Before daybreak on June 26, 1866, a party of Timpanogos and Utes—led by Mountain, a Colorado Ute chief—seized around fifty animals, a mix of cattle and horses, from Mapleton, Utah. It was in the middle of Black Hawk’s War, and the Native American party hoped they had achieved a meaningful victory. After driving the animals through a canyon to Little Diamond Creek and feeling they had made a clean getaway, the Native American group took a break in a clear, open field near the convergence of the Little Diamond and Diamond Fork rivers to graze their horses. However, while the horses were grazing, militiamen roused from Springville surprised the indigenous group and cut off their escape route. Knowing they had no other way to escape, the Timpanogos retaliated, and the militiamen took cover in a grove of trees and fired on the Timpanogos. Both sides fired on each other to little avail for a few hours, and Mountain taunted the militiamen, calling out Albert Dimmick specifically as a “coward and a squaw.” Dimmick furiously stood up, out of his cover, and a Native American immediately got a hit on him. Injured, Dimmick died a few hours later. Reinforcements from Spanish Fork came to support the Springville militiamen, further pinning the Timpanogos raiders in the brush. Both the Native Americans and the militiamen tried to spread out and surround the other, but only the settlers succeeded. Pinned between two groups of enemies, the Native Americans stopped fighting—until a leader, most likely Mountain, raised a crest above them and urged them to fight on. At his appearance, the militiamen fired until he slumped in his horse and rode away. As their leader retreated, so did the rest of the Timpanogos and Utes, heading up the steep sides of the canyon and abandoning the captured animals to save their lives. Later, the militiamen found out from Native American contacts that they had killed five or six Utes in the battle. A second militiaman, this one from Spanish Fork, a hotheaded youth of eighteen years, Jonathan Edmiston, had also been killed when he rushed into the middle of the Timpanogos to try to reach the Springville militia’s captain. His fellow soldiers had lost track of him in the brush, and after the raiding party retreated with their wounded and dead, they searched unsuccessfully for his body. The following day, a search party returned to the battleground and found Edmiston’s scalped corpse. This exchange is demonstrative of the scattered battles of the Black Hawk War in Utah.

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Pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began settling Utah in 1847 when they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. In the following decades, church leaders sent settlers to various locations throughout Utah to form settlements, including what is now known as Springville, a small town just south of Provo. In 1849, William Miller, James Mendenhall, and 200 volunteers were among those who traveled from Salt Lake to the Provo River to relieve a fort that was under siege by a group of Utes. Afterwards, Mendenhall and Miller explored the area and fell in love with the Hobble Creek. Miller reported his findings to Brigham Young, the president of the church, who agreed to settle the area. Aaron Johnson’s pioneer company of 135 wagons arrived in the Salt Lake in September of 1850. Upon their arrival, Young sent eight of the company’s families, including Johnson, down to the Hobble Creek where they founded Springville, Utah.

The group’s first tasks included gathering hay for the teams and building a fort to house and protect them all through the winter. That fall season the women and girls gathered berries. By Christmas, several other families had joined the original eight, including James Mendenhall, who had helped discover the site with Miller. With a growing population, noteworthy events occurred more regularly. Spicer Crandall and Sophia Kellogg tied the knot in the town’s first marriage ceremony. On November 21, 1850, Franklin A. Crandall became the first child born there. Cyrus Sanford and Phoebe Miller taught school. The settlers also held dances and played games. The first court session was held on March 3, 1851, where Henry Myers was charged with stealing horses. On July 24, 1851, Springville residents gathered in celebration of the fourth anniversary of the Saints entering the Salt Lake Valley. All were dressed in their best attire. William Miller, as the master of ceremonies, was one of the best dressed. “His trousers were of white linen, fit for a Broadway swell, vest of white, beautifully figured, and a shirt with an embroidered front.” They danced and played their way through the entire day.

Springville citizens continued marrying, starting families, and celebrating as the city developed over the years. Today it is a growing city with a population of 31,000 residents. With a popular art museum and statues dotting the city, Springville claims the nickname “Art City” on its town website. The art culture and the surrounding mountains help make Springville one of the unique and beautiful cities of Utah.

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If you enjoy art and live in Utah County, then the Springville Art Museum is a must visit location. The Springville Art Museum was built in 1937 by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and dedicated by David O. McKay. It is located on 126 East and 400 South in Springville Utah. It is the first and the oldest art museum in Utah for the visual fine arts. The history of the Museum dates back to 1903 when the founders, John Hafen and Cyrus E. Dallin donated artwork to Springville High School. This helped to encourage the arts throughout the area and to have a location where people could come and enjoy the artwork of others and receive their own inspiration.

The Museum has over 2,500 art pieces in 29 galleries included in its collection and also hosts and displays over 15 exhibitions annually from artists around the globe. The building has had two additions. In 1964 a two story wing was added and in 1998, 20,000 square feet was added on for space that is focused on education for children and also extra room for the permanent collection. Many families, including Emma and George Smart, Alice and Merlin Steed, Theodore Wassmer and Judy Lund-Wassmer, donated art pieces that have added to the total of around 2,500 pieces that are housed in the museum year round.

The Springville Art Museum is still visited by thousands of people today who go to see the art pieces and exhibits on display. They also host different kinds of events at the Museum including dances, parties, art events, and other types of festivities. The community is very involved in the Museum from the children attending local high schools having some of their art put on display at the venue as well, which is always an exciting thing for aspiring artists. It truly is a wonderful place to go and view art and even admire the building itself for the historical meanings it has there in Springville Utah.

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