CHAPTER XIII
History of Osmond
By Barbara N. Veigel
Osmond, a small community, two and one-half miles south of Afton, nestles close to the east mountains, near the mouth of Dry Creek Canyon. The first people to come to the area named it Dry Creek because every summer, about July or August the stream dried up in the valley. When the stream ceased to dry up the name was changed to Mt. Pleasant, because the settlers said it overlooked the valley more than any other point did. Still later, when the ward was organized, it was given the name of Osmond, after George Osmond, president of the Star Valley Stake. It has also been called "Sweden," as so many of the people are of Swedish ancestry.
The first permanent family in Osmond was the Henderson family. Samuel Henderson was brought to Star Valley by his son, Marion, in the fall of 1885. He came as a Mormon polygamist to find a place of refuge. Sometime later he sent for his fourth wife, Mary Jane, and her children, as they were the youngest of his family.
As winter was coming on, they stopped at a small cabin west of Afton. The next fall they moved to Osmond. The family lived in a tent until Samuel and his older boys could get logs out of the canyon and build a house.
Mr. Henderson started to take up land in the central part of the town, but it was thought at that time that the town site of Afton would be here, so he had to move to another location.
Other early settlers in Osmond were Nephi Hill, Steve Kendor, Floyd and Dave Kreger, who came in 1887; Mr. Perkins in 1888; Paul Olson, Charles Veigel and John Stumpp in 1890. In 1887, William Hill, a boy of 12 years, came to make his home with his brother, Nephi Hill.
The second house in Osmond was built by Nephi Hill on the ranch later owned by Fannie Harrison. It stood about one-fourth mile west of where the highway was later built, as it was thought that was where the highway would be located. When the road was surveyed the house was moved east on the section line.
There was little farming done in those early days. Each farm had only from three to twelve acres of grass and grain. Sheep, cattle and horses fared well on the native grass, but in those first years there were very few animals. The animals were brought in as fast as the settlers could get them to such a remote place. The Henderson family probably had the first livestock. When the hard winter hit in 1889-90, the settlers were not prepared for it and they had a hard time getting food and supplies. The families with a few animals fared the best. Many times the few settlers had to scrape the snow from the hills and fields to get food for their animals. In this way they kept not only their animals, but themselves as well, alive during the winter.
Milk was a rare treat to most of the settlers. The housewives who were fortunate enough to own a cow made their own butter and cheese.
The only butcher shops were the hills and streams. Deer, bear, elk, rabbits, wild chickens and ducks could be found on the mountains and fields, and the streams were abounding in trout.
The snow was very deep in those early winters, sometimes covering the fences. The only way out of the valley during the winter was by snowshoes. The men used them in going over the mountains to Montpelier, Idaho for supplies.
Mr. Henderson was instrumental in getting the first day-school started in Osmond. The first school was a small one-room, log cabin. It stood where the church house was later built. Each pupil furnished his own desk and stool. Slates were used to write on and there were few books. Martha (Matty) Barrus was reported to be the first teacher. School lasted about four months a year. At first it was held only in the summer time. The school was run by three trustees, who hired the teacher and looked after other affairs.
The first school house burned down, and another was built on the same place. Another school building was built by WPA workers in 1936. School was held in this building until 1963, when the district consolidated and built a new school at Afton, which was attended by all the school children in the Upper Valley.
Other teachers in Osmond in the early days were Mr. Gray, Carl Cook, Albert H. Linford, William J. Jensen, Luther Baldwin, Mary Wilson, Clarence McClatchey and Rachel Hale. When Mr. McClatchey and Mrs. Hale taught, the school had grown to a two-room school.
Mr. Henderson was a fine carpenter, and he taught others the trade. He made furniture for many of the first homes in Osmond. He helped to build the first church house.
At first, the settlers belonged to the Afton Ward. Later a Sunday School and Primary were organized at Osmond with Samuel Henderson as first superintendent of the Sunday School.
In 1901 a ward was organized with Andrew Neilson as bishop. From 1915-1936 Otto Harrison was bishop; from 1936-1944 his son Leslie Harrison; from 1944-1955 Leslie Erickson; from 1955-1961 Gray Hillstead; from 1961-1963 Zenneth Allred; from 1963-1968 Albert Mckay Erickson; from 1968 to present John Gray Hillstead.
The 1963 population of Osmond was about 240. Most residents have made their living by farming and dairying. Some worked in business places in Afton. Some poultry and hogs have been raised, also some sheep, wheat, oats, barley and hay. Most families have raised vegetable gardens.
Some residents of Osmond are stockholders in the Swiss Cheese Factory which was located at Osmond until 1949 when it was moved to Thayne.
The creek that flows out of Dry Creek Canyon furnishes water for irrigation. Water is piped to most of the homes from springs, one up Dry Creek Canyon, and one up above the Edwin Allred ranch.
In 1928 the Osmond Pipeline Company was incorporated, with William Cassity as president; Charles Veigel, vice president; Edgar Veigel, secretary; and Axel Lindberg and Joseph Harrison as directors. The officers borrowed money and filed on a spring on Axel Lindberg's place in Dry Creek Canyon. They gave Axel a share of stock for his relinquishing his right to the spring. Twenty-three members bought stock and repaid the borrowed money. The line was completed in the fall of 1929.
Ten years later the line was enlarged and the creamery on the corner of the Fairview Lane was included in membership. The company was reorganized at various times. In 1949 the line was again enlarged and 12 new members were included.
As time went on it was found that the spring was not large enough, and also it was no longer satisfactory. The company was again reorganized in 1961 with Don L. Chadwick as president; LeVon Henderson, secretary; and Reed Gardner, Leslie Erickson and Erric Veigel as directors. Erric Veigel resigned and Don Chadwick moved to Logan. Victor Tippetts and Charles Veigel were chosen to fill the vacancies. They borrowed money on a long time loan from the FHA. A new spring, about a mile up the canyon from the old one, was located and Ivan Call of Afton was hired to engineer the project. The task of building a completely new line was undertaken. Don Wood of Afton contracted the project, and after six weeks of work the line was completed, and served 52 families, the church and the school; a total of 65 shares, with approximately five gallons of water per minute per share, with about 60 pounds pressure at each tap. The total cost of the project was about $56,000.
Electricity is furnished to Osmond by the Lower Valley Power and Light, Inc. The town, except for a few residences, is situated on either side of the main highway. The farms extend for about three miles along the highway and about one and one-half miles on either side. The people, with the exception of a few families, have been Latter-day Saints.
What was called the first dairy in Osmond consisted of a large wooden churn which was turned by the water in an irrigation ditch. The dairy was run by Tom Wilson in 1896. He sold milk and butter. His employees were paid 25 cents a day.
Harry Holmes took pictures at an early date in Osmond. He lived in the log cabin just west of the highway. Part of the log house still stands on what is known as the Ingram Place. Mr. Holmes did his photographic work in the machine shed. He paid his rent by taking pictures of the owner's children.
Mr. Lindberg, who lived at the mouth of Dry Creek Canyon in early days, mended shoes for the residents of the community. He worked in his own home on a hand-last. Before he came here from Sweden he had a shoe shop, but after he came here he was too crippled with rheumatism to do much. He just did what he could because he enjoyed the work. He was also a musician and played for many of the dances. In Osmond they danced in homes before any dance halls were there. No one had rugs or carpets so there was no time wasted in rolling back the rug. Robert G. Bowles played a banjo at these dances. One night he broke the head of his banjo. Next morning he arose early, and killed and skinned a cat. He then removed the hair from the skin, dried the skin and made a head for his banjo and played for the dance that night.
From the autobiography of Maria J. Stock Allred we read, "I was the first postmistress of the only post office that Osmond ever had. I kept a little store there also. I think it was the first store that Osmond had. We hadn't been there a year when the house caught fire and burned the roof off. That finished post office work for me. I made arrangements with Sam M. Roberts at Afton to take it over. This cleared the bondsmen and myself. That was a relief. There was more work and worry than money in that experience."
Maria's daughter, Josie, was born while Maria had the post-office, which was in May 1906. The post office and store were in a log two-room house in the middle of town, rented from Charlie Chadwick.
Later, Edwin Allred built a store on the west side of the highway and rented it to a Mr. and Mrs. Snowball. The Snowballs sold groceries and had a variety counter.
The McCoy repair shop on the east side of the road has at various times been a grocery store. It was run at different times by Calvin Vail, Hyrum Hirschi, George Olson, Estella Nebeker, Ruby Tolman, and Julyous Hokanson. In 1915 Estella Nebeker and Ruby Tolman had a combination grocery store, lunch counter and dance hall there. Dancers danced to the music of a nickelodeon. Mrs. Tolman states that people came from all over the valley to dance there, and that they had a good business until the boys began to be drafted into the service.
Mrs. Ruby Tolman also tells how people used to practice with a stage made on barrels and put on shows to buy the curtain for the stage when the ward church and recreation house was being built. The ward did not have a piano, so they would move Mrs. Tolman's player piano from her home to the church when it was needed. Ruby Tolman, Inez Thornton and Madeline Hopkin were the Primary presidency. They made up their minds they would get a piano for the ward. So they made ice cream, cakes and candy to sell at ward functions and bought the piano that is still in the amusement hall.
Osmond has had its sorrows as well as many good times and lots of hard work. Beautiful Dry Creek Canyon has been a source of recreation, sightseeing, wood and some tragedy. Much logging was done in the canyon. People made much of their living by getting out logs and wood. In the winter of 1913, William Harrison and his brothers Albert, Joe and Otto had been camped in the canyon to pile logs. Then they had hauled most of them out of the canyon. On Jan. 1, 1914 they went for their last load of logs. They had loaded the logs and were down to the main road when William noticed they had left the shovel. He walked back to get the shovel. When he didn't come back soon his brothers went to look for him and discovered that he had been killed under a snow slide. His wife was waiting at home with New Year's dinner ready for the family and a few friends, including Dr. G. W. West. When Mrs. Tolman's father, Mr. Leavitt, came to the dinner he had been notified of the sad happening and brought her the news.
Two other men, Luther Baldwin and Andrew Hokanson, were killed by a snow slide in Dry Creek Canyon in 1912. Another sad event in Osmond was the tragic death of Mrs. Ida Veigel, wife of Charles Veigel Sr. Mr. Veigel was away on the freight road to Montpelier. Mrs. Veigel went to the barnyard to feed the cattle, where she was attacked by a bull. Her screams were heard by a neighbor, Andrew Neilson, who hurried to drive the bull away, carried Mrs. Veigel to the house where three small children, a girl four years old, and two boys three and two years old awaited her. Mr. Neilson went for a doctor, but Mrs. Veigel died a few hours later.
There have been a number of sawmills in Osmond and Dry Creek Canyon; James Gomm operated a sawmill until his death, and then Victor Tippetts took it over.
In 1943 the government sent workers to assay a strip from Swift Creek to Cottonwood Creek for vanadium content. They dug test holes every thousand feet between the two points. They found two veins running the whole distance and one vein from Cottonwood Creek to Dry Creek. The soil around, even the lowest grade, tested six percent in the gray shale.
Eight tunnels were started. In 1949 they started test mining one tunnel. They operated for about 18 months. The mine was closed about July 1, 1950. The tunnel had been dug into the mountain for 400 feet. Three races straight upward for about 75 feet were run. Some ore was hauled out in sacks in a pickup, and two truckloads were moved and trucked to Salt Lake City. They found a good source of vanadium but due to the distance from the railroad and expense of transportation, mining was not considered feasible, and the mine was closed.
References
Much use was made of material in the first edition of "Star Valley and Its Communities," particularly the chapter on Osmond by Merettie Leavitt. Major sources of information identified in the first edition were:
Interviews with Fannie Harrison, Mary Hill, Ida Henderson, William Swenson.
In addition the following sources were used in the preparation of the second edition:
Records of Hartolian Publication.
Interviews with Isabelle McCoy, Ruby Tolman and Charles Veigel.