__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

Notes

External links

Lehi Community Improvement Association

Lehi Sub-Area Plan
{{authority control Geography of Mesa, Arizona Neighborhoods in Arizona Mormonism and Native Americans 1877 establishments in Arizona Territory

History

See also

Notes

External links