Growth in the Territory

Explain how changes in transportation and communication changed Utah's economy.

What was a Co-op?

In Brigham City, Lorenzo Snow organized the Brigham City Cooperative Association. A cooperative is a jointly owned business where owners share the costs and benefits. The goal was to promote economic growth in the community by joining together to manufacture, sell, and buy as a group. The farming cooperative included a shoe shop, woolen factory, and tannery.

Following the lead of Brigham City, a new, very large store named ZCMI (Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution) was opened in Salt Lake City, with branches in other towns. Its business was to buy goods from the East and import them to Utah to sell. The store also bought or traded goods from Utah businesses and farms.