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Kamas Ward

KAMAS WARD, Summit Stake, Summit Co., Utah, consists of Latter-day Saints residing in the central part of the Kamas Prairie. The town of Kamas is located on Beaver Creek, close to the mountains on the east side of the valley, 14 miles east of Park City, 17 miles northeast of Heber City (in Wasatch Co.) and 25 miles southeast of Coalville, the stake headquarters.

Kamas Prairie or Rhodes Valley, as it is sometimes called, was settled by Latter-day Saints in the spring of 1860. Among these settlers were Thomas Rhodes (in whose honor the valley was named) and George W. Brown, who with their two families were the only ones who spent the winter of 1860–1861 in the district. They had a considerable amount of stock, and at that time there was much danger to their herd from depredations of bears and other wild animals which roved in the vicinity. It also became necessary in 1866 to erect a fort as a protection against hostile Indians, near the present center of Kamas. Other settlers joined the first-comers and Thomas Rhodes (affectionately known as “Father” Rhodes) had general supervision over the settlement. In 1861 Wm. G. Russell was appointed [p.387] presiding Elder. He was succeeded in 1866 by Peter Carney, who was succeeded in 1867 by Ward E. Pack, who was succeeded in 1868 by Willet S. Harder. In 1869 the saints at Kamas erected a substantial bridge across the Weber River, which was a great benefit to the settlement and to the surrounding country. In 1870 Bishop Samuel Frank Atwood was called to preside at Kamas, although no ward organization at that time had been effected, but on July 9, 1877, Kamas was organized as a ward with Samuel F. Atwood as Bishop. He acted in this capacity until 1901, when he was succeeded by Dan Lambert, who was succeeded in 1908 by Merrit Newton Pack, who was succeeded in 1916 by George Christensen, who was succeeded in 1920 by Vincent Shepherd, who was succeeded in 1924 by Lorenzo Sargent, who was succeeded in 1928 by Oscar Edwin Eskelson, who presided Dec. 31, 1930, on which date the ward had 406 members, including 91 children. The total population of the Kamas Precinct in 1930 was 558, of whom 491 resided on the townsite.

Kanab Stake of Zion

KANAB STAKE OF ZION, Kane Co., Utah, consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in Kane County, Utah, and in the north parts of Coconino and Mohave counties, Arizona, with headquarters in Kanab, Utah, where there is a fine meeting house or tabernacle, used for both stake and ward purposes, and which also affords accommodations for the stake presidency and High Council. Kanab Stake (1930) consisted of six organized wards, namely, Alton, Fredonia, Glendale, Kanab, Mount Carmel and Orderville, and one branch, Moccasin. All the wards are in Utah, except Fredonia, and the Moccasin Branch, which are across the boundary line in Arizona.

Kanab Stake dates back to 1877, but prior to that year that part of Utah which now contains the Kanab Stake had an interesting history connected with Indian affairs and hard struggles generally. Jacob Hamblin and other Indian missionaries, called by Church authorities to visit the Moquis Indians, crossed the Colorado River as early as 1858 for that purpose; and again in 1860 and 1863. Kane County was organized in 1864, after the town of Kanab and other small settlements had been located in that part of Utah, including the settlements of Berryville, Winsor and Paria, but these settlements were all broken up on account of Indian hostilities in 1866. After the Indian War, the settlements in Kane County were occupied anew, and a degree of prosperity was inaugurated. When, on account of high taxation, the breaking up of the settlements in Nevada took place in 1871, the people from that new state sought new homes in Utah, and most of them located in Long Valley. As the settlements of the saints in southern Utah increased, the organization of a new stake of Zion became necessary and, under the direction of Apostle Erastus Snow, this region of country was organized as the Kanab Stake, with L. John Nuttall as president. He was succeeded in 1884 by Edwin D. Woolley, who in 1910 was succeeded by William W. Seegmiller, who in 1925 was succeeded by Heber J. Meeks, who presided Dec. 31, 1930. Following is a list of other stake officers in the Kanab Stake: First counselors in the stake presidency: Howard O. Spencer, 1877–1883; William D. Johnson, 1884–1887; Thomas Chamberlain, 1887–1910; Heber J. Meeks, 1910–1925, and Isaac H. Heaton, 1925–1930. Second counselors: James L. Bunting, 1877–1884; Thomas Chamberlain, 1885–1887; Daniel Seegmiller, 1887–1899; Edwin Cutler, 1899–1901; Joel H. Johnson, 1901–1910; Israel Heaton, 1910–1925, and Charles R. Pugh, 1925–1930. Stake clerks: Joseph W. McAllister, 1882–1883; Lawrence C. Mariger, 1883–1887; Jed E. Woolley, 1887; Francis L. Porter, 1887–1907; Joseph G. Spencer, 1907–1912, and Edward L. Chamberlain, 1912–1930.