Uniquely Us

Annabella is a small Mormon Village nestled under the towering protection of Cove Mountain. The two cannot be separated. The mountain provided sustainable resources that allowed a small farming community to thrive. Water, timber, grasslands & wild game provided the community with a foundation of subsistence farming and ranching. Mountain dairies produced cheese & milk that gave them products to sell for income. Valley pastures nourished by the Sevier River were the basis of crops and farming. Sheep and cattle both shared time on the mountain and in the valley. Family gardens fed by the Cove Mountain Lakes and streams sustained life. The founding Mormon families brought with them religious values of cooperation, unity and a tenacious work ethic. A diverse European immigrant culture brought skills to a virgin land. Education, music, dancing and sport were values that infused the community. Annabella is unique in its bond with a mountain that majestically stands over our community and provides and protects.

A 2nd character trait that is unique about Annabella can be found in this firsthand account of a boy raised in Annabella. The initial family generations were able to stay and grow. Later in time, most of our children left for jobs and opportunities. However, the instilled values allowed them to become accomplished citizens, particularly with educational pursuits. Anyone who was raised here always proudly proclaimed, “I am from Annabella.”

“Leaving Denmark for the wild reaches of the American West was an adventurous thing to do. It was almost as exciting as the new religion they had recently embraced. This religion taught them that Zion was to be built in the tops of the mountains, in the desert, and they could be part of it all…. They loved the West, with its dramatic mountains, deep and cold volcanic lakes, red-walled canyons, and spectacular sunrises and sunsets. They developed a sheer love of wilderness beauty, color, & grandeur. Together they built a new civilization with people who had to learn to speak English from each other – what a lot of fun they had! Best of all, they were surrounded by these people who shared their faith – for the first time they were part of the majority. They developed an ability to live for today, with a warm appreciation of the eternities…. They did not know that their eventual destination in this barren wilderness was to be a newly formed farming village named “Annabella”…. Flanked by small, rounded foothills and lying at the base of great forbidding Cove Mountain, it might have struck one as a poor destination for such single-minded, monumental journeys. Annabella – thirty families drawn together by the opportunity of establishing a new farming community owned by its own residents. Their first crudely built houses


These Annabella pioneers raised good families. They loved their new life, despite its many difficulties. The Mormon spirit of improvement, combined with the American freedom brought opportunity.
In Annabella, Isaiah was vindicated: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”
 

History

“The first 2 families to settle here were those of Harry Dalton and Joseph Powell. They settle near what is now Tommy Dunn’s Ranch, then called Omni Point. This was in the Spring of 1871. In that same Spring, Edward Killick Roberts and John Gleave moved here from Glenwood.”
(from a 1946 Annabella school Project, edited as needed)

The 2024 version of Annabella History reads a bit different. Omni Point & Annabella have separate settlement histories. Omni Point was so named as it sits on a high point on the Southeast side of the Sevier Valley over looking down on Omni or what was to become Richfield. Harry Dalton did settle Omni Point but did not sink deep roots. Joseph Powell is an enigma. The man simple doesn’t exist in any documentation associated with Omni Point or Sevier settlement. Harry Dalton did not stay long at Omni Point. After the death of his wife he moved to his home country of Kanosh Utah. Some of his children did move into Annabella and were a founding family. Their mother, named Isabella Ferguson, although living but 2 years at Omni Point before her death she became part of the Annabella namesake along with Anna Roberts & Hannah Roberts Gleave. Isabella was active in the Annabella Branch which also included Inverury & Omni Point. The Springs at Omni Point were known as Meacham Springs and later became the source of water for the town of Inverury (renamed Central then Central Valley). Samual Alvarus Meacham was an engineer by trade had followed his father-in-law to Annabella when he settled near Heppler Ponds. He helped engineer Cove Mountain lakes, and springs. For Example: Big Lake was once called Meacham Reservoir. Alvarus Meachem even engineered the crossing barge at Lee’s Ferry.
Annabella on the other hand was part of the resettlement of the Sevier Valley. John Gleave and son in law Edward Killick Roberts moved temporarily to Glenwood in the Winter of 1870 in dugouts. In the Spring of 1871 they settle Annabella proper. John Gleave focused on getting Sevier River water to the new community. His home & farm was on the Sevier River. While Edward Killick Roberts developed the mountain stream. His home still stands next to the Annabella post office. They were soon followed by other family and friends from Payson and Salem.

Another note on Omni Point. The 1946 students referred to it as the Tommy Dunn Farm. Tommy Dunn married in to the Thompson Family. After the Dalton’s left, the Thompsons took over the Omni Point land and resources. The Mountain area today is referred to as Thompson Basin and Thompson Creek. It provides water to the area above the Sevier River. The pioneers made their own entertainment, theatrical productions, dances, parties, town picnics and ballgames. In Annabella, the new white rock school had a second story with a fine hardwood floor perfect for dancing. Annabella had a chapel and a schoolhouse. The school provided elementary education and space for social and political activities, and the chapel was the center of religious, social and cultural life.

Founding Families

As noted in the brief Annabella History… Gleaves, Roberts, & Daltons had an early presence. Gleaves & Roberts became noted for their musical abilities and their athletic accomplishments. Dalton’s became early loggers. If we compare the 1880 Annabella Census with the 1920 Census, the founding families continued to prosper.
Other families joined Annabella by 1880. Mormons were often on the move seeking new opportunities. It was also a practice with the Mormon Church to call members to help settle other communities. Many family came and went but others stayed. It was common in Annabella that related families came to stay and make Annabella their home. The census shows that the following families joined Annabella in 1880 and enjoyed a lasting legacy through many generations: Thurstons, Thompsons, Meachams, Nebekers, and Gardners, and Spaffords. By 1920 other families joined the Annabella community and stayed for generations, namely the Barneys, Fairbanks, Hanchetts, Camps, Davis’s, Christensens, Parks, Stakers, Daniels, Savages, Kays, Andersons, Hoopers, Browns, Gauchats, Fillmores, and Nordfors.
As was common for the times, these families had deep ties to each other through marriages.
Other Families left their “place name” on the landscape. Herrings Flat, Norton Canyon, Thompson Basin, Sol’s Meadow, Carpenter Lane, Dick Lowe Flat, and WaPenny Canyon.

Some of the prominent settlers who played critical civic and religious roles included:
Tora Thurston and Hugh Lisonbee who presided over the Annabella Branch as presiding elders. Tora establish a whole section of town that was filled with Thurston’s.

In 1885 Joseph Smith Staker of Prattsville was called as the first Bishop of Annabella. Bishop Staker’s first efforts, in addition to those of a spiritual nature, were to provide for the temporal needs of the community. He succeeded in getting the townspeople busy moving an old structure into town as a school house then constructed a stone school house. He hired Elijah Clapp to move to Annabella to construct a brick kiln. The first quality brick from this kiln were used to build a two-story tithing office with a large basement for storing tithing grain. The office building was also used for school, church, and Relief Society meetings. The second story room of his own home was used for a community dance hall until the Amusement Hall was built. Sarah Brown Staker, his wife, was a great a pioneer in her own right. She served as Primary President, the Counselor and President of the Relief Society for 19 years. Loved by everyone… “Aunt Sade” served as the community “doctor,” midwife, mortician, comforter of the bereaved.

In January 1934 Marva Christensen Hanchett set up the first regular public health program in Sevier County and in April became the first regular public health nurse in the county. Her work included clinics, school nursing (there were seventeen small schools in the county at that time), home nursing, and many other duties. As a young Annabella girl, she saw growing up the many inadequate health practices and the consequential death and suffering. Many babies died in these times. Annabella lost a nurse who contracted a disease as she was caring for others. Marva made a commitment to become a nurse but went beyond and provided the needed leadership for the Counties health needs. Marva spent about ten years in hospital supervision. For nearly a year during World War II, she was the only registered nurse available.

Many through generations served as Bishops, as Mayor/council members and as members of Cottonwood/Red Butte Irrigation Company. Too many to name here but their Service is well documented. In early accounts, Annabella was noted as a clean and healthy community. Leaders were progressive in building infrastructure and in securing water rights for the future. Early citizens enjoyed the benefits of the Amusement hall & town Parks: sport, plays, celebrations, parties and ice skating were common community activities. Progress brought forth 2 Community Centers, new playgrounds, new parks and ball fields. Water works have constantly been upgraded through time. These factors provide for the foundation of a quality life in a small community.

Compiled by Jeff Roberts, Annabella Historian, October 8, 2024