A Trial Furnace : Southern Utah's Iron Mission (Studies in Latter-day Saint History)

In April 1850, LDS Church leaders established an Iron Mission in southern Utah, where iron ore, coal and timber were plentiful. Among these first Iron County settlers were experienced iron workers from the British Isles. Between 1851 and 1858, this colony of hard-working Saints tried many smelting techniques, yielding objects such as pots,crank shafts and bells.

Despite sustained, even heroic, efforts, the iron missionaries did not succeed. Nature itself worked against them. When the iron works closed its books in 1858, some of the colonists moved away. Yet the pioneers' legacy is still visible in Parowan and Cedar City--Iron Mission townships that have survived for over 150 years.

A Trial Furnace chronicles the lives of people who transcended the practical, discovering in their wilderness crucible an inner strength and resilience more durable than the iron they came south to find.

Illustrations and index.