History of Logan shows cultural heritage
One city in Cache Valley was known as the home of fine candies, had four knitting factories, a local electric car service, a farm wagon factory and a turkey processing plant. The name of the city, Logan – the year, 1929.
At that time, Logan had 11,676 residents. Today, according to the Cache Chamber of Commerce, the population is close to 50,000.
In 1965, Logan’s residents were 90 percent American-born, with the predominating nationalities of foreign-born residents being English, Swedish and German.
Today, due to students attending Utah State University, more than 100 nationalities live in Logan.
While many of the businesses and people of Logan have changed, the history of Logan gives the city flavor.
“I’m no history major, but I imagine it has something to do with Mormon settlers,” said Nick Fanger, a junior in civil engineering.
On June 5, 1859, a small group of Mormon settlers sent to Cache Valley by Brigham Young surveyed a fort site near the banks of the Logan River and began harvesting logs for houses. By the middle of the month, the first drawing for parcels of land took place. A second group plowed land and planted three acres of wheat on June 10 on an area called “the island.” This area is still known by the nickname.
Logan became the primary settlement in Cache Valley because of its abundant water supply for mills and irrigation.
According to the Polk City Directory: Logan, Utah, at one time, Logan was part of a large lake. The city of Logan is on the lake bed and deltas of the ancient Lake Bonneville.
When the lake was at its highest level, the area where Logan now sits was covered in 700 feet of water. Evidence of the lake levels can be seen on the east mountains.
From a lake to a thriving city, Logan has slowly changed.
Florence Allen, a 94-year-old lifetime Cache Valley resident, remembers the first time she went to Logan. She was 8 years old and rode the train from Franklin, Idaho, to Logan. She had lived in Cove, 30 miles north of Logan, but had never been to the city before.
Today she makes the trip in approximately 25 minutes by car.