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Alexander Fork, Millcreek Canyon

The Road

The Alexander Fork claim, found on the north side of Millcreek Canyon, is just past the Clover Springs Picnic Area.  This dirt road begins at a locked gate and provides access to The Firs, Inc., a summer home community on Forest Service land.  As the road reaches the end of the community it reconnects to the main road in Millcreek Canyon.  This end of the road is also gated and locked.  Owners of homes in The Firs have access to the road beyond the gate and are able to drive to their cabins.

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Criteria*

"The right-of-way for the construction of highways over the public lands not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted."

Construction:  "Means an intentional physical act or series of intentional physical acts that were intended to, and that accomplished, preparation of a highway by a durable, observable, physical modification of land for use by highway traffic." 

This road was constructed in the 1800's to access lumber in the area.  Further construction and improvement of the road occurred with development of the Firs Inc. summer homes in the late 1920’s.  The homeowners constructed creek crossings and erected gates at both ends of the road.  In both cases the homeowners were responsible for bearing the costs of these improvements.

Highway: "Means a thoroughfare that was prior to the latest available date used by the public, without discrimination against any individual or group, for the passage of vehicles carrying people or goods from place to place."

This road is not open for use by the public.  Only those with keys to the gate (e.g. homeowners and Forest Service officials) are able to drive along the road.

Unreserved public lands:  "lands owned by the United States...that had not yet been set aside, dedicated, withdrawn, reserved, settled, preempted, entered, appropriated, or disposed of, or on which claims had not been located."

The road, used to access timber for logging operations in the area, was constructed prior to the canyon's reservation as part of the Wasatch National Forest in 1904.

(*Definitions are taken directly from “The Revised Statute (R.S.) 2477 Rights-of-Way Act.”)

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History

It is believed that this area was named after Alva Alexander.  Alexander and his sons were involved in the sawmill and logging business in Millcreek Canyon.  They operated two mills in the canyon.  The first was located near the mouth of the canyon, and the other, a shingle mill, was built at the foot of Alexander Fork.  In order to bring the logs down to the mill from the hillsides, Alexander constructed a trail and several slides.  Today, hikers using the Alexander Basin Trail (across the canyon from the Alexander Fork claim) will climb up one of the slides for a short distance.  The slide can be seen continuing up the hillside as the trail changes direction.  Other than the logging that was taking place through the end of the 19^th century, there is no evidence of any other industrial activity occurring in the area of the Alexander Fork claim.

Around 1928, it came to the attention of a group of friends, known as “the Neighborly Circle,” that the land now occupied by the Firs was being opened for the development of a summer home community.  The Secretary of Agriculture was given the authority to do this by a statute that allowed special use permits to be issued for the construction of summer homes.  With the help of the Forest Supervisor at the time, F.G. Koziol, the Neighborly Circle made a group application of 20 members, and was able to obtain permission to lease the Firs area from the U.S. Forest Service. 

While the area was being surveyed, laid out and the lots assigned to members of the group, an access road into the area was constructed.  In a letter to Mr. Koziol, Jed D. Skeen, President of the Board of Directors for The Firs, Inc., wrote the following with regard to the road in Alexander Fork: 

In The Firs, there was part of an old logging road, cluttered with fallen trees and rock, which our organization removed and made the road passable.  There were no bridges or crossings on Mill Creek and we built, with fallen logs, two crossings where they are now located.  Since heavy dirt-moving equipment and trucks could not be taken over them, we replaced the old bridges with two large culvert pipes in 1949 at a cost of approximately $500.  There after, we began improving the road inside the summer home area at a cost of nearly $3,000.  No part of the expense within The Firs has been borne by the county or the government.  

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Sources

Ehleringer, Edna M. The Firs, Inc.: A recollection of the first 70 yrs… A collection of memories from the homeowners of The Firs, Inc. June 8, 2002.

Ehrlinger, James.  Homeowner of a cabin in The Firs, Inc.  Conversation over email.  September 20, 2005.

Keller, Charles L. Lady in the Ore Bucket: A History of Settlement and Industry in the Tri-Canyon Area of the Wasatch Mountains. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: University of Utah Press, 2001. p 57.

Kroenke, Loren.  Salt Lake District Ranger – U.S. Forest Service. Conversation on August 15, 2005.

U.S. Forest Service.  Special Use Permit – for the construction of a roadway and water system for the Firs residences.  January 18, 1949.

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Relevant Documents

Map of the Alexander Fork Claim

The Firs, Inc.: Some Recollections of the First Seventy Years... (pdf, 10.9 MB):  A collection of stories recounted by the homeowners in Alexander Fork.

Special Use Permit (pdf 533 kB): For the purpose of a road and water system for The Firs residences.  Permit was granted by the US Forest Service to The Firs, Inc., on January 18, 1949.

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