1976 Exhibit Brochure
By 1975 David Eccles, an Ogden industrialist, had begun extensive logging operations near Monte Cristo.
2023 Exhibit Guide
In 1872, David Eccles started a logging operation east of Ogden, near Monte Cristo, where he felled trees and hauled them down the mountain with oxen to a lumber yard. His experience of working in sawmills and logging operations in Oregon with his family was valuable in his new venture.
Eccles became a powerful businessman after buying out his partner and the lumber outlet owner. His lumber business became the basis for many more enterprises throughout his life.
Kaysville Area Connections
Although cottonwood trees grew along the Kaysville area creeks, logs were harvested from Webb, Bair or Weber Canyons by pioneers. These steep canyons were dangerous to negotiate and proved hazardous for the loggers including Lambert Blamires who broke his clavicle while logging.
George W. Underwood hauled lumber for Eccles from Monte Cristo to Ogden which “took three and one-half days for a trip.1”
Artist
Harrison Groutage (1925-2013)
Harrison Groutage, from Richmond, Utah, was a painter and educator. His studies included Utah State University and Weber State University, but he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University, followed by a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Utah.
Groutage taught as a Utah State professor for over 20 years, and was the chair of the art department from 1965 to 1972. He painted mostly watercolors, as well as some acrylic and oil paintings and murals. His work was chosen to represent Utah in the World Book encyclopedia, and he was selected as Utah’s Artist of the Year in 1998.
Sources
- “Bicentennial Historical Art Collection.” 1976 Exhibition Brochure, Special Collections, Weber State University. Spelling and grammar corrected.
- Eyes Toward the Past. DVD.
- Karras, Marilyn. “Business Empire Began With Logging”. The Ogden Standard Examiner. 13 Feb. 1977, Sun., page 19.
Citations
- Underwood, Louis William. “Working Years”. FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/88711481
Notes
Copyright owned by Weber State University Storytelling Festival. All rights reserved. Painting shown by Kaysville – Fruit Heights Museum with permission. Painting number 25 in the 2023 exhibit guide.
