Porterville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Morgan County,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, United States.

Geography

Porterville is located at the south end of Morgan County, four miles southwest of

Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...

. It is situated at a junction between Hardscrabble Canyon and East Canyon.

History

Porterville was first settled by Centerville residents Sanford and Nancy Warriner Porter in 1859. The area had abundant timber, so they built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, the first in Morgan County.Utah State History Markers and Monuments Database
A town resident began teaching school out of her home in 1862, until a schoolhouse was built in 1867.

Western Shoshone Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related cult ...

, led by

Chief Washakie Washakie (1804/1810 – February 20, 1900) was a prominent leader of the Shoshone people during the mid-19th century. He was first mentioned in 1840 in the written record of the American fur trapper, Osborne Russell. In 1851, at the urging o ...

, continued to hunt in the area and gather berries for several years after settlement began.

Porterville Church

The original church house was erected in 1898 and subsequently dedicated in 1908 by President

Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a nephew of Joseph Smith, founder of ...

. Eventually, the costs of maintenance and needed repairs led the congregation to remodel the old schoolhouse and convert it for use as a church. Although the schoolhouse was sold to the ward in 1936, it was not until 1946 that regular meetings were held in the refinished space, mostly due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The church was sold to Marvin and Grace Kilbourn, who, despite efforts at preservation, were unable to prevent vandalism over the next several decades. In 1970, the Bergman family purchased the church and remodeled it into a home while keeping the exterior intact. In 1971, it was added to the Utah State Register of Historic Sites, which is now inactive.Utah State Register of Historic Sites (compiled 1988)
In the conversion to a private home, the steeple tower that was wood-framed with Gothic-arched frames on each side was removed. After being seen in ''

Troll 2 ''Troll 2'' (or ''Goblins'') is a 1990 independent dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Claudio Fragasso under the pseudonym Drake Floyd. It stars Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Connie McFarland, and Jason Wright. The plot ...

'', filmed in the area in 1989, a fire in 2000 destroyed all but a shell of the original building.Salt Lake Tribune, "State of the State: Morgan County," April 28, 2000 The Crawlers (film) was also filmed in the area. The Utah State Historical Society Classified Photo Collection contains a photograph of the "Porterville Meeting House" taken in 1920.Utah State History Digital Collections
Porterville Meeting House
/ref> Also, there is a

LeConte Stewart __NOTOC__ LeConte Stewart (April 15, 1891 – June 6, 1990) was an American Latter-day Saint painter and printmaker, primarily known for his Landscape art, landscapes of rural Utah. His art Media (arts), media included oils, watercolors, pastel ...

painting of the church from 1948 titled "Country Funeral, Porterville" that was featured in an LDS Church History Museum exhibit called Landscape & Life: The Rural Setting of Latter-day Saints from 24 October 2003 to 18 April 2004.Church History Museum
Previous Exhibits
/ref>
/ref>

Mormon Flat Breastworks

The Mormon Flat Breastworks, fortification structures listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, are located along the north side of Jeremy Ranch Road on both sides of the mouth of Little Emigration Canyon. They consist of horizontal rock

breastworks A breastwork is a temporary fortification, often an earthwork thrown up to breast or shoulder height to provide protection to defenders firing over it from a standing position. A more permanent structure, normally in stone, would be described as ...

built by

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 several ...

s in 1857 to defend against "Johnston's Army" in the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, the Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion, was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the ...

. The walls were originally built about high, with trenches dug for

riflemen A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction of the r ...

References

External links

{{authority control Populated places established in 1859 Unincorporated communities in Morgan County, Utah Unincorporated communities in Utah 1859 establishments in Utah Territory