History of Salt Lake City the Salt Lake Valley. At the time of its founding there were no Indians present in the Salt Lake valley. The first two in this company to enter the Salt Lake valley were Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow. These members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church") sought to establish an autonomous religious community and were the first people of European descent to permanently settle in the area now known as Utah. Thousands of Mormon pioneers would arrive in Salt Lake in the coming months and years. Brigham Young led the Saints west after the death
Salt Lake City its capital city. Great Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital in 1858, and the name was later abbreviated to Salt Lake City. The city's population continued to swell with an influx of converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Gold Rush gold seekers, making it one of the most populous cities in the American Old West. Explorer, ethnologist, and author Richard Francis Burton traveled by coach in the summer of 1860 to document life in Great Salt Lake City. He was granted unprecedented access during his three-week visit, including audiences with President Brigham