Nibley's intended name was 'Joseph,' historian Velis Nelson says

By Michelle Bundy

November 23, 2004 | NIBLEY -- Velis Nelson comes from a long line of Nibley natives, and after a decade of research she can name every one of them, along with the other 61 families that first settled Nibley.

Nelson has lived in Nibley for 52 years since marrying Jay Nelson, and his family was one of the original founders of the city.

"It's surprising to me how many people came here and set up things in the early 1900s," she said.

Nelson has been compiling a history of Nibley since her husband, Jay, as mayor in 1994-2002, asked her to head a committee outlining the city's history. Nelson, who was already involved with genealogy, eagerly took on the project, and now hopes to publish the compilation of her research in the first part of 2005.

Nibley started out as an LDS farm called Elkhorn Ranch, Nelson says. The land was used strictly for farming and no building of structures was permitted. The settlers had moved east of the Blacksmith Fork River to avoid Indian attacks. During this time, Jens Nielsen, Jay Nelson's great-grandfather and an immigrant from Denmark, rented the land for $2 an acre and farmed the land with his sons. (They lived in Logan and walked four miles to the farm each day.) When the land came up for sale, the family bought it and moved to their farm.

According to Nelson's manuscript, as danger from the Indians decreased, settlers moved across the river to what they anticipated would be called "Joseph" in memory of the prophet Joseph Smith who had been martyred in Illinois, where the bulk of these LDS settlers had migrated from. Joseph was to be the twin city to Hyrum, but the name never stuck and temporarily became West Millville instead.

Originally the Church Farm was designated by Brigham Young to become the site of Brigham Young College, where, according to Nelson's manuscript, "we will establish a free educational institute to accommodate 500 to 1,000 young people . . . [who] spend . . . four to six years in acquiring a liberal and scientific education as complete as can be found in any part of the world." Young emphasized learning trades and skills such as "blacksmithing, carpentry, wheelwrighting, masonry... scientific farming and stock raising" for young men and for the young women to learn to "spin, weave, cut, sew, dairying, poultry-raising, flower gardening, etc." Gospel study would also be incorporated into the college curriculum, said Young.

Eventually, after Young's death, the board of trustees appointed by him realized the project was too extensive for them to carry out, and agreed to locate the College in Logan instead, where it eventually became the home of what is now Logan High School, said Nelson.

Meanwhile, West Millville's population had grown, and the town was named Charles Wilson Nibley, after the Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church, in 1920. Five years later, Nibley became a precinct (which was necessary in order for citizens to vote), said Nelson.

Nibley was incorporated as a town in 1935 and has since been zoned mainly for residential and commercial use. It is now the second fastest growing community in Cache Valley, according to the Nelsons, and is home to three parks (with another in the works), six wards (a demographical group of LDS members), an elementary school and soon a middle school, with the potential for a high school as well. Businesses such as Weathershield, Poulson Trailer, and EK Accessories also make their homes in Nibley.

Nelson has found her research from a thesis done by John Hansen at USU, documents from the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, the History of Cache County, and collections at the Merrill Library. Lowell Yeates and Virginia Harris, also citizens of Nibley, aided Nelson's research with their memories of early Nibley.

Nelson compiled the history with photographs of all 62 original founding families, as well as the histories of the schools, the railroad, the coming of electricity, and World War II, Vietnam, and Korean War veterans from Nibley. She also included the history of each mayor and his work during his term, the LDS bishoprics (leading clergymen in each ward), and business and agriculture through the years.

"They just progressed so fast [in the early 1900s], sometimes more than we do, aside from the computer age," Nelson said.

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