Historical Note by Allyson Mower
Settlement in Mendon began in 1857 when Alexander Brice Hill, his wife Eliza Jane Wimmer, and his brother Robert Brice Hill acquired land and built a log cabin north of Maughan's Fort (Wellsville), the first Mormon community in Cache Valley. At that time Mendon was called North Settlement because of its location in relation to Maughan's Fort. Permanent occupation of Mendon did not begin until May, 1859, when eight families arrived. (In 1858, Cache Valley settlers evacuated their homes prior to the arrival of the U.S. Army.)
In the winter of 1859-1860 Mendon had to be made into a temporary fort while territorial surveyor Jesse Williams Fox platted all of Cache Valley. Extensive developments began after the survey was finished as a number of additional settlers came to Mendon in the spring of 1860. By October 1863, after county surveyor James H. Martineau conducted another survey, the city had nine square blocks along with a central public square.
On April 1, 1870, the Legislative Assembly of Utah officially incorporated Mendon. George W. Baker served as the first mayor, along with six councilors, two justices and one town marshal. The 1870 census reported 427 residents, made up of 168 adults and 259 minors. By 1890, new homesteaders were not allowed in Mendon due to scarcity of water, although this ban did not remain in effect as the settlement continued into the early years of the 20th Century.
Sources:
Abrams, James. "Straying and Maying in Mendon: The History of a Morphology of a Festival."
Ed. Charles S. Peterson. Special Course on Local (Cache County) History, 1981.
(Unpublished paper)
Sorenson, Isaac. History of Mendon: A Pioneer Chronicle of a Mormon Settlement. Salt Lake City: Publisher Press, 1988.
Scope and Content
The following items represent a variety of historical documents from Mendon, Utah. Collected over a several year period these documents represent both governmental, ecclesiastical, individual, and corporate records from this Cache Valley town. Some of the items have been photocopied and some are original. The photocopies were a gift of Mendon resident Rodney Sorensen.
In this collection there is an assortment of materials: city council records from 1876-1881, tax information for 1878 and 1891-1893, family records for the Ladle and the Sorensen families, local history 1859-1900, company records of the Mendon North Pasture Company from 1893-1936, city records for 1878, and church records.
See also MSS #257 - Mendon City Records
Inventory
Folder 1. "Mendon Ward History," by Andrew Jensen. Contains a photocopy of the history of Mendon compiled by Andrew Jensen, for the LDS church. It contains a history year to year, of Mendon. The history is from 1859 to 1900. It covers the founding, and its settlement.
Folder 2 and 3. Contains photocopies of the first minutes and ordinances of the Mendon city council from 1870 to 1881. Folder 2: 1876-1881, folder 3: 1870 - 1876.
Folder 4, 5, and 6. Contains photocopies of the original ledgers of the Mendon North Pasture Company. The records date from 1893 to 1944, and document financial data, meeting minutes, and incorporation items.
Folder 7. Ladle family records. Contains copies of the John and Susana Ladle family temple records from 1835 to 1936. The family lived in Mendon.
Folder 8, 9, and 10. Henry C. Sorensen baptism records. A copy of the original document it includes genealogy and baptisms prepared by Sorensen. The records cover the area from 1890 to 1920. It also contains certificates of differing positions in the LDS faith and other copies of miscellaneous papers. The Sorensen family was founding family in Mendon and also was a prominent early family in the area.
Folder 11. Mendon city council tax ledger. An original holograph ledger that includes the city tax roll for 1878, tax assessments for 1891-1893, and payments received for 1891-1893.
Folder 12. Mendon city record book that contains information on city debits and credits for 1877. The remainder of the volume is devoted to dog tag sales.
Registered Updated by: Brandon Morton
Date Completed: September 18, 2000