Washakie, Utah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Washakie, Utah
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LDS chapel located at Washakie
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 Washakie, Utah
Location in Utah
Washakie, Utah
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Box Elder |
| Established | 1880 |
| Abandoned | 1970s |
| Named for | Washakie |
| Elevation | 4,380 ft (1,340 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| 84331 | |
| Area code(s) | 435 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1447016 |
Washakie is a ghost town in northern Utah, United States. It is located in Box Elder County, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Portage. This town was started in 1880 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was created as a place for the Northwestern Shoshone people to settle.
The Washakie Indian Farm was home to many Northwestern Shoshone for most of the 1900s. By the mid-1970s, everyone had moved away from Washakie. The land was then sold to a private ranch. Today, the tribe's land is a small area that includes the Washakie cemetery. The tribe is working to get more of the land around it back. The old LDS chapel building in Washakie is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Where is Washakie Located?
The Washakie site is in the southern part of the Malad Valley. This area is close to the border with Idaho. It is about 35 miles (56 km) north of Brigham City.
Nearby Landmarks
- To the east, you can find the Malad River.
- Also to the east are Interstate 15 and the Clarkston Mountains. These mountains are part of Caribou National Forest.
- To the west are the West Hills, which are mostly empty.
- The small town of Portage is just north of Washakie.
- South of Washakie is a large steel mill, west of Plymouth.
The Story of Washakie
The Bear River Massacre happened in 1863. Only about 1250 Northwestern Shoshone people survived this event. After the Fort Hall Indian Reservation was created in Idaho in 1867, most of them moved there.
Shoshone Life in Utah
Two smaller groups, led by chiefs Sanpitch and Sagwitch, stayed in northern Utah. For a few years, Sagwitch's people tried to live their traditional nomadic way of life. In 1873, they decided to become Mormons. They wanted to learn how to farm and live in one place.
In 1874, George Washington Hill started a farm for them. He was the missionary who had taught the Northwestern Shoshone about Mormonism. This first farm was near Franklin, Idaho. Later that year, LDS Church leaders decided to close this farm. They wanted to find a better place for the Shoshone to live and farm.
New Farming Efforts
Over the next five years, two more farms were started for the Native Americans in Utah. These farms were along the Bear River.
- The first was near Bear River City.
- The second was at a place called Lemuel's Garden, near where Collinston is today.
These farms made some progress. However, there was often not enough water for irrigation. Also, the missionaries who were supposed to help teach farming were often not there. The crops grown could not feed everyone living on the farms. They also could not feed the many visitors from Fort Hall. Every winter, the missionaries went home. Most of the Shoshone returned to the Promontory Mountains and other traditional winter areas to find food.
Establishing Washakie
In 1880, leaders of the LDS Church bought a 1,700-acre (690 ha) farm. This farm was south of Portage. They also bought the Samaria Canal, which was not yet finished. The canal was meant to bring water from Samaria Lake in Idaho. The Malad River water was too salty for watering crops.
The church began to encourage the Shoshone people to move to this new location. The place was named after Chief Washakie.
Washakie Baseball Team
From 1903 to 1929, Washakie had its own baseball team. This team played against teams made up of white players from northern Utah and southern Idaho. The team was very popular and was written about in local newspapers for both white and Native American communities.
