The News About Newton and Cache Junction
Newton and Cache Junction Historical Collection Content from the Newton Town Public Library
Newton
“The genesis of Newton is inseparably connected with that of her neighbor and parent to the north, Clarkston. The first settlement of the Clarkston area followed the same pattern found generally in Cache Valley.” [1]
In late February of 1869 settlers prepared for the move “the apparent cause for moving to Newton involved the earlier melting of the snow, but underlying causes included such factors as dissatisfaction with the illness and floods experienced at the Clarkston Fort, remoteness which would be lessened somewhat by a move to Newton since Clarkston was virtually cut off by drifting snow much of the winter…” [2]
Cache Junction
Cache Junction was established around the year 1890 by the Utah and Northern railroad which became a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad coming to Northern Cache Valley and establishing Cache Junction meant new businesses and economy near Newton.
[2] Christiansen, “A New Town in the Valley…” Pg 4.
The Schools of Newton
History of the Schools of Newton
The people of Newton cared much for the educating of their children, as soon as they began building to have roofs over their heads and planting to have food to eat they began making arrangements for a school. The town of Newton has seen four school buildings from the beginning of its settlement until students were bussed to Lewiston, Richmond or Smithfield for their education.
Newton Grade School, 1923-1926
William Hoskins’ Class, Newton Grade School, 1917-1918
Newton School class picture. Luella Parkinson, teacher, 1888
8th Grade Graduation class from the Newton Grade School, 1944
Newton, Utah rock school, 1873-1907
Amos Griffin’s 7th-8th grade class, Newton Grade School, 1940
Norma Benson Class, Newton Grade School, 1913-1918
Amos Griffin’s 7th-8th grade class, Newton Grade School, 1938-1940
Newton Grade School, 1924-1925
Newton, Utah school 1907-1923
The Last School of Newton
Amos Griffin’s 9th grade class, Newton Grade School, 1929
Blanch Read Class, Newton Grade School, 1938-1939
Newton School graduation, 1921
8th Grade Graduation class from the Newton Grade School, 1941
Amos Griffin’s 9th grade class, Newton Grade School, 1922-1926
Amos Griffin Class, Newton Grade School, 1931-1933
The Church Buildings of Newton
The First Ward Meeting House
In 1887 the town decided it was time to have a ward meeting house for the church. They began construction of a frame building which they boasted would be “the largest house of worship of the settlements on the west side of Bear River.” Progress on the building went well the first year. However, then the Newton Dam broke with a loss of almost all the stored water. This together with a depression in 1890 put the building was put on hold for some time. Finally in 1892 the residents pushed to complete the church building which was finished and dedicated on March 26, 1893.
Newton Church House 1893-1929
Floor plan Newton Church House 1893-1929
Sunday School Picture taken in 1898 in front of Newton’s First Church House.
The Yellow Brick Church
January 8, 1929, the Newton Chapel was destroyed by fire. The First Presidency approved a total of $32,451 to go toward the building of a new chapel leaving the people of the ward to pay for the remaining amount. The plans were drawn and the work began in February 1929. A group of men opened a vein of gravel east of town. They hauled more than 600 cubic yards of gravel to the site where the church now stands. Work continued until the Great Depression in December 1929. The chapel was finally finished when the First Presidency agreed to allow the Ward to draw on the account even though they had not yet completely collected their portion of the money.
Newton, Utah Yellow Brick Church (1948-2002) Dedication Program, 1948
Big Times that Came to Cache Junction
Cache Junction, Utah school house, 1910
Beginning in the fall of 1905 Cache Junction had their own school in their own school district with one room and one teacher, Anna Briggs. The school closed in 1933. Along with school it was also a place of Friday night picture shows, church dances and other town activities.
Cache Junction, Utah, 1915
Photo of Cache Junction, Utah taken from the roof of the roundhouse, northwest view.
Canyon House Hotel, Cache Junction, Utah
The Canyon House Hotel was the largest building in Cache Junction. It was considered a modern hotel.
Farmers Banking Company, Cache Junction, Utah
The Farmers Banking Company was organized on June 10, 1910 with an authorized capital of $25,000. It merged with Cache Valley Bank and ceased operation January 13, 1928.
Theodore Roosevelt makes a speech in Cache Junction.
Crowds gathered to see President Theodore Roosevelt speaking from an observation platform in Cache Junction, Utah during Bull Moose campaign September 13, 1912.
Cache Junction Railroad Station view from the water tower, 1970s
Brooks Roundy on the water tower looking down on the “Beanery” (restaurant) and the old ball diamond field.
Liberty Bell at Cache Junction, Utah on July 11, 1915
Crowds gathered to see the Liberty Bell in Cache Junction, 1915 (1 of 2)
Crowds gathered to see a national icon the Liberty Bell en route to San Francisco. This picture is taken from the top of the Union Pacific Railroad water tower looking due south. The Liberty Bell was taken by a special train on a flat car from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to San Francisco, California for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
Crowds gathered to see the Liberty Bell in Cache Junction (2 of 2)
This photograph is taken looking southwest from the Union Pacific water tower. Notice the ball diamond with a crowd gathered in the background. The small white building with three windows at the top right is the Cache Junction school.
Cache Junction, Utah railroad yards, 1916
A view of town and railroad yards with a McKeen motor car in the foreground 1916. The railroad yard had a giant coal chute, an ice house, a round house, loading dock, railroad buildings and housing for railroad workers.
Cache Junction, Utah Café and Hotel ‘The Railroad Eating House”
Left to Right: Jennie B. Griffin, Bessie G. Ballard, Ernest Ballard, Willard Ballard, Emily McNeil Ballard, Amy Ballard. Emily McNeil Ballard was the owner.
Cache Junction Depot and Lunch Room, 1915
Cache Junction in 1915. Note that the lunch counter is in the south end of the depot building (looking north).
Cache Junction Café, 1914
Also referred to as the first Oregon Short Line Railroad Café or Restaurant. The first eatery was the lunch counter located in the Depot’s big waiting room. This café may have replaced the lunch counter.
Crowd of people are gathered to watch the irrigation pumps being started for the first time.
The water pulled out of the river was pumped into a canal which carried it to the fields south of Cache Junction and as far away as Petersboro. The opening ceremonies of the pump operation was held July 3, 1920 and thereafter the water was pumped during irrigating season until the depression in the 1930s.
The Liberty Bell
San Francisco was hosting the Great Trans-Pacific World’s Fair and requested the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia as an exhibit. The Liberty Bell mounted on a special flat car with its honor guard and pulled by a select train arrived in Salt Lake City in the morning of June 11, 1915 where it stopped for a short time. The schedule called for another stop at Cache Junction at 6:25 in the evening for fifteen minutes. Since Cache Junction was the only planned stop in Cache Valley, the residents responded in large numbers. Special trains brought people from throughout the valley to where they could see the bell.
The New Train Center
The new train center at Cache Junction was built with a main line track through Bear River Canyon from Salt Lake City and Ogden to connect to the Valley’s branch lines. It soon offered both excellent passenger and freight-hauling services.
The Depot also became a very important communications center with its available telegraph lines and Western Union telegrams. The town’s new business section continued to grow and expand.
Videos of the Newton Dam and the Modern Yellow Brick Church
Water in Newton
Water has always been a key to creating a thriving town in Newton, even with the rise of dry farming, Newton needed water piped from springs for culinary purposes so that they could have water even in the heart of summer. This video is a modern day view of the Newton Reservoir, still a beautiful location and necessary for the vitality of Newton as a farming community. This dam was “one of the first” storage reservoirs in Utah.
Modern Yellow Brick Church
Video of a walk through of the Yellow Brick Church of Newton about six years before it would be torn down. Newton, Utah.
Veterans of Many Wars
World War I
Malmberg, Joseph (Joe) (1887-1957), veteran of World War I
World War II
Petersen, Claude, veteran of World War II
Ralph Benson, Marines
Russell Barker, Navy
Howard Johnson, Army
Korean War
John Edward Griffin, Navy
Halvey Griffin, Army
Boyd Jones, Air Force
Discover More about Newton and Cache Junction!
Visit the Newton and Cache Junction Historical Collection from the Newton Town Public Library
Please visit their repository at http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/search/collection/p16944coll7.
Credits of the Online Exhibit
The contents of this exhibit come from items found in Newton’s Special Collections. The narrative comes from text found with the items and from Larry Christiansen’s Newton: A New Town in the Valley.
Credits
Jennifer Hughes: Salt Lake Community College, WordPress Exhibit Creator (using DIVI theme by elegant themes)
Breighlin Johanson: Salt Lake Community College, Universal Accessibility report on WordPress Exhibit
Textual Content
Alison Fabricius Gardner at USU for an amazing companion exhibit found here: http://newton.omeka.net/exhibits/show/thenews
Randi Jorgesen and Sarah Rigby: Item Selection and History
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Digital Initiatives for Digitization.
