Wasatch-Cache National Forest
Heritage
The physical traces of this rich heritage can still be found on lands for everyone to enjoy. Archaeological and historic sites hold clues to America's past. If disturbed, a part of our heritage may be lost forever. Sites and artifacts on public lands are protected by Federal Law. If you discover such remains, please leave them undisturbed. Report your discoveries to Forest Service personnel.
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The lands managed by the Wasatch-Cache National Forest have a
diverse history. For perhaps 15,000 years this area was home to
Native Americans who made their living by hunting and gathering,
with one known brief episode of horticulture. 
By the time of white
settlement in this area, the ancestors of the first Americans were
organized into groups historically known as the Ute, Goshute, and
the Northwestern Shoshone. As Euro-Americans moved west, Free
Trappers scoured the mountains and valleys for the furs that fueled
the early frontier economy, which in time had a global economic
impact. Beginning in the 1840's, the area served as the anchor point
for pioneers belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints (LDS), as they settled throughout the Great Basin and the
Intermountain West. Historic Stone Quarries located on the Forest
today supplied the materials for the famous LDS Temple in Salt Lake
City. Timber harvested from the Forests that would become the
Wasatch-Cache, was shaped into the railroad ties that connected the
Nation at Promontory Point in 1869. These public lands have a long
history of multiple use, a tradition that continues today under the
management of the USFS.
