Editor,

When the interstate highway was trying to get through Weber Canyon, there was no easy way to go around the formidable Devil’s Gate. I was reviewing some old articles of the Utah Highway Commission and found a picture of Devil’s Gate with a paragraph: “Following the Weber River drainage is the best route to the Great Salt Lake basin.”

It was the route Brigham Young was following until he arrived at Devil’s Gate, a narrow impassable section of rocky quartz. He had to go south to Parley’s Canyon over the mountain to Salt Lake City. To me, that reads that Salt Lake City would be the dominate city in Utah. I would conclude that Devil’s Gate was one of the most influential rock formations on the Mormon trail. It is not a point of extinction, but it appears to be hidden and forgotten.

Newspapers are very good at surveys. I would be surprised if two out of ten present Ogden residents are aware of Devil’s Gate and its one-time importance. It should be a number one tourist attraction in Utah.

I am 92 years of age and was living in Ogden until graduating with the “new” Ogden High’s first class of 1938. As a child, I was impressed with, and in the winter, scared by, the road in the cliff around and through Devil’s Gate.

When I have been back to Ogden for class reunions, I have mentioned to classmates that Ogden has not created a wayside or other memorial to mark and remind locals and tourists of the importance of Devil’s Gate to the development of the great state of Utah.

Hindsight is very good. I had talked to the Ogden Chamber of Commerce (the now deceased Bernie Diamond and Keith Wilcox) suggesting Ogden is overlooking an important place.

Devil’s Gate may be hidden, but it’s not forgotten, like the gal in the old song, “Oh, my darling Clementine, gone, but not forgotten.”

Robert E. Corey

Salem, Ore.