Native Indians in the Salt Lake Valley

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For thousands of years before the Mormons came the Shoshone, Ute, and Palute lived in the Salt Lake Valley. The first permanent settlement began when the Latter-day Saints arrived on July 24, 1847. They were seeking a place to freely practice their religion and at the time the President of the Church was Brigham Young. He designated the site for the Salt Lake Temple. It was built on Temple Square and it has become the highlight of the city. The southeast corner of Temple Square is the initial point of reference for the Salt Lake Meridian and for all addresses in the Salt Lake Valley. It had the honor of becoming The City of the Great Salt Lake and became the capital of Utah as Salt Lake City in 1856. When the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed many ethnic groups arrived among them the Chinese. They established Chinatown and it was nicknamed “Plum Alley”. From the days of the Japanese in downtown Salt Lake City you can find a Buddhist Temple and a Japanese Christian Chapel. European ethnic groups constructed their houses of worship. With time things change and today Salt Lake City also has a mix of Hispanic and Pacific Islander populations. The city played the host to the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995. In 2007 Salt Lake hosted the 16th Winter Deaflympic Games. Today visitors come to see the Temple Square, headquarters of the Mormon Church and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs in the square’s domed Tabernacle. Who has been to Salt Lake City?