__NOTOC__
Lehi is a community within
Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communit ...
. Lehi existed prior to the founding of Mesa, and was annexed by its much larger former neighbor in 1970. It is now the northern limit of central Mesa.
Lehi is adjacent to the
Salt River on the north, the
Consolidated Canal to the south, and a portion of
Arizona State Route 202 runs through the area. It also borders the
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
, and has a long history with it.
Properties of note include the
Old Lehi School, which was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in August 2001, and is currently the home of the
Mesa Historical Museum.
History
Lehi was settled in 1877 by members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
, under the direction of
Daniel W. Jones. Jones had been commissioned by
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...
to start a
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into se ...
colony within the
Salt River Valley of the
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state o ...
. The settlement party left the
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...
from
St. George, and arrived at the site in March 1877. Jones' invitation to local
Native Americans to live with them became a point of controversy, and half of the initial colony left, moving on to found
St. David, Arizona
St. David is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,699 at the 2010 census.
History
St. David was established as a result of the Mormon Battalion having earlier passed through the San Ped ...
.
Lehi was initially known as Jonesville and Fort Utah; it did not receive the name of Lehi until 1883 when
LDS Apostle
In the Latter Day Saint movement, an apostle is a "special witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others." In many Latter Day Saint churches, an apostle is a priesthood office of high authority wi ...
Brigham Young, Jr. recommended renaming the settlement after the
prophet Lehi from the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...
.
[ Jenson, Andrew. ''Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints''. Salt Lake City, Utah: ]Deseret News Press Deseret may refer to:
Places
* Deseret, Utah, an unincorporated community
** Fort Deseret
* Deseret Ranches, Florida, US
* State of Deseret, a provisional US state, 1849-1851
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Deseret'' (film), a 1995 experiment ...
, 1941, p. 426
See also
*
Mormon Corridor
*
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona
*
Westwood High School (Mesa, Arizona)
Westwood High School is a 4-year public high school in the western part of Mesa, Arizona, United States under the jurisdiction of Mesa Public Schools. It was opened in 1962 with Elias Brimhall as the founding principal. In the 1983–84 school yea ...
Notes
External links
Lehi Community Improvement AssociationLehi Sub-Area Plan
{{authority control
Geography of Mesa, Arizona
Neighborhoods in Arizona
Mormonism and Native Americans
1877 establishments in Arizona Territory