Main St./Highway 142

Main St.

In 1860, LDS President Brigham Young visited the settlement of Richmond to guide the small community. Native Americans and Europeans had a hard time living in the same area. Brigham Young counseled the Saints to “move your families and wagons close together, then, if you are disturbed, you are like a hive of bees, and everyone is ready and knows at once what to do.”

The Saints did as was asked, and moved to today’s Main Street. This was known as Richmond Fort, and stretched from 300 E to Highway 91 and consisted of 75 individual families. The inside of the fort was used for carriages, parades, and a drill court. Each side of the fort had a stream for animals. On the front of homes were a small yard and garden, and the rear had fences that stretched about 30 yards for cattle. After most conflicts between the Natives and Europeans were over, the fort departed, but the main road stayed the same.

Rallo Ray Johnson describes Main Street in the 1920-1930's:

"Starting from the west end of town and proceeding east and on the south side of Main Street were the following stores. Willie Merrill's Confectionary, a clean, nice little place with overhead fans that cooled the shop; D.I. Tripp's Barber Shop, the pool hall, H.F. Olson's A&G Grocery where Dean Andrus was the meat cutter. After that, there was a driveway that was used as a passage to the back of the stores. Mr. Robinson and his horse-drawn cart or wagon would pull up and throw the sacks of mail through a window into the old post office. Then there was another grocery store, a drug store, and Cy Lewis' appliance and electrical shop. Parkinson had another barber shop next to the appliance shop then Sam Thomas had a confectionary store, a place to get all sorts of candy and ice cream. There was next a Co-op which was another grocery and clothing store on the corner. 

"Diagonally across the street were the bank, Power and Light Company and above that the telephone office and home of the Becksteds. Going west was an old red brick home used by the Thomas' for a harness shop, the city library, and on the corner in place of the red brick house was the Richmond community building. After that Peart's Blacksmith shop on South state and a saw mill. There is the Relic Hall on the east side of South State Street, the LDS Stake House and the City Jail and Old Opera House on the corner of Main and State Streets."

Highway 142

In 1909, efforts to connect a functional and strong road between Richmond and Trenton, Utah began with Olonzo D. Merrill, who was made foreman of the road construction job.1 In 1941, the state legislature passed a law creating State Highway 142 from Newton, Utah to Clarkston, Utah and State Highway 170 from Richmond to Clarkston. In 1969, the highways were combined and Highway 142 emerged.2

The Benson Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was headquartered in Richmond and the boundaries of the stake extended to Trenton, Newton, and Clarkston. When Stake Conferences were to be held in Richmond, the highway was used to transport. Because of this, many referred to the road as "Conference Road."

Richmond Fort. The parade and drill court are what remain of Main St.

Source

1. Merrill, Melvin Clarence, (1937). Utah Pioneer and Apostle: Marriner Wood Merrill and His Family, pgs. 415. Digital copy Internet Archive, Contributed by the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/utahpioneerapost00merr/page/415/mode/1up

2. Wikipedia contributors, "Utah State Route 142," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Utah_State_Route_142&oldid=1270160012 (accessed March 4, 2025).