HOOPER, Weber County — John C. Fremont and Christopher “Kit” Carson left what is now known as Fremont Island quite disappointed in 1843, but Carson’s ghost might not be disappointed to discover that what he left behind is now a American treasure. .
A cross that Carson carved into stone during a tour of the island nearly 181 years ago is now one of the newest additions to the National Register of Historic Places. It joins only the Fielding Garr Ranch on Antelope Island, Black Rock in Tooele County and the Ogden-Lucin Cutting Trestle as the only sites within the Great Salt Lake to end up on the record.
“It’s exciting,” said Marisa Weinberg, Great Salt Lake coordinator for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. “The cross is something that everyone asks about on the island. It is probably the most sought-after site to visit despite how difficult it is to access.”
carson cross
The history of the Carson Cross dates back to the expeditions that Fremont and Carson led in modern-day Utah in 1843 and 1844, beginning four years before Mormon pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley. They were the first explorers of European descent to arrive and map many parts of the state, including what eventually became Fremont Island.
But it’s fair to say that Fremont and his colleagues weren’t big fans of the island in their day.
On September 9, 1843, months into the expedition, Fremont, Carson and a few others boarded an 18-foot inflatable rubber boat and set out from the shores of the Great Salt Lake toward an island that had caught their attention, according to Alex Baugh. . professor of church history at BYU, who wrote an article on the history of the expedition.
The group had high expectations for the trip, believing the island could be “an exotic paradise,” University of Utah historians noted in “Saline Stories: An Oral and Visual History of the Great Salt Lake.” Baugh wrote that the team spent “the better part of two days” exploring the island and making scientific measurements.
Touring the island ended all the hopes the group had. Fremont nicknamed it “Disappointment Island” after the group found no wildlife, vegetation, or signs of life on the desolate island. By all accounts, Carson carved the cross into a rock just to pass the time before the group finally left.
“We climbed the highest mountain under a rock (and) cut out a large cross that is there to this day,” Carson later recalled.
A portrait of Chris “Kit” Carson probably taken between 1860 and 1868. (Photo: US Library of Congress)
He explored the entire West before dying in 1868. He is the namesake of Carson City, Nevada, and Kit Carson County, Colorado, among other legacies. His home in Taos, New Mexico, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and added to the historic register in 1966, the same year the program was created.
Preserving the Carson Cross
While Fremont, Carson, and others found their stay on the island disappointing, their venture proved significant in history. Their findings helped map the coastline of the Great Salt Lake and Utah, which were vital tools used by pioneers to settle the state.
This importance in the state’s history sparked efforts to list the cross, a reminder of their short trip to the island, on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Kit Carson Cross photographed on May 26, 1962. (Photo: Utah State Historical Society)
“Although it’s a small carving on a rock (and) seems insignificant, it tells the story of the first groups of explorers who came to Utah when it was a completely arid, open land,” Weinberg said. “They paved the way for other settlers, like the Mormons, to come here and make this place their home.”
The effort to add the cross to the registry began only a few years ago because the island had been privately owned for more than a century, until November 2020. That’s when a private philanthropist from the Palladium Foundation purchased the island and donated it to the Nature Conservancy. , which transferred it to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to manage it under a conservation easement.
Weinberg said the division began working with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office on a cultural resources survey in 2021, the same year the office helped add Black Rock to the registry. The idea of adding Carson’s Cross to the federal list only gained traction when state land managers compiled the 2023 management plan for the island.
The group determined that listing it on the registry was a good first step toward long-term plans to preserve the site. He adds that he believes the inclusion on the list opens the door “so that we can protect it better.” The division is weighing different possibilities, such as new fencing or signage that could be added in the area.
While Fremont Island is difficult to access, the goal is to preserve the site so that people who come to it in the future can see one of the first pieces of modern Utah history.
“It’s important for people to understand that the history here is rich and that there are a lot of people who came through here before we could live here today,” Weinberg said. “I think it’s very important to understand that history to help us appreciate what we have a little more.”
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