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Huntsville is one of three small communities comprising what is known as "Ogden Valley," and is the only incorporated town of the three; the other two communities are Eden and Liberty. Huntsville is located twelve miles east of Ogden City up Ogden Canyon. Its elevation is just under 5,000 feet; the 1990 census showed a population of 561 in the town itself. In 1825 Peter Skene Ogden came from the Bear Lake region and camped and trapped in the area. The distinction of being the first white man to set foot in the valley after Utah was settled belongs to Thomas Abbott of Farmington, Utah. He came in 1848 with several companions by way of Weber Canyon and passed on up South Fork and over to the Bear Lake country on a trip of exploration ordered by Brigham Young. The men returned the same way.
In 1854, under the leadership of David Moore and Charles F. Middleton of Ogden, others were sent into the valley by Brigham Young to search for a route to Fort Bridger. They traversed North Ogden Pass with pack animals and one supply wagon, which had to be lowered down by ropes. After exploring the valley, they continued up the South Fork of the Ogden River and returned by the divide into Weber Valley.
In August 1849 Captain Howard Stansbury of the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers passed through Ogden Valley, coming by way of South Fork Canyon. He was impressed with the beauty of the area. In September 1856, cattle were brought into Ogden Valley. Also after three years of hacking away at the brush and timber, Isaac Goodall completed a narrow toll road through Ogden Canyon in November 1860.
In the fall of 1860 seven families went into the valley to cut hay with the view of making a permanent settlement. The settlers consisted of Jefferson Hunt (for whom the town is named), two of his sons, Joseph and Hyrum, Joseph Wood, Charles Wood and his mother, Nathan Coffin and his mother Abigail, Edward Rishton, James Earl, and their families. Others soon followed; however, they found the upper part of the valley occupied by Little Soldier and other Shoshone Indians who soon began to steal stock and otherwise harass the whites. In order to avoid trouble, the settlers followed the advice of Brigham Young to "feed rather than fight the Indians." In order to maintain peace, the whites paid the Indians an annual tax of beeves, flour, and vegetables.
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