Legacy of the Black Pioneer

Legacy of the Black Pioneer (HM8C)

Location: Salt Lake City, UT 84109 Salt Lake County
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Country: United States of America
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N 40° 41.793', W 111° 49.631'

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Inscription
In 1824-26 the first black man came into Utah Territory. He was a trapper for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. His name was James Beckworth. In succeeding years many black people would follow to contribute to the development of Utah, socially and economically.

In July of 1847, three black men, slaves, were selected to journey with Orson Pratt, Mormon apostle, into the Salt Lake Valley. They were: Green Flake, Oscar Crosby, and Hark Lay, each in turn provided by their owners James Flake, William Crosby, and William Lay, members of the pioneer groups of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Utah was a slave state and remained so until the Emancipation Proclaimation was effected.

Many black pioneers followed in pioneer groups. They assisted their owners as directed. When they were freed, the owners assisted them in acquiring lands of their own in the Cottonwood, and Fort Union areas. They cultivated the land, built homes and raised families and in every way contributed to the socio-economic growth of the Salt Lake area.

In this, the Millcreek area, land was secured by Sylvester James, Samuel Chambers and Sylvester Perkins. Each proved to be successful farmers who would market their produce to leaders of the community.

In 1888 Paul C. Howard and his family established their home in the 12th-14th Ward in Salt Lake City. He became the first black policeman in Salt Lake City.

Dan Bankhead Freeman was the first black child born in Utah.

The black pioneers of Utah have left a great and lasting contribution that is remembered and appreciated. Their descendants have excelled in the arts, athletics and education.

Descendants of these pioneers reside in the East Millcreek area at this time. They are respected and appreciated neighbors.
Details
HM NumberHM8C
Series This marker is part of the Sons of Utah Pioneers series
Tags
Marker Number16
Year Placed1987
Placed BySons of Utah Pioneers
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 at 1:37am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)12T E 430114 N 4505401
Decimal Degrees40.69655000, -111.82718333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 41.793', W 111° 49.631'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 41' 47.58" N, 111° 49' 37.86" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)801
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2102-2234 E 3435 S St, Salt Lake City UT 84109, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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