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Mill D North Fork, Big
Cottonwood Canyon
The road to the Mill D Summer Homes begins at the locked gate just
below the
Spruces Campground, on the north side of the road. From this
point the
road winds its way up several switchbacks to the fork that begins the
loop
around the summer home community. The road is fairly narrow, with
an
occasional pull off to allow approaching vehicles to pass one
another. As
it passes through the summer homes, the road makes a couple of tight
turns with
limited visibility, requiring drivers to proceed slowly and with
caution.
"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."
The road in Mill D North
Fork was constructed shortly after
the land it access was divided to create the Mill D Summer Homes.
Initially the road was constructed with a mine tailing base. This
base
was paved over in the 1960's and a gate was erected at its beginning.
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."
The gate at the beginning
of this road is continually
locked, preventing vandals, thieves, and consequently the public from
driving
up the North Fork of Mill D.
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been set aside, dedicated, withdrawn, reserved, settled, preempted,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."
This road was constructed
in 1946, after the reservation of
the area as part of the Wasatch National Forest. In
March, 1968 the road was paved under a
Special Use Permit granted by the U.S. Forest Service.
The
history of the roads in this area began shortly after the arrival of
the Mormon
Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. To supply the construction
taking place
as the settlers made the valley their home, they turned to the canyons
as a
source of much needed timber. Initially the mills for processing
the
timber were constructed along streams, near the mouth of each canyon in
the
valley. As timber supplies dwindled and it became necessary
to move
up into the canyons to find suitable timber, the mills were also
constructed
further up the canyons, closer to the source. As logging
proceeded up Big
Cottonwood Canyon it eventually reached, what is now the end of the
Spruces
Campground. Here the fourth mill to be constructed in the canyon,
Mill D,
was built during the summer of 1856. The surrounding area,
including the
slopes of Mill D North Fork, was logged for most of the following 30
years.
Beginning
around the turn of the century, valuable minerals, such as gold, silver
and
lead, were found along the Wasatch Front. This marked the
transition from
a period of logging in the canyons, to an era of prospecting and
mining.
While there was significant mining activity at Mill B, Cardiff Fork,
directly
across the canyon, in Mill D North Fork, there does not appear to have
been any
discovery of substantial mineral deposits. No records have been
found of
any mining claims being patented in this area.
The more
recent history of Mill D North Fork begins with the development of a
summer
home community. In 1946 it was decided by the U.S. Forest Service
that
building sites, on ¾ to 1 acre lots, would be made available to
the
public. On August 10, of the same year the Mill D Summer Homes
Association was formed. The first order of business of the
Association
was to construct a road to access the summer homes. However, due
to cut
backs in government spending, the Forest Service was unable to
construct the
road. This left the home owners in Mill D with the responsibility
of
bearing all costs associated with its construction and maintenance, a
responsibility
they carry to this day.
When the
road was originally constructed, it “dead ended” at both the upper left
fork
and the right fork. Eventually these two dead ends were connected
to form
the circular road as it currently exists. During the summer of
1966 the
road was improved and paved on top of the mine tailing base that had
served as
the original road bed.
Horton, Steve.
Conversation with Mill D North Fork
summer home owner Steve Horton. August 19, 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.
Research of records at
the Bureau
of Land Management and the Salt Lake County Recorder’s Offices.
August
and September, 2005.
Salt Lake County
Surveyor’s Office. “The Bible” - Book of
maps (sheet 11B), accompanied by a book of field notes.
Specific date of maps unknown – most likely
from the 1890’s.
U.S. Forest Service.
Special Use Permit (Road) granted to the Mill D Summer Home
Association. May, 1948.
Vigos, Bill. “Mill ‘D’
North Fork,
Big Cottonwood Canyon.” Prepared at the request of the
Secretary/Treasurer of
the Mill D Summer Homes Association, 1995. p 1
Map of the Mill D North Fork
Claim
Special
Use Permit (Road) (pdf 871
kB): A special use permit granted to the Mill D Summer Home
Association
by the U.S. Forest Service on March 16, 1968. This permit was
issued
"for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, maintaining, and
using" the road in Mill D North Fork.
History
of the Mill D Summer Home Association
(352 kB): This document contains a "Brief History of Mill
"D" North Fork from its inception in 1946 to 1976." This
historical account was compiled by Bill Vigos.