The towns shared the National post office and school house and the Consumer's hospital and amusement hall. Each camp had a store and central tap where the residents filled five gallon containers with water. Block houses were built in 1930 for mine officials. The company homes and large apartment houses were the only dwellings with indoor plumbing.

In the early 1930s, the three camps formed a medical association administered by a committee comprised of company and union personnel. The association charged $l.50 per month for a man with a family and $1 per month for a single man. Money was automatically, taken out of the miners' wages to pay for the company doctor, nurse, medical bills, office expenses and medicine. Surgical items were usually extra.

The Sweets mine was located southwest of National. For many years, Sweets consisted of tents and a population of 200. The Sweets mine closed temporarily in 1937, but reopened during World War II.

Consumer's coal camp, first named Gibson, was located at the north fork of Gordan Creek. Arthur Gibson began to prospect for coal during the winter of 1921. In spring 1922, he located a nine-foot seam and with other miners, hauled 34 carloads of coal to the Wildcat Siding on Utah Railway.

With financial backing, Consumers Mutual Coal Company was formed and the name of the town was changed to Consumers.

National closed in the late 1940s, followed by Consumers and Sweets in the early 1950s. In the 1940s, the upper Gordon Creek sites were purchased by Hudson Coal Company. Hudson eventually leased the land to modern mining companies.

Written by Layne Miller - printed in the 1997 Energy a publication of The Sun Advocate - Emery County Progress February, 1997

SWEETS POSTOFFICE

The preceeding article states that "the towns (National, Consumers and Sweets) shared the National Post Office". In the following information received from Enid Seaton Ruoff we learn that Sweets did have their own post office for a time. This information is taken from a microfilm copy of the National Archives.

The National Post office was established on 2 Apr 1920 and on the 10 Oct 1921 the establishment was discontinued. It was re-established on the 16 May 1928 and was still in use on the 18 Apr 1931 when Monroe A. Carlson took over as the postmaster.

Consumers also had a post office that was established on 14 Aug 1925. It was still in use on the 16 January 1928 when Frank J. Schmidt became the postmaster.

The post office of Sweet Mine was established on the 26 Jan 1927 and Herbert Tomlinson was made the postmaster. Following Tomlinson, Stacy McPherron became the postmistress on 5 Jan 1928 and Joshua Seaton took over on the 21 June 1928. William B. Seaton (photo at right) became the postmaster on 23 May 1935 and served until the 25 Sept 1941 when the post office was discontinued and then the towns did share the National Post Office.

The history of Kenilworth dates back to 1904. In the early spring of that year, Heber J. Stowell, a resident of Spring Glen, was hunting horses in the mountains northeast of his home when he spotted large outcroppings of coal. He showed the coal samples to Wade H. Lawley of Price, and the two men decided to begin prospecting. They discovered three workable coal beds, positioned one above the other. These became known as the Aberdeen, Royal Blue, and Kenilworth beds respectively.

Stowell and Lawley began mining operations in Bull Hollow, just northeast of the present town, but found access to difficult. They climbed about hafway up the mountain and opened a new entrance to the coal veins. Eventually a steep tram was built to this entrance. The company formed was the Western Coal and Coke Company. In February 1906, the Eastern Utah Advocate reported that two men were at work on the Wade-Lawley prospect. Other mining companies had started adjoining mines.

Stowell built a wagon road to the workings, hauling water from Price River. By December of 1906, the Independent Coal and Coke Company, a Wyoming corporation, bought the Aberdeen mine, also the properties of the adjacent Price Trading Company. It was reported that forty men were employed by this new company. By 1 January 1907, grading from Bull Hollow, a point about four miles distant from Helper, had commenced to connect with the Rio Grande main line tracks near Helper.

The Independent Coal & Coke Company reported securing 160 acres of land, where tipples, coke ovens, and a townsite were to be located. The Aberdeen property consisted of a tunnel two hundred feet in length through which wagons were driven and loaded in a large chamber which could hold 30 wagons at a time, and that there was 300 tons of slack on the floor that had been ground out by the wagon wheels. "It is affirmed that a man can stand on the spring seat of a wagon and yet not be able to touch the coal overhead with his hand, " a news article reported.

A slump in the coal market in that year (1907) slowed the growth of the new town, but by 1 October 1908 a contract to supply naval ships with coal made the future brighter, and Superintendent C. H. Stevenson requested that the company hire an additional 30 men. Boarding houses replaced the tents that the men were living in. Also erected were cottages, a Greek coffeehouse, a Boy Scout hall which was also used by the Italians for dances, and a saloon. Three apartment houses were also built; one for the colored workmen, one for the Japanese workers, and one for the remainder of the workers.

School was first held in a cottage, then a school house was erected across the street from the cottage. When this school building overflowed, classes were held in the auditorium while remodeling of the school took place. Students attended this school up to the eighth grade, then were bused to Spring Glen and Price to finish junior and senior high school.

On Saturday, 4 February 1911, violence erupted at Kenilworth. Some of the workers alleged that the company was "short-weighing" coal. This was denied by the company officials and the complaining "foreigners" were fired. Two men were killed: Elias Jackson, a deputy sheriff and a watchman for the company, and a Greek rioter, Steve Kolozakis.

Unionization at Kenilworth took place in February 1919. The Sun in Price reported "Kenilworth Unionized". The short article said a union organizer, John McLennon, claimed the complete organization of the camp at Kenilworth.

By the early thirty's, a third tipple had been built, also a new hospital, tennis courts, and "New Town". The town became a showplace among coal camps. Perched high in the mountains above Castle Valley, Kenilworth still looks on the world around it.

Written by Frances Blackham Cunningham for Kenilworth Day, Saturday, 27 August 1988.

Additional information about Kenilworth donated by Frances Cunningham.

Mining in the Kenilworth area began in 1898 when the Price Trading Company, the first general store in the community of Price, launched a coal-producing enterprise in that area. Kenilworth, however, did not exist until 1907, when Independent Coal and Coke Company founded its Kenilworth mine, and started the company town of Kenilworth to go with it. This mine extracted coal from three different seams.

The Kenilworth community was an excellent example of the lengths that coal operators had to go to in order to mine their product. Roads had to be built; schools and churches built; and even the power supply had to be arranged.

From 1906 until 1912, Independent's Kenilworth mine was powered by steam from burning coal. Then from 1912 until 1917, the company operated its own generators. Finally, in 1917, the Kenilworth mine was connected with the Utah Power and Light system.

Other major mining operations in this area were Independent's Aberdeen and Royal Blue mines, as well as the Milburn mine (1936-1949) and the Arronco mine.

THE COMPANIES CONSOLIDATE

The periodic booms and busts of the Utah coal industry proved to be too difficult for many of the smaller operators to weather. The first major slump came with the advent of oil and diesel fuel before World War II. The war years brought renewed prosperity to the mining industry as the Independent Coal and Coke Company produced more than a million tons of coal annually. However, production in the coal fields slumped again in the 1950's. The post-World War II years brought many changes. Independent Coal and Coke bought out the Utah Fuel Company holdings and merged the Kenilworth and Castle Gate No. 2 mines into a single entity in 1961. In 1972, the merged Castle Gate - Kenilworth mine was closed because of economic conditions.

Additional information about Kenilworth can be found by reading "I Owe My Soul" an Architectural and Social History of Kenilworth, Utah by Wayne L. Balle (Utah Historical Quarterly - summer 1988 vol 56 no 3 page 250)

In 1904, Heber Stowel of Spring Glen discovered coal outcroppings while looking for stray horses. By 1906, Independent Coal & Coke Company (IC&C) was incorporated and took over the operations, mining three seams of coal.

One of the few original company towns, Kenilworth has since become a private residential community. Gone are the mine, tipple and other coal operation buildings. The mountain has been reclaimed, but the steep tramway where coal was brought down 700 feet to the tipple below is still visible.

The inside rails on the tramway were gauged 30 inches apart. Miners had wooden shoes or sleds made to fit over the rails, enabling them to travel quickly down the mountainside.

In the early days, the coal miners and their families had to purchase all their goods from the company store. The store porch and steps served as a visiting and gathering place for town's people, old and young alike.

By the early 1960s, it became much easier to mine Kenilworth coal from Castle Gate's side of the mountain. Kenilworth mine was eventually closed and the company sold the houses to private individuals.

Written by Layne Miller - printed in the 1997 Energy a publication of The Sun Advocate - Emery County Progress February, 1997

Known as "hi-heat," the coal was of excellent quality and demand for the mine's output in 1919 covered the greater portion of the western states. By 1919, 60 houses had been built along with a boarding house and store, followed by a school house in 1921.

The Rains residents, numbering 500 or fewer, were friendly and generous. Town life included dances, home talent shows, social affairs and school fundraising events. Trips to the larger towns of Helper and Price highlighted special occasions.

Written by Layne Miller - printed in the 1997 Energy a publication of The Sun Advocate - Emery County Progress February, 1997

Both mining operations sites were initially opened in 1912. Frederick Sweet opened a rich seam of coal on the mountainside about 1/4 of a mile north of the town site. In 1914, about 200 tons of coal were mined daily. By 1932, 2000 tons per day were being produced.

In 1920, Utah Railway was constructed from Helper, improving coal transportation from the district. The coal companies in the canyon claimed that the existing railroad line, owned by competitor Denver & Rio Grande, handicapped tonnages via inadequate transportation facilities.

Standardville became a model for other coal camps. It had modern houses, steam heated apartments, a hospital, general store, butcher shop, recreation hall, tennis courts, ball field and a public school. The school was from grades one to six; junior high students attended school at Latuda. Eventually, older students were transported by bus to Helper Junior High and Carbon High School. In 1930 Standardville's population was 504, reaching 550 at its peak.

During the 1940s, most of the easily available coal had been mined out. Expenses increased as miners penetrated farther into the mountain and the mine closed in 1954.

Written by Layne Miller - printed in the 1997 Energy a publication of The Sun Advocate - Emery County Progress February, 1997

In 1875, George Matson, Phil Beard and John Nelson of Springville started taking the first coal from a five foot vein. The coal was loaded in sacks, placed on mules and taken down the mountain to waiting wagons. Coal claim owners Milan Packard and Myron Crandall drove the wagons to Springville.

During the winter of 1875-76, John Nelson and Abram Taylor wintered at the mine site, holding the claims for the the owners. The area was subsequently dubbed Winter Quarters. The name was reinforced by Sanpete coal miners who leased the site from Pleasant Valley Coal Company and were stranded there during the winter of 1877-1878.

In spring, 1876, Pleasant Valley Coal Company was incorporated, with Milan Packard as president. Packard formed Pleasant Valley Railroad Company in 1877 and construction of a railroad line from Springville to Pleasant Valley began. The line was called "Calico Road" because workers were paid mostly in goods, especially calico cloth.

In 1922, Rio Grande Western purchased the Utah and Pleasant Valley railroads and Pleasant Valley Coal Company's mines. The Rio Grande Western Railroad and its subsidiary, Utah Fuel Company, played an important role in the development of Carbon County's coal mining and history.

On May 1, 1900, an explosion occurred in the No. 4 mine, killing 200 men and boys. The youngest victim was 13 years old; 105 women were widowed and 270 children left fatherless. Scofield cemetery markers show the burial sites of many victims and several large monuments honor the miners' memory.

Winter Quarters is located on private property and permission should be obtained before touring the area.

Written by Layne Miller - printed in the 1997 Energy a publication of The Sun Advocate - Emery County Progress February, 1997

Winter Quarters

The valley was called Pleasant Valley; a few early pioneers had built cabins along the valley floor and grazed their cattle here. It was pleasant and peaceful until about 1875 when coal was discovered. When reports of this reached the settlers of Fairview, Sanpete County a Welsh coal miner led a group of twelve men and one woman up and over the mountain into Carbon County. They built a road, opened a small mine and began hauling coal to the settlements in Sanpete County. Their camp was pitched in Lettle Gulch where the Wasatch Store now stands. But Winter came early and they were stranded in the mountains that first winter. They almost froze to death. Because of this they named this camp "Winter Quarters". Several groups of miners from Sanpete County soon established claims to these deposits. The coal had to be hauled by horse and wagon over a 9300 foot mountain or down the natural course of the canyon to Soldier Summit and on down the Spanish Fork Canyon also by horse and wagon. By 1877 hundreds of miners came and a town was built. It became Utah's first commercial coal town. Though the need for coal was great there was little profit to be made. Wagons pulled by two and four horse teams came from Springville for the coal the round trip took four days and sold for $4.00 to $5.00 per ton. There was now a great need to find a way to get a better way to market.

A Mr. Milan Packard, a freighter and merchant from Springville could see the need for a railway to these newly discovered coalfields. So, he sponsored and financed the building of a narrow gauge railroad from the Union Pacific tracks in Springville to Winter Quarters. He was his own contractor and hired many sub-contractors. It was a great undertaking for the amount of money that was available. Merchandise was given from Mr. Packard's store as part of the men's pay. Calico was the prized cotton material, store bought material used for clothing at that time. So, many of the workers took calico as pay, so, it was called the "Calico Railroad." But officially it was named the Utah and Pleasant Valley Railroad. The trains pulled 12 five ton cars.

This was used until 1883 when the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad bought it. Utah Fuel Company a subsidiary of the D&RG took over the town and mine at this time. But it was still called the Pleasant Valley Mine. The trains now became longer and the cars were larger they now held 15 tons. By 1900 there were almost 2000 families living here. Christian Nelson, a relative was the Railmaster for the D&RG. His office was on the upper floor of the Wasatch Store.

Utah Fuel brought in experienced Chinese laborers to drive a new tunnel, which they did. But shortly after the white laborers took the law into their own hands. One day they herded the Chinese into a boxcar, locked the doors and started the car down the canyon. The boxcar somehow stayed on the tracks until it stopped. The Chinese never came back. It was 10:20 AM, 1900 and it was Dewey Day in honor of Admiral George Dewey who had defeated the Spanish at Manila Harbor in the Philippines two years earlier. A blast went off that shook the whole town many thought it came from the celebration. A big celebration and dance had been planned for that evening at the Odd Fellows Hall at Scofield. But it was soon determined that the explosion came from the #4 Mine. It was what they called a coal dust explosion. A miner accidentally ignited a keg of black powder, which ignited the coal dust throughout the mine, which in turn ignited 23 other kegs of powder. 100 men in the #4 mine were killed by the force of the explosion and the intense heat. Carbon monoxide spread to the #1 mine killing 99 more men. 7 were injured. 103 men escaped the after-damp in the #1. Jack Wilson and his mule were blown 820 feet across the canyon, the mule was killed but he recovered. 199 men in all were killed with more than half of them burnt to a crisp. Some families lost two or three members. 150 were buried in the Scofield Cemetery the rest were sent to other towns for burial.

In those days a miner was given a 25-pound keg of powder for blasting. It was carried to his work place. A pick was used to punch a hole in one end. Two to three pounds of powder was then poured into a cartridge that made from an old newspaper. This was done with the light from their oil lamp burning on their cap and quite often with a lighted pipe or cigarette in their mouth. There was little or no ventilation either if there was it was furnace ventilation.

In time the burning parts of the mine were sealed off. I don't know if the fires were ever completely extinguished but in a year or two the mine was reopened and produced coal for another 28 years. There is still coal there but it is an inferior quality and too deep to profitably mine.

Many of my wife’s family came to Carbon County to work in the mines. The Nielson's were farmers from Richfield, Sevier County, Utah who came to Spring Glen in 1898 and later to Winter Quarters in 1902, the Hall's were coal miners from England who came to Winter Quarters in 1904 and the Houghton's also coal miners from England came to Castle Gate in about 1905 or 1906.

As luck would have our family missed the Winter Quarters explosion. Tommy Hall was the first family member to be killed in the mines. He was killed here in 1911.

The Pleasant Valley ward of the LDS Church was started in about 1880 under the direction of the Sanpete Stake (later this became Carbon County), David Williams was its first Bishop. Thomas J. Parmely was the Bishop from 1888 to about 1920. And John L. Parry was the bishop until Winter Quarters ceased to exit, about seven years. While some family members became quite religious and stayed with the Church others lost it when tempted by the many saloons and evils of the camps. T.J. Parmely also served as superintendent of the Winter Quarters mine for twenty five-years.

Many of the houses were taken down to Scofield, some were sawed into and taken to Castle Gate and elsewhere. You could see the saw marks in Helen Nielson Houghton's home until it was refinished. This home was later moved to Helper in one piece when Castle Gate was dissolved. The schools, churches, saloons and other buildings were torn down. I have been told that the rock on some of walls of the Wasatch Store was even hauled away for other buildings in the area.

The site where Winter Quarters once stood is hard to find. You must leave the oiled road and drive up an old dirt road for about 3/4s of a mile to a locked gate with a "NO Trespassing" sign on it. Where about a half of a mile away you can see where two walls of the Wasatch Store still stands. There is no other sign of anything else standing. Come there on a foggy day and see the two stone walls visible threw the fog and it will look to you as it did to me, like a Ghost Town, ghosts and all.

Was named for a unique rock formation that looks like a castle, as you approached this formation from either direction you had the impression that the Gods were opening or closing a way through the mountain just for you. Some idiot from the Utah Department of Transportation blew one side of the Castle off so the road could be widened.

The #1 Castle Gate mine opened in about 1886. It opened after the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad ran their tracks over the mountain from Springville. A mine producing high quality coal.

The first houses for their employees were old boxcars provided by the railroad. In time homes and buildings were built as more people came. By 1914 it was incorporated as a town. It was a Company Town. Utah Fuel / D&RG owned the ground and all the houses and buildings. The store was also called the Wasatch Store here too and you had to buy from it or lose your job.

At 8:30 a.m. 8 March, 1924 there was another disaster, another explosion was felt. The heavy iron doors of the #2 Mine was blown over the mountain. It cost the lives of 173 miners and many were injured. Exploding coal dust and methane gasses also caused this explosion. Jack Thorpe, father of Jack Thorpe, mine inspector (relative on Hall family) was killed as he entered the mine. His wife, Eva had a dream of this: Eva dreamed about this ball of fire that shot many streamers of fire to all her neighbors. When the last streamer of fire hit their house she screamed, "Jack your going to burn," and he did. The two worst mine disasters in Utah history were at the properties owned by Utah Fuel.

Jobs were found for many of our family here at Castle Gate when Winter Quarters was shut down. Charles Houghton was given an outside job when his thumb was cut off and reattached. Joe Nielson resumed his work in the Wasatch Store. Utah Fuel seemed like a good employer but history reveals a much darker side of the industrial revolution that was sweeping the country. Utah passed many laws to encourage new industries. Utah even to this day has never passed any law to ever restrict freedom of the mine owners to control its workers. Federal laws and the courts have been the only means that the miners have secured some degree of justice. Safety and wages ( the need for pay increase or to stop the companies from cutting pay) every so often has caused the miners to rebel and strike It has taken many bitter strikes and much suffering to force the companies and the State to recognize Unions. But Utah lawmakers has weakened the unions right to organize and strike in every way possible. That is why Utah mines are still so unsafe (4 times more dangerous in 1996) and the pay is much lower here than in other states.

Oh, there were some grand battles, I can still remember the cars tipped over and fires in the streets to block the roads. And of listening to the tales of the fights in the mountains with guns and blasting powder. It all started when strikers would be fired and their families and all belongings were thrown out of their homes and into the streets. Scabs would move into their homes and hundreds of gunmen were brought in from Colorado, Idaho and Montana to protect and escort the scabs to work. Seeing their jobs taken would anger the old workers. Fights would soon take place. Eventually a striker would be shot, then scabs would be shot. The State Militia would be called to establish martial law and sharpshooters would shoot at the strikers hiding in the hills. I can still remember the metal tank on rails that protected the Company gunmen while they shot at the strikers. And the intense hatred of the Bingham people who opposed these lawless company gunmen (hoodlums with no one to answer to). Labor agents were sent to Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Mexico and elsewhere for cheap labor. The English were preferred because they were skilled miners. Mormons and whites also done well because of the Church owned mines and control of government. My family came from Finland and took part in these strikes and suffered during these hard times. Then there were the minorities from Central Europe who were so abused by the companies were the first to join Unions. Some even came as scabs and in time became strikers because of injustice. There was no tolerance for race or religion in those days. When their husbands were locked in box-cars, pest houses or in jail the wives and daughters would march the streets and man the picket lines. The emigrant’s Old World customs, beliefs and religion caused them to be scorned both by the Mormons and the company.

There is a lot of mining going on in Carbon County but they are using more machinery and fewer people. We still have family members that are part of it. Federal Laws and Unions have given them a safer job with a better life and a pension if they live long enough. The people have learned to tolerate and enjoy each other. They are no longer separated by racial or ethnic groups like they were in my day. The diversity of its people makes Carbon County a most enjoyable place to go. Its also getting harder to find a good family restaurant serving ethnic food.

As written by Nels Nelson for Jane Hopkinson.

Thirty years ago there was no Sunnyside. However, there used to be a place called Sunnyside down along the railroad close to Mounds. When the present Sunnyside was christened, they thought the other evidently did not have much “side” to it as it was located out in the open prairie, so Sunnyside was moved up to this high “mountain side." This canyon was known as the Whitmore Canyon, the creek running down here is known on the map as Grassy Trail Creek. The trail leading up the canyon at that time was used by sheep and cattlemen to drive their herds to and from the summer range. For a number of years, George Whitmore held possession of the canyon and a big portion of the land below the canyon known today as the Whitmore Farm.

Much of the land Whitmore held he had no title to. So about 1900 or before, other parties came in and filed on some of the land that was held by him before. Jefferson Tidwell of Wellington took the land where the Sunnyside mine was first opened. I remember the log cabin that Mr. Tidwell used to live in. It was located close to where the railroad water tank now stands. The company used the cabin for years to store sawdust for tamping in the mine. It was removed a few years ago and there is no sign of it now.

In 1899 the railroad was built from Mounds to Sunnyside, and from that time the development of the Sunnyside mines was commenced under the management of John Sharp and supervision of J. G. Williams. J. Sharp was local superintendent, Daniel Herrington engineer, Ray Gibson-chief clerk, Robert Forester-geologist. The mine foreman when I first came here was John Crawford. A man by the name of Thomas was master mechanic and Arthur Gibson was outside foreman. This was the official family at that time.

During the summer of 1900 there were 20 one and a half story houses built and most of the people were living in tents scattered allover the canyon where Sunnyside now stands. These first 20 houses and a few individual houses were finished by the last of September. The first Of October there were a few masons sent from Castle Gate to Sunnyside to build foundations for 20 more houses and I was one among them. That was my first trip to Sunnyside. In 30 days we had finished the work and were laid off for the winter. I went back to Castle Gate.

In the early part of 1902 they commenced building coke ovens. During that summer and fall the first 200 ovens were completed. The ring walls and domes of the first four ovens were built by Adolph Axelsen, John Hox, Lefe Hox and myself. By July 4 there were 50 ovens started. This was the starting point of the coke industry in Sunnyside. At intervals additional ovens were built; and as the ovens and miners increased their output, additional houses were built to accommodate the increasing working force until the number of houses was almost 400. The total number of ovens built were 819 of the Beehive type. One rectangular or pusher type was built a couple of years ago for experimental purposes. In 1918 when all these 819 ovens were in operation, it took about 2500 tons of coal per day. So the output from the mine had to be 3000 tons per day for 6 days to keep the ovens running 7 days per week.

Following are some of the church activities. In nearly all instances where an industry is developed and a number of workmen are gathered together, there is usually a number of Latter-Day-Saint (or Mormon) people there also. And one of' the first things that they try to get is ward organizations where they can attend to their religious duties. So, the people that came to Sunnyside were no exception, for their aim was turned in that direction and soon put into action. In January of' 1900, Sunnyside Branch was organized with John Potter as President of the Branch. Later in the same year, July 17, Sunnyside Ward was organized with John Potter as Bishop, B .M. V. Gould as first counselor, Samuel Naylor as, second counselor, and Albert McMullen as ward clerk. At this time they had no meeting house but held meetings in a tent located about where the meeting house presently stands.

But, it did not take long for the brethren and sisters to get together and make contributions for the purpose of building a house where they could meet. And as I understand, several of the brethren donated as high as $50 each to the building and with a united effort it took them only a short time before the meeting house was built. The building was finished in the latter part of 1900 but not dedicated until it was fully paid for on July 24, 1904. The following members of the Stake Presidency came to dedicate the building: Ruben J. Miller-Stake President, John H. Pace and Henry Mathis-counselors, and Arthur W. Horsley-Stake Clerk. The following brethren of the General Authorities were out from Salt Lake: Apostle John W. Taylor, George H. Brimhal. An account of the expenditures for the building was given by the Bishopric which amounted to $1800. The dedicatory prayer was offered by President R. J. Miller.

At the time of the organization of the branch, the Relief Society was first organized in Sunnyside with Shara Tidwell, President with Ruth Lidell and Mary Ann Coombs as counselors. The first Sunday School in Sunnyside was organized the last Sunday in January 1900 with George H. Richard as President, Samuel Naylor as first counselor, Bryant McMuellen as second counselor, Hannah Tidwell as secretary and Mildred Lidell as treasurer. Albert O. McMullen was the first Young Men's Mutual President and Della Gibson was the first Young Ladies' president. Hannah Powell was the first Primary President with Anna McMullen as first counselor and Anna Davis as second counselor

At the time when the ward was organized, there were 220 members which was considerably increased. I believe that between 1914 and 1918 was the high peak of membership in the Sunnyside ward. In 19l8 was the high peak of population with close to 3000 people. So from 19l8 until now it has been declining and still is.

The first district school was held in the meeting house during the winter of 1900. Joseph F. Darius and Louretta Anderson were the teachers. In 1901 the first school house was built and located in the same place where the school now stands, being close to the main road. George R. Richard was the first postmaster in Sunnyside.