In later years, after the territory had increased in population, other schools were established. President Young founded a number of Church schools. Among these were the Brigham Young Academy (now the Brigham Young University) at Provo, one of the leading institutions of learning in the state; the Brigham Young College at Logan, and the Latter-day Saints University (now High School) at Salt Lake City.[2] In addition to these schools the auxiliary organizations[3] also were organized for the training and education of the members of the Church and have aided materially in this direction.
Territorial Expansion
At the close of the first decade after the settlement of Utah, colonies of the Latter-day Saints extended from Fort Limhi on the north, to Cedar City, on the south, a distance of about five hundred miles; and from Fort Supply on the east to Carson Valley on the west, about four hundred miles. The population of this area was about fifty thousand people, nearly all members of the Church.
Fort Limhi
In the summer of 1855, a colony was sent to the north where they founded Fort Limhi (now called Lemhi) on Salmon River. This was the most northerly settlement of the Saints, about three hundred and seventy-five miles from Salt Lake City. The settlement was continued until 1858 when it was abandoned for the reason that it was too far away and the colonists were constantly harassed by hostile Indian tribes.
On the Rio Virgin
In 1861, a large number of Saints were called to go from the middle and central counties of Utah to settle on the Rio Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers. They located and founded the city of St. George, and other towns on the upper Rio Virgin. The following year other members of the Church were called to go to that southern country to lend strength to the settlements. That year they raised about one hundred thousand pounds of cotton in the “Dixie” of the West, showing that this industry was a possibility.
San Bernardino
At a much earlier date (1851), Elders Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich, with about five hundred souls from Utah, journeyed to southern California, where in September of that year they built the town of San Bernardino. This continued to be a flourishing settlement until 1858, when the people were called back to Utah owing to the coming of Johnston’s Army, and was never again occupied as a permanent settlement by the Saints.