Weber Canyon Explorers Trail
Weber Canyon has always been the most important gateway into the Valley of the
Great Salt lake. Through its portals passed many notable persons of early Utah
history, including John Weber, a trapper, who is supposed to have been killed by
Indians in the winter of 1828-29, Etienne Provot, who in 1824 reported on the first
explorations of the river, and Osborne Russell, who reports exploration in 1841.
In 1846 California Emigrants took the first wagons down the canyon encountering
many hardships and suffering severe losses. They included James Hudspeth,
Bryant Russell, Young and Harlan parties.
In this vicinity the Donner-Reed party of 1846 which later met a tragic fate on
the east slop of the Sierras in California turned southwest and blazed a trail through
the mountains to the Salt lake Valley. This trail was followed by the Mormon
Pioneers (1847), the California "Gold Rush" Emigrants (1849-50), the Mormon
Handcart Pioneers (1856), Overland Stage (1856), and the Pony Express (1860-61).
