The settling of
the Wild West during the great expansion period of US History in the middle of
the 1800s was greatly attributed to the leadership of Brigham Young (then
President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -
Mormons) with the unparalleled migration of 10,000s of people in search for
religious freedom and protection from mob violence and persecution in the
Eastern and Central US.
The Great Salt
Lake region was their, then secluded, capitol but the movement of these
international Mormon
pioneers quickly expanded into all of the western states. The settling process
of communities was often accomplished by inexperienced immigrants looking for
new opportunities. The settling of the area meant the initial arrival of a few
folks... then a trickle of people joined them until a town formed. This was the
story of my ancestors in Beaver, Utah... a country filled with hunting and
trapping opportunities.
Such were the
beginnings, of Price,
Utah in South Central Utah among the layered tabletop fossil filled desert landscape
that worked so well as the hideout of the famous outlaw Butch Cassidy.
It all began in
1877 when Caleb Rhoades (Rhodes) and Abraham Powell came into the valley to
trap and homestead. It was wild country and the story goes that Powell was
killed by a bear. But within a couple of
years family members of the trappers and other settlers were moving in.
Not long later,
with the discovery and refinement of coal as a natural resource, the area
around Price boomed. Once the coal industry began its exploration, construction
of the Denver and Rio Grand railroad began to spread through the valley in 1881
and Price was set up as a RR station.
It was during
this industrial development that Bishop
George Frandsen established the LDS Church
organization in 1882. Under the direction of Bishop Frandsen, the townsite was
surveyed, The Price Water Company was formed to bring water to the townsite and
city building construction began including a church building, a school and a
Price City civic building. (1)
In the 1930’s
Depression Era WPA City Hall of Price City (only 50 years after its creation),
there is a remarkable mural that documents the history of this area and
includes, prominently, the early LDS congregation. The mural is remarkable because, out in the
middle of Billy the Kid country one is surprised to see a quality mural... and
a big one at that!
The panorama
historical WPA mural is 4' high and 200' feet long and depicts the life of the
area’s original pioneers and cowboys... truly a time capsule of the Old West.
Renown artist,
Lynn Fausett, a native of Price, Utah was just the right person in 1938 to
pull together this historically accurate mural of his country. The Works
Progress Administration (the name was changed to the Work Projects
Administration a year after it got started) funded a municipal building in
Price that was the perfect place for Fausett’s talents and vision for the
mural. Based on photos, entries in archives and his own personal experiences,
he planned the composition of this historical rendering of his town for the
mural. Fausett had lived his life among the buildings in this mural and knew these
people. This mural is an authentic historical record of actual people (whose
names are written below their portraits), buildings, customs and the process of
taming the Wild West. The mural is a documentation of the pioneer settlers, the
beginnings of society in the newly constructed town and the development of the
area and its industries.
35 years ago my painting
conservation career in the USA (I studied and started working in Italy) started
in Utah and I’ve known Lynn Fausetts painting style, having worked on the
restoration of his paintings previously and looked at many others. This mural
was considered so well done and so historical that it was a main reason why the
entire WPA funded building was added to the US Register of Historic Properties,
a considerable honor.
City officials
began to be aware of the mural looking dingy and flat and water infiltrations
had stained a few hard-to-see areas a few years ago. Bret Cammins, an affable
get-it-done kind of city manager looked for a professional mural restoration
expert to discuss the options. Fine
Art Conservation Laboratories is honored to have been called and entrusted
with the health and art restoration of this historical mural, so important to
the City of Price and to the area.
The results of
the mural conservation treatments were that the deterioration of the painting
was stabilized, it was returned to its best appearance and the mural was
protected for future generations... which should help make some more
history. I love my job. It feels like my
work is socially conscious!
(1) Utah Division of State History, Markers
and Monuments Database – Carbon Tabernacle/Price River Valley
If you would
like to know more about our background in mural restoration, see the other art
conservation videos on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCemzUslcaXyj4KEx26bnLDw
Scott
M. Haskins
Fine
Art Conservation Laboratories
(FACL,
Inc.)
805
564 3438 office
faclartdoc@gmail.com
To find out more
about Price, Utah go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price,_Utah
and http://www.priceutah.net
Link to Art
Conservation Lab: http://www.fineartconservationlab.com
If you would
like to know more about what you can do to protect and preserve your original
family history items, click on this link for a free copy of Scott M. Haskins
book Save Your Stuff – Collection
Care Tips, 210 pages with 35 embedded how-to videos.
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