History of Sanpete County

Sanpete's prehistoric inhabitants include the Fremont agriculturalists.  Ute chief Wakara captured the San Pitch Indians who gathered and hunted in the local marshes. Wakara invited Mormon settlement, perhaps for the resources it would bring, and then opposed it in a war of 1853-54 which caused a period of "forting up" and abandonment of towns. The Black Hawk War of 1863-68 brought a more serious and prolonged period of guerrilla raids.  The first Mormon settlers arrived in fall 1849. They chose the Manti site because of a nearby warm spring, the extensive limestone quarries, and the fine farming and grazing lands nearby.  

Interesting Facts about Sanpete County

1)  In the spring of 1850, the first settlers to Manti learned they had been living near a rattlesnake den. They killed 300 snakes the first day.

2)  In the 1940s, Fountain Green had so many sheep it was called Wool City of the West.

3)  Wasatch Academy, opened in 1875, is a boarding school that now has students from around the world.

4)  The county was a gathering place for Scandinavian immigrants: Danes, Swedes, and a few Norwegians.

Recreational Activities in Sanpete County

During the summer months Sanpete county is busy with many exciting festivals. Besides Ephraim's Mormon Days festival, regional celebrations include the Mormon Miracle Pageant, Lamb Days, the July 24th Pioneer Youth Pageant, and the Horseshoe Mountain Festival, as well as various Independence Day parades, rodeos, fireworks, and historic home tours.  There are also several art and pioneer museums in the county.  Many people enjoy fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, snowmobiling, or just watching the beauty of nature in the beautiful mountains of Sanpete County. The high country holds moose, elk, deer, big horn sheep, and mountain goats and many visitors come to hunt.

Industries in Sanpete County

A significant industry in Sanpete county is turkey ranching and the Moroni Feed Company,   Moroni Feed Company employs over 600 people throughout the state, with the corporate headquarters located near Moroni. There are many turkey barns around Moroni and the other northern Sanpete towns.

Sanpete's Mountains

The San Pitch Mountains are a 40-mile mountain range located in Juab and Sanpete Counties.  The San Pitch Mountains are the location of Maple Canyon, which is a very famous rock climbing area. 

How Sanpete got it's name

The name comes from the name of the San Pitch River that flows through the area. And the river, in turn, gets its name from the band of Indians that lived here at the time the Mormon pioneers moved in. Tracing back further, the Sanpitch Indians got their name from a leader, one Chief Sanpitch, who led the tribe in the late 1700s. Simple as that.