the town. During the ensuing decades, residents overcame many challenges to survive. The town remained small and largely agricultural for nearly 150 years. It wasn’t until 1998 that residents faced a monumental decision. “The community felt that Riverton was expanding toward the Herriman community, which made them [consider] whether they should incorporate as part of Riverton (and potentially give up their Herriman heritage), incorporate as their own town… or stay unincorporated in Salt Lake County,” Communications Manager Jon LaFollette said. Unincorporated regions are not governed by any municipal corporation, meaning they don’t have their own governments. They are outside the boundaries and jurisdictions of incorporated cities, are not self-governing bodies and do not Continued page 20
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Oustanding teachers