{"id":4248,"date":"2026-07-26T19:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T19:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=4248"},"modified":"2026-07-26T19:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T19:36:07","slug":"ancestral-toils-still-benefitting-utahns-ranked-one-of-most-independent-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=4248","title":{"rendered":"Ancestral toils still benefitting Utahns, ranked one of most \u2018independent\u2019 states"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When Latter-day Saint pioneers rolled into the Salt Lake Valley, it wasn\u2019t anything like what it is now.<\/p>\n

Read more Letter to the Editor: Utah needs Maloy\u2019s continued leadership on youth vaping<\/a><\/p>\n

The land was so unattractive in fact, one pioneer woman, Harriet Young, said, \u201cWeak and weary as I am, I would rather go a thousand miles farther than remain in such a forsaken place as this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps, then, it would be hard to imagine the eventual state of 3.5 million people being ranked No. 1 in terms of economic outlook for the 19th year in a row.<\/p>\n

Utah regarded as one of the most \u2018independent\u2019 states<\/h3>\n

A recent WalletHub study ranked Utah just behind Idaho as one of the most \u201cindependent\u201d states in the country regarding self-sufficiency. Previous studies found Utah as the most independent state seven times consecutively.<\/p>\n

\u201cUtah has an extremely low percentage of people with public assistance income (1.7%) or who receive SNAP or food stamps (5.2%),\u201d WalletHub reported in a June study. \u201cThe state ranks as one of the least dependent on federal funding, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Beehive State \u201calso has the highest median income in the country (over $91,600) and the second-lowest share of people in poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

These standout results of self-independence come as no surprise when looking at the communities developed in early on in Utah.<\/p>\n

Ancestors who laid a foundation for success<\/h3>\n

Ginny Taylor, a FamilySearch specialist in Payson, Utah, recounted the story of her first relative to settle in the state. William Page, her great-granduncle, left home in Birmingham, England, to join the Willie and Martin handcart companies.<\/p>\n

\n

Top 5 most independent states
<\/strong><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Idaho<\/li>\n
  2. Utah<\/li>\n
  3. Hawaii<\/li>\n
  4. Colorado<\/li>\n
  5. South Dakota<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    SOURCE: WalletHub survey 2026<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \u201cHis mother sent him to America alone when he was 17 because if he\u2019d have turned 18 in England, he\u2019d have been drafted into the Crimean War,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

    Due to the lateness of the season, the 1856 trek that left Iowa City got caught in snowstorms as they struggled all along the way. Food rations were low, morale was often low and many never saw the place they set eyes on.<\/p>\n

    One story, Taylor recalls, is when Page had built a pair of moccasins for a girl, but he became so starved he \u201cboiled them because they were made of leather, just to make a broth.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cThere were so many hardships, whatever you read about the Willie and Martin handcart companies, they went through a lot,\u201d she said. However, she adds, \u201cthey were kind, they were hardworking and determined people.\u201d<\/p>\n

    All traits, she says, still live in Utah today.<\/p>\n

    After his arrival, Page, an \u201cadventurous\u201d boy, rode in the Pony Express before preparing a place for his immediate family to join him from England, leading to the birth of Taylor\u2019s great-grandfather James Page in Bountiful.<\/p>\n

    A territory built on self-sufficiency<\/h3>\n

    Out in the West, Latter-day Saints were finally able to really plant their roots and practice their religion, as was a source of tension in past areas eastward.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIndependence was central to Brigham Young and many of the leaders of the church in the 19th century. And that was a key reason for their going to Utah,\u201d BYU chair of Western American History Brian Cannon told the Deseret News. \u201cAnd economically, Brigham Young fostered local industry and promoted agriculture to cut the ties that bind the territory to the rest of the nation. He wanted the territory to be as self-sufficient as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

    As part of this central purpose, Young organized efforts to settle areas to maximize resources. He called people on missions \u2014 some to Cedar City to mine iron ore while others were sent to St. George to grow cotton. <\/p>\n

    As was common for these groups, they were sent out with the \u201cunderstanding that they would be contributing to the self-sufficiency and the independence of the territory,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cThey were supposed to work hard to sacrifice for the good of others. They believed that welfare was fundamentally a neighbor-to-neighbor responsibility rather than a responsibility for government.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Many settlements even lived the United Order for a time where they were expected to sacrifice their own financial status for the benefit of the community, creating one of the most \u201cunique\u201d economies in the 19th century, according to Cannon.<\/p>\n

    The unique economy was efficient in providing basic needs to the community, but not when it comes to building wealth.<\/p>\n

    Read more How a former youth hostel was flipped into a key housing need in Salt Lake County<\/a><\/p>\n

    But Latter-day Saint settlements were not the only ones contributing to Utah\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

    Originally settled for agricultural purposes by settlers, the completion of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway in 1883 dramatically changed the demographic. Once connected, coal mining boomed in the eastern Utah location as Japanese, Italian, Greek and other ethnicities immigrated to Price.<\/p>\n

    In addition to becoming one of the more diverse hubs in Utah, the railway also made Price the retail, political, educational and cultural center of the area, according to History to Go.<\/p>\n

    Price is just one of many mining towns that boomed in Utah, others also diversifying the territory.<\/p>\n

    Park City acts as an example of diverse cultural developments in Utah. Hundreds of prospectors between 1870 and 1900 contributed to the city\u2019s population growth of 40%, many sending for their family or bringing them along by the 1880s as the community became well established.<\/p>\n

    The first school in the area was St. Mary\u2019s School, operated by the Sisters of the Parish of St. Mary of the Assumption.<\/p>\n

    The impact mining communities had on Utah during Utah\u2019s early history can be easy to overlook, however, its impact is immeasurable as it reached across economic channels.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMining had an enormous role, only partly measurable, in the history of Utah,\u201d the abstract to the book \u201cFrom the Ground Up\u201d by Colleen Whitley reads. \u201cIts multidimensional impact continues today. Economically, it made a major long-term contribution to the wealth, employment and tax base of the state and stimulated a seemingly endless range of secondary businesses and enterprises\u201d<\/p>\n

    How different settlements interacted with each other<\/h3>\n

    By selecting the dry grounds of the Salt Lake Valley \u2014 choosing land other groups had passed up \u2014 Young and the pioneer groups sought to isolate themselves from the world.<\/p>\n

    So as outsiders filled mining towns and other areas, conflicts, political and physical, sometimes ensued. But, while the differing settlements may have had frictions with each other, acts of kindness could still be found.<\/p>\n

    In 1862 Catholics arrived as part of the California Volunteers in Salt Lake City at Fort Douglas. When looking for a place to celebrate Mass in 1866, Latter-day Saints opened the doors to the tabernacle on today\u2019s Temple Square. It happened again in St. George as Father Scanlan needed a place to celebrate Mass in 1873. He and his congregation were invited to the St. George Tabernacle.<\/p>\n

    Fearing he would have to cut some of the service out since it called for a choir singing in Latin, the Catholic father was pleasantly surprised when he learned the tabernacle\u2019s choir had learned the music and would perform it.<\/p>\n

    Similar gestures were also made toward Jewish communities who, in return, used their networks to ensure saints had safe travels whenever they left on church business by making sure they had shelter and other necessities.<\/p>\n

    The friendship with Catholics resulted in the church\u2019s defense of Latter-day Saints, as Catholics too, were an unpopular religion in the U.S. at the time.<\/p>\n

    The relationships formed throughout these early years assisted the territory as it blossomed.<\/p>\n

    Honoring ancestors before us<\/h3>\n

    Acknowledging that Pioneer Day is more than just a day to remember Latter-day Saint pioneers, but also a day to remember pioneer ancestors from different eras and backgrounds, Cannon said there is much we can apply to ourselves. Ancestors can be honored by identifying the things that mattered most to them and that still matter today.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMaking sacrifices for the good of others, practicing self-restraint, focusing upon the good of the community. People in the past were not perfect, but they had those ideals, many were intent upon making a better place for their posterity, and securing a better lifestyle for their children and grandchildren,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether you\u2019re talking about Mormon pioneers or later generations of people coming into Utah, they were trying in most cases to improve life not only for themselves, but for their loved ones and for their community.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cSacrificing for the good of others, whether that\u2019s family, whether that\u2019s community, those are optimal ways to build upon that legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Read more Deseret News archives: Upstart Fidel Castro began his march to power in Cuba<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Idaho, Utah top the list of most self-sufficient states in the country, an ode to their historic roots<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-utah"],"yoast_head":"\nAncestral toils still benefitting Utahns, ranked one of most \u2018independent\u2019 states - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=4248\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ancestral toils still benefitting Utahns, ranked one of most \u2018independent\u2019 states - 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