Salt Lake County, Utah Utah Territory after traveling what settlers later called Emigration Canyon. Brigham Young, their leader, declared "This is the place" after seeing the valley. Compared to eastern regions, it seemed arid and unpromising to some of the migrants. Settlers used extensive irrigation to develop agriculture and the flourishing, self-sufficient city, known then as Great Salt Lake City. Thousands of Mormons joined them in the next several decades. The county was officially organized on January 31, 1850, with slightly more than 11,000 residents recorded. Mormon settlements were scattered across the valley and beyond. They relocated the territorial capital to Great Salt Lake
First Congregational Church (Salt Lake City, Utah) non-Mormons, as well as to evangelize to the Mormon population. The first worship service that McLeod conducted in Salt Lake City, on 22 January 1865, was the city's first Protestant religious service. McLeod delivered a strong anti-Mormon message in his sermons, attracting large audiences. Soon a congregation was formally organized. At first, services were held in rented space and at Fort Douglas (where McLeod was the military chaplain), but by mid-February the congregation was actively planning to construct a church building of its own. The building project was aided by donations by supporters in California. The church's first permanent home,