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 Cemetery Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is in The Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. Approximately 120,000 persons are buried in the cemetery. Many religious leaders and politicians, particularly many leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) lie in the cemetery. It encompasses over and contains 9 miles of roads. It is the largest city-operated cemetery in the United States. The first burial occurred on September 27, 1847, when George Wallace buried his child, Mary Wallace. The burial was two months after the Mormon pioneers had settled the Salt Lake Valley.