Home Care In Fillmore, UT

I’m here today to propose that we move the Utah Capitol back to Fillmore.

Fillmore was once our head city, back when Utah was still a territory and statehood was just a glimmer in Brigham Young’s eye. The territorial legislature designated the town in Millard County as the capital for its central location. Only one single legislative session was held in Fillmore, then the legislature designated Salt Lake City as the territorial capital. Salt Lake held as the top city when Utah finally transitioned from territory to state in 1896, and it remains the capital to this day.

But I believe it’s time to move our lawmaking back to the central Utah city with a population of 2,624 citizens. More specifically, to the Maverik, just off the freeway exit in Fillmore.

I’ve developed this belief after stopping at this Maverik approximately 57,000 times. It’s the designated potty break for our drive to and from St. George, the southern Utah city we flee to any time Salt Lake County feels excessively cold. So, a lot in the winter.

It’s my family’s designated spot because the gas pumps are plentiful, the bathrooms are clean, the snacks are fresh, the soda fountain has pebble ice, and there’s a grassy area where dogs can take care of their business.

Our most recent visit was this past Sunday. We found ourselves among our fellow weekend warriors, filling their gas tanks, filing into and out of the restrooms, selecting their Frito-Lay products of choice, and pouring fresh sodas into their 64-ounce refillable mugs.

The clientele seemed to represent all walks of life — high school kids in club jerseys with their frazzled chaperones, parents wearing diaper bags shepherding their children along the cookie racks, truckers stocking up on Monsters, and locals chatting with cashiers.

It appeared to me to be a perfect sample of the citizens of our state. I was half-tempted to conduct a political poll right then and there. “This,” I thought to myself, “is the place.”

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The place where Utahns from every corner meet for a brief few moments over bathroom hand dryers and Charleston Chews. The place where they try to avoid eye contact with each other while they stand next to their cars, awkwardly waiting for the pump trigger to click off. The place where they help each other navigate the self-checkout machine until inevitably giving up and calling over a human cashier to assist.

The place where great things could happen if we endowed it with the power to govern the state.

So here’s what I propose: Any piece of proposed legislation should be presented at the Fillmore Maverik on a weekend afternoon. All citizens of Utah in the Maverik at that time will be required to vote in favor of or in opposition to the bill. If it passes, that’s a new law. If it fails, the lawmaker can revise the draft and present it on another weekend the following session.

You may worry that the average conglomerate of customers in the Fillmore Maverik may skew too far red or too far blue. Let me assure you — there are always pickup trucks and Subarus in the parking lot. Mounted bike racks and ATV trailers. Customers in hiking boots holding carabiner key rings, and customers in camo buying cans of Bucked Up. No Utahn will be left unrepresented.

Salt Lake City has had a good 150-year run as home to our capitol building and lawmaking privileges. But it’s time to return those privileges to the place where the people are, and where the burritos are always fresh off the Bonfire Grill.

Key Points

Though Utah was one of the last states to be added to the union, it’s still quite old, dating back to 1896. A state that started over 100 years ago is bound to have many ancient towns, and today, we’ll talk about one of the oldest towns in Utah: Fillmore. Let’s learn about one of the oldest cities in Utah, including the people who call the area home, and the animals you could see during a visit.

The History of One of the Oldest Towns in Utah

Though there were other settlements in Utah dating back to 1846, such as Fort Buenaventura, today, we’re talking about one of the oldest towns in Utah, which is Fillmore. Before it became a state, the Territorial Legislature of Utah and the governor of that time, Brigham Young, passed a resolution on October 5, 1851. It provided for the settlement and organization of Millard County, and the seat of government in the country was to be called Fillmore City. There was some drama when the Native Americans of that time believed they owned the land, but Young was able to negotiate peace and a land agreement. The town is named after the president of that time, Millard Fillmore.

In that same month, two companies of covered wagons went out to begin the settlement. It only took 15 days for them to create the first-ever building, a school that they constructed out of cottonwood logs. One of the main colonizers of the town was Anson Call, who settled much of Fillmore. They soon built other buildings, including a grist mill and sawmill.

Since Fillmore was meant to be the seat of the government, the colonizers started construction on the statehouse. However, all they were able to complete was one wing. Although it wasn’t finished, it was still used for legislative sessions during 1855 and 1856. In total, Fillmore was the capital of the Utah Territory from 1851-1856. After that, the capital of Utah was moved to Salt Lake City. That original wing of the statehouse still sits as the oldest government building in the state. Today, that wing has become the Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum, where visitors can learn about the state’s past.

There were 304 people in the town of Fillmore when it was getting started in the early 1850s. By 1930, there were 1374 residents. As of the 2000 census, the town had grown to 2,253 people in 732 households. In 2020, the town had increased a bit more to 2,592. The median age at this time is 36.1 years old, and the median household income is close to $72,000 per year.

Where Is Fillmore Located on a Map?

The town of Fillmore is located in central Utah in the Pahvant Valley at the base of the Pahvant Mountain Range. It’s about 162 miles north of St. George and 148 miles south of Salt Lake City. The city is located 5,135 feet above sea level. The city is made up of about 5.8 square miles, which is all land.

Wildlife You’ll Find in Fillmore

The town of Fillmore and the greater Millard County area is a hotbed of activity for many different animal and mammal species.

Fillmore is home to many salamander, toad, and frog species, including the great basin spadefoot, Woodhouse’s tool, the American bullfrog, and the northern leopard frog.

If you go near the streams and rivers in Millard County, you’ll see many fish species, including the common Molly, European carp, rainbow trout, catfish, mottled sculpins, and more.

There is a wide variety of bird species in Fillmore with everything from the common rock pigeon and snow goose to the great horned owl, white-crowned sparrow, and wild turkeys.

Travel around Millard County, and you can come across many varieties of bats, squirrels, and mice. There are also many more exotic animals around Fillmore, such as the American bison, bobcats, mountain lions, and black bears.

There are many different reptiles in Fillmore, including many snake varieties, including the gopher snake, North American racer, striped whipsnake, and the Arizona mountain kingsnake. Many lizards also call Millard County home, with the plateau fence, long-nosed leopards, and short-horned lizards taking up residence.

Finally, walk through the forests and woodland areas in Millard County, and you’ll come across many exciting plant species, including Gooseberry Leaf Globemallow, green ephedra, cushion buckwheat, sagebrush cholla, and more.

Things to do in Fillmore

A visit to Fillmore offers a lot of history and some great entertainment. Consider some of these hotspots during your next visit:

When you decide to visit Fillmore, pack for the weather. It’s hot during the summer, with temperatures in the mid-90’s to 100s. Winters are very cold. The temps are usually around the 20s and 30s.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this history lesson on Fillmore, one of the oldest towns in Utah. This great city laid much of the foundation for the state. It continues to be an interesting area to this day. Consider a visit!

Summary Table

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Jeremy Christensen/Shutterstock.com

As the Halfway Hill Fire continues to burn near Fillmore, community members are meeting with fire officials to outline their plans to fight the fire and to protect the community in the future.

FILLMORE, Utah — It’s been one week since the Halfway Hill Fire was started near Fillmore. As it continues to burn, community members are meeting with fire officials to outline their plans to continue to fight the fire and to protect the community in the future.

READ: Latest wildfire information from across Utah

Since then, helicopters and air tankers have taken to the skies, crews have worked hard on the mountainside, and four people were arrested for abandoning a campfire and starting the massive blaze.

On Friday, crews provided an update to community members and live on Facebook:

Thankfully, they said, monsoon rains in the area have helped over the last few days.

“It has given us an option to get a little bit closer to try and get [ground crews] to the edge of the fire where we can get them in safely without getting them hurt, and try to make the footprint that this fire ends up being a little bit smaller than what it would have been,” fire official Clay Stevens said Friday to start the meeting.

This was one of three fires within a few miles of each other when it's for sparked, thankfully volunteer fire crews in the area worked quickly and are credited with an initial attack that prevented structures from being lost.

“While we're responding to all of that, I want to make a point: We were witnesses to an amazing first fire suppression response by your local volunteers and Interagency Fire,” Millard County Sheriff Richard Jacobson said. “I know this fire seems like a beast up here, and it is, but I can only imagine what it would have become without those initial efforts.”

But once the fire becomes fully contained, officials are worried about the aftermath — such as flooding and issues with the headwater leading into the community.

“You know, the worst thing that could ever happen is we can get fire in this country,” said Brian Monroe with the U.S. Forest Service. “I said it's the headwaters. I mean, the fallout of that would be terrible. Well, here we are. So that same hillside is now clean of beetle-kill, but we've got another problem now.”

It’s a challenge that is already being discussed in the community, and one that forestry experts will take up in the coming weeks and months.

And even though suppression is going well, crews are warning those it isn’t time yet to return to the area.

“It doesn't mean there's not going to be smoke up there for quite some time," said Steve Shaw, the incident commander with Great Basin Team 4. "And it doesn't mean that Brian or the other administrators are going to be willing to open that land back up and take the chance of that fire moving and get back to recreating.”

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FILLMORE, Utah (ABC4) – On their way to California, a West Valley City family was traveling on Interstate 15 when they were suddenly encapsulated in the Millard County sandstorm that resulted in a series of crashes and multiple fatalities.

“We were just driving, acting excited, we were going on vacation, and then all of a sudden, we saw the sandstorm,” Krystal Richardson tells ABC4.

As the cloud of dust swept across the freeway, Richardson said they couldn’t see anything.

“You could not see a foot in front of you,” she explains.

In a video from the Richardson family, you can hear someone say “that car just disappeared! Oh my gosh, slow down.”

Richardson is then heard saying to her daughter, who was driving, “Slow down, we’re not going to be able to see, slow way down.”

After slowing down, her daughter pulled over on the side of the road. Moments later, she said their vehicle was hit from behind.

“They did get out, but their car was mangled, like it was pretty bad,” Richardson says of the driver’s vehicle who hit them. “Their airbags were out, their car was bad.”

Utah Highway Patrol officials say 22 vehicles were involved in the string of crashes Sunday afternoon.

“Lots of cars, gone, mangled. Like you couldn’t tell they were vehicles. It was horrible. Like, cars in diesels, a vehicle right next to us like literally inside a diesel,” Richardson reflected.

And she recounts the scene that’s still fresh in her mind.

“We were right next to all these cars that they couldn’t possibly have made it through, and I just sat there and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, like how are we alive?’ I don’t even know how it happened” she says. “Like, we were right next to a horrible, horrific scene and it’s so heartbreaking.”

Troopers said the series of crashes claimed the lives of eight people. Richardson and her family tells ABC4 News they’re grateful to be alive, but is heartbroken for those who lost their lives.

“I’m thankful we’re alive, but literally I feel, I’m just shaking because of the thought of the families that aren’t so lucky,” she says.

Following the crash, Richardson and her family were put up in a hotel by the city of Fillmore. As of Monday afternoon, the family was still trying to get a rental car and figure out what’s next.

“This town has been so amazing,” she expresses.

Although their plans have dramatically changed, Richardson said it’s incomparable to those who lost their lives.

“I feel so bad for everyone and their families,” she says. “It’s just a sad, sad day.”

For the first responders on-scene, Richardson said she is grateful for their efforts and support.

“All the other people who came on the scene are amazing. They’ve helped so much…I do have to give a shout-out to every EMT and law enforcement.”

The Halfway Hill Fire is the largest wildfire the state has seen this season, and officials are expecting further growth.

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The Halfway Hill Fire has burned over 6,640 acres southeast of Fillmore since its ignition Friday afternoon, and fire officials expect the blaze will grow.

The Millard County wildfire was first measured at 30+ acres at 3 p.m. on Friday, but grew to become the state’s largest wildfire so far this season in less than 24 hours. Erratic wind gusts have limited the use of air resources to fight the blaze, and combined with worsening fire conditions, the fire is 0% contained, according to Utah Fire Info.

The fire caused evacuations on Friday for the Virginia Hills subdivision southeast of Fillmore, which remain in place. Kayli Yardley, a fire prevention specialist with the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said only 3-4 residents live in the area full time, and that the subdivision is mostly summer homes.

“When we when we see those types of conditions, that’s when we need to be even more cautious and take extra precaution, because it just takes that little bit of a spark to take off and make this a catastrophic wildfire,” Yardley said. “It’s not done. It’s putting on a show, I’m confident that it’s going to increase in size again. We’ll have another few hundred, maybe another thousand or so acres added on to this by the time we’re all said and done.”

About 35 miles away from the Halfway Hill Fire, another wildfire ignited on Friday afternoon east of Oak City. The Dry Creek Fire has burned about 900 acres and also caused an evacuation of Oak City Canyon, which remains in place.

“I don’t have a number on how many actual campers were up in that area, I just know that they were able to go in and get everybody out,” Yardley said. “Between both of these fires, there were several rangeland folks that had cows, their permits up here on the mountain, and they were able to go in and and get their cows moved or get their animals taken care of as well.”

Both fires were sparked by human causes, but the exact sources of the fires are still under investigation. Yardley said she doesn’t foresee the fires combining, since the Dry Creek Fire would have to “really pick up some ground” to connect with the Halfway Hill Fire.

However, the state will likely see smoke impacts from the two blazes. Yardley wasn’t sure if the smoke would move up to the Wasatch Front, but said it’s possible.

“It’s super hot, super dry — that’s the drought conditions that are really impacting a lot of this,” Yardley said. “It’s super important for folks to just remember that little bit of rain that we that we’ve received, it’s a drop in the bucket to what we actually need to be able to come out of this. The fuel moistures are just too dry, and again, it’s just it’s just a tinderbox up here.”