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On March 14, 1864,
John C. Dewey left Calls Fort and settled at Empey Springs. This site had
been purchased from William Empey. Empey’s Springs became known as
Dewey’s Springs. From 1864 until 1868 only three families had joined
the Deweys: John P. Barnard, John Allen and Elizabeth Lasley came from Calls
Fort.
In the spring of 1868 other settlers came to take up land
including Benjamin Gardner from Ogden, John Memory from Willard, and Henry
Marble and Milo V. Gardner from Brigham City.
They all built log houses in somewhat close proximity and laid the foundation
of another community. Jude Levi Dewey was the first child born in the
community. William Walker Howard came to Dewey’s Springs in 1865, while
the Germers, Fryers, Beetons, and Childs family moved to the locality in
1869.
John C. Dewey was Presiding Elder and general director of
all community activities including the erection of a school house in 1869 and
the organization of a dramatic company. A Sunday School was organized in
1872, with William H. Howard serving as Superintendent. The school house
served as a recreational center, and Jude Wells and William McCrary played
their violins for the dances which formed the chief source of amusement.
Everyone worked together as illustrated by the joint enclosure
called “the fence”. This was built of stakes and willows woven
together to a height of four feet, with a deep ditch dug on the outside. The
first wire fence was built during 1870 by Ozro Eastman. This fence was made
of smooth wire threaded through holes bored in the posts with a 3/8 inch bit.
In 1873-74 Deweyville was a railroad stop on the Utah
Northern Railroad. No station house was built, however, until after the
Oregon Short Line Company took over the Utah Northern Line and made it a
standard gauge. The first post office was established September 29, 1873, with John C. Dewey as the
Postmaster. Until 1901, when the Malad Valley Railroad was built, Deweyville
was the shipping point of the entire Bear River
valley. This, together with the building of the Bothwell and Hammond
Canals, caused a boom during
which a number of business houses were established in Deweyville. They
included saloons, brewing plant, two boarding houses and a barber shop. J. B.
McMaster and J. H. Forsgren established a lumber- hardware business, and
merchandise businesses were run by Nathaniel and Henry Marble. An L.D.S. Ward
was organized on August 19,1877,
with John C. Dewey as Bishop and Orville Childs and Anson C. Loveland
as counselors.
On March 7, 1939
Deweyville was granted a Town Charter by the Box Elder County Commission. A
water system was installed in 1941, one of the last PWA projects completed in
Utah.
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