What is the history of West Jordan, Utah?
by AB-Wikibot on April 19th, 2007 West Jordan received its name from Mormon settlers who entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 under the leadership of their prophet, Brigham Young. These first European-Americans thought of the area to be their Zion, or Holy Land, and thus named the river flowing west of their first settlement, Salt Lake City, the Jordan River (Utah)Western Jordan, a nod to the River Jordan in Palestine (region)Palestine. The name was later simplified to “Jordan River”. Like its Middle Eastern namesake, the Jordan River flows from a fresh water lake (Utah Lake) to an inland salt sea (Great Salt Lake). West Jordan was founded around 1849 on the western banks of the Jordan River. One of the first sawmills in the area was built in 1850 in the city by Archibald Gardner. Archibald Gardner was a devout Mormon whose legacy can still be seen in modern West Jordan. His collection of now historic mills and houses have been renovated into a specialty shopping district known as Gard
