Desert Telegraph
by David Arment
Title
Desert Telegraph
Artist
David Arment
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Pipe Spring is in the middle of nowhere. It is a National Monument. When we arrived the park ranger asked us if we had just happened by or if we were there "on purpose". She seemed surprised when we said we had driven there "on purpose".
The reason it exists is because there is a spring (or springs) there in the desert. The Native Americans of course lived there because of the water and the animals who were their to drink. The Mormons built a fort around the springs thinking that they could make better use of the water and expecting the Native Americans to attack once they figured out they had no water. The attack never came, the Native Americans "moved on".
The area was turned into a dairy and products were shipped to St George for workers who were constructing a temple there.
As the Mormon Church was being pressured to give up bigamy some of the men hid their extra wives at this place because no one was going to find theses women way out here in the desert.
Obviously from the picture there was a telegraph line that ran into the fort. They had one telegraph operator who could not stray far in case a message came in. Because of this and the living conditions, the telegraph operators didn't stay long.
So the history of the place is very interesting and if you find yourself in the middle or nowhere someday, you should stop by.
Uploaded
May 28th, 2016
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