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River Heights ignored by first settlers, then started life as Dry Town By
Matt Stephens RIVER HEIGHTS -- Long after the first trappers and traders came to Cache Valley, early inhabitants disregarded a small area of land located above Logan river because of its arid qualities. That small piece of land has now become the beautiful and prosperous town of River Heights. When the Rocky Mountain Fur Company under the direction of John Walker first came to Cache Valley in 1824 they decided to make the valley their winter quarters. They stayed near the Cub River for two years and trapped and explored the area, according to The History of a Valley, co-written by M.R. Hovey. Hovey wrote from 1824 to 1855 the valley was continuously being visited by trappers. Hovey gave an account of Warren Angus Ferris, a trapper for the American Fur Company. Ferris considered Cache Valley "the most extensive and beautiful vale of the Rocky Mountain Range." Ferris also gives an account of how the valley got its name. "Men in the employment of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company were buried alive while excavating a cave to receive a cache of furs," he wrote. "The men's bodies were never recovered and from this accident the valley has taken its name." Hovey said in 1847 trapper Major "Black" Harris met Brigham Young before he entered the Great Salt Lake Valley and told him "Cache Valley was a more desirable place to live than in the Salt Lake Valley." From that time the pioneers came to the valley and began inhabiting the more fertile regions. Both Brigham Young and Peter Maughan gave glowing reports of the valley's potential. "It may probably be interesting to some of your readers to hear from this isolated region, its extent, resources, improvements etc.," wrote Maughn in a letter to the editor of the Deseret News in 1859. "The length of this valley from north to south is about forty miles, the breadth from east to west is about twelve miles. There are four new settlements already located toward the south end of the valley; the farming land is extensive. . . . There is plenty of timber consisting chiefly of pine, maple, and quackenasp. . . . There are over one hundred families engaged in agricultural pursuits at the present time." Despite the influx of pioneers after 1855, River Heights was never settled. The only traffic that it saw were people passing through on their way to more populated areas, according to The History of River Heights by Wanda Rhodes. Rhodes wrote, "when the pioneers came to Cache Valley, Utah, they were unable to cross the Logan River because the beavers had made so many dams across the island and the willows were so thick it was impossible to drive a wagon through. The first scouts went up over the River Heights bench to the Thomas Smart Ranch, crossed to the temple bench and then went down to a camp site." Joel Ricks, co-author of The History of a Valley, noted, "The early settlers passed it by because of the dry nature of the soil and the difficulties in securing water for culinary uses and agricultural purposes." "When the land nearby was occupied, this site (River Heights) was inviting to the landless and the land-hungry settlers," writes Ricks. Rhodes records the first settlement in Dry Town, now called River Heights, was by James Bullock, who built a dwelling to provide shelter and comfort for members of his family while he was away attending to his cattle. Ricks' history notes that every settler was forced to carry water up a hill to their dwelling: soon several wells were dug in the new community that included Lehi Olsen, Andreas Anderson, Alma Cummings, and Hyrum Merrill. "Dry farming was tried, but the land was too arid and dry. The settlers cooperated in building a canal from the Logan River," wrote Ricks. "The man who could shovel the most dirt or cut the most hay or grain, or bring the largest load of logs or wood from the canyon was the hero of the community in those times." Dry Town soon became plentiful with water and since then has become River Heights and has experienced regular growth. "Incorporated in 1934 for the purpose of bringing improved water systems and better roads," Ricks wrote. The 2000 U.S. Census states River Heights now boasts 1,496 residents, almost 500 homes and water for all to enjoy in the scenic beauty of River Heights.
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