Cottonwood Paper Mill

Utah tried to make its own paper here, out of rags. In 1883 the Deseret News built this granite mill at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon to free the Mormon territory from costly eastern newsprint. Feeding it meant rags by the ton — one man, George Goddard, was called on a three-year mission to do nothing but gather them, preaching rag-sermons across the territory. The mill turned out five tons of paper a day until fire took it on April Fool's night, 1893, when many who heard the alarm assumed the whole thing was a prank.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Snowbird — 8.1 mi
  The aerial-tram resort of Little Cottonwood Canyon, with steep terrain, deep snow, and one of the longest seasons in the country.
• This Is The Place Heritage Park — 8.7 mi
  A living history village at the mouth of Emigration Canyon
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 8.8 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood
• Liberty Park — 9.1 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Union Pioneer Cemetery — 2.8 mi
• Mormon Battalion Monument — 2.8 mi
• Camp Tracy — 5.3 mi
• Mormon Pioneer Trail, Centennial Trekkers — 5.6 mi