A history of Beaver County ([Utah Centennial County history series])

The settlement of Beaver County began in February 1856 when fifteen families from Parowan moved by wagon thirty miles north to Beaver Valley. The county was created by the Utah legislature on 31 January 1856, a week before the Parowan group set out to make their new home. However, centuries before, prehistoric peoples lived in the area, obtaining obsidian for arrow and pear points from the Mineral Mountains. Later, the area became home to Paiute Indians. Franciscan Friars Dominguez and Escalante passed through the area in October 1776.\nThe Mormon settlement of Beaver developed at the foot of the Tushar Mountains. In 1859 the community of Minersville was established, and residents farmed, raised livestock, and mined the lead deposits there. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century the Mineral Mountains and other locations in the county saw extensive mining development, particularly in the towns of Frisco and Newhouse. Mining activities were given a boost with the completion of the Utah Southern Railroad to Milford in 1880. The birthplace of both famous western outlaw Butch Cassidy and inventor of television Philo T. Farnsworth, Beaver County is rich in history, historic buildings, and mineral treasures.