Sandy Meadows, chair of the Holladay Historical Commission, welcomed a large crowd to the Little Cottonwood room at Holladay City Hall in October for the seventh annual Holladay History Night. The event provided a unique opportunity for everyone in attendance to gain insights into the preservation of the state of Utah's history and heritage. The speakers included Ellis Ivory, the executive director of This is the Place Heritage Park, and Alex Stromberg, the coordinator of operations and a historian and curator at the park.

“We are honored to have two talented men from This is the Place Heritage Park who love history and want to share it with us tonight,” Meadows said. “This is the Place Heritage Park and the Holladay Historical Commission’s goals are similar – to preserve our history and to know our heritage. Committee members have set up a room full of interesting artifacts of those who have come before us. We want to share the artifacts tonight in order to remember and to preserve the history of those, who many years ago, lived in the Holladay/Cottonwood area.”

This is the Place Heritage Park is a Utah State Park and nonprofit organization that perpetuates the state's history. It uses history to promote ideas and agendas that generate global influence validating why organizations like This is the Place Heritage Park and the Holladay Historical Commission exist. Both contribute to keeping the history and communities in the state of Utah well-grounded and help to inspire discussion and dialogue when facing the issues of today.

According to Stromberg, This is the Place Heritage Park's mission is threefold: to remember the past, entertain the present, and educate the future while honoring Utah's heritage through hands-on experiences. Entertaining and educational park events include Little Haunts, a fun Halloween event; Christkindlmarkt, a world-famous German Christmas market providing a unique holiday shopping and cultural experience; and Candlelight Christmas, which allows visitors to the park to take a step back in time during the holiday season.

“We want to make experiences at the park fun and engaging and instill joy in people that visit while getting visitors interested in Utah’s history,” Stromberg said. “If the entertainment value of an experience motivates a visit, it’s the educational experience that gets the people to come back.”

The Pioneer Children’s Memorial at This is the Place Heritage Park was built in 2019. It has 17 stones listing 660 names of children who passed away coming West. The monument is nestled in a quiet, peaceful place in the park. 

“It’s almost like the children are here walking among the names,” Stromberg said. “There is a stream that winds through the memorial and there are always kids who are visiting the park playing in it. And there it is again, the engaging element that is necessary to promote education.”

The State of Utah and the Church of Latter-day Saints commissioned Mahonri M. Young to design and create the This Is the Place monument in 1939. The monument was dedicated in 1947 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the pioneers' entry into the Salt Lake Valley.

The area where the monument stands was previously federal land and was utilized by Fort Douglas during World War II as an artillery proving ground. The state had to submit a bill for Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign granting permission for the state to build the monument. The dedication of the monument was broadcast on NBC nationwide.

What connections does This is the Place Heritage Park have with Holladay?

On July 22, 1847, Green Flake, Hark Wales and his brother Oscar Smith, all enslaved African Americans, forged a road, and drove some of the first pioneer wagons into the Great Salt Lake Valley. They began working the soil and planting the first crops. The following year, Flake completed building a log cabin in the Holladay area for the arrival of his master, James Flake. The log cabin was well built and located about 10 miles from the main settlement in Salt Lake City. The pioneers of the 1847 monument memorial at Heritage Park recognizes Green Flake, Hark Wales, and Oscar Smith for the significant contribution the three men made in the settlement of Utah.  

On July 29, 1847, a group of pioneers known as the Mississippi Company, led by John Holladay, entered the Salt Lake Valley. They discovered a free-flowing, spring-fed stream called Spring Creek (near Kentucky Avenue) within weeks of their arrival. While most of the group returned to Great Salt Lake City (as the city was known then) for the winter, two or three men built dugouts along this stream and wintered over. This became the first village established away from Great Salt Lake City.

This is the Place Heritage Park singers serenaded the crowd during the presentation with a lively country folk tune, “The Big Rock Candy Mountains.” At the conclusion of the presentation, the singers led the visitors down the hall, further singing, to a room filled with Holladay historical artifacts and light refreshments. λ