Old West Mormon Settlers Depicted in Historic 1938 WPA Mural

The settling of the Wild West during the great expansion

period of US History in the middle of the 1800s was greatly
attributed to the leadership of Brigham Young (then
President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Mormons) with the
unparalleled migration of 10,000s of people in search for
religious freedom and protection from mob violence and
persecution in the Eastern and Central US.
The Great Salt Lake region was their, then secluded, capitol but the movement of
these international Mormon pioneers quickly expanded into all of the western
states. The settling process of communities was often accomplished by
inexperienced immigrants looking for new opportunities. The settling of the area
meant the initial arrival of a few folks... then a trickle of people joined them until a
town formed. This was the story of my ancestors in Beaver, Utah... a country filled
with hunting and trapping opportunities.
Such were the beginnings, of Price, Utah in South Central Utah among
the layered tabletop fossil filled desert landscape that worked so well as
the hideout of the famous outlaw Butch Cassidy.
It all began in 1877 when Caleb Rhoades (Rhodes) and Abraham Powell came into
the valley to trap and homestead. It was wild country and the story goes that Powell
was killed by a bear. But within a couple of years family members of the trappers
and other settlers were moving in.

Not long later, with the discovery and refinement of coal as a natural resource, the
area around Price boomed. Once the coal industry began its exploration,
construction of the Denver and Rio Grand railroad began to spread through the
valley in 1881 and Price was set up as a RR station.
It was during this industrial development that Bishop George Frandsen established
the LDS Church organization in 1882. Under the direction of Bishop Frandsen, the

townsite was surveyed, The Price Water Company was formed to bring water to the
townsite and city building construction began including a church building, a school
and a Price City civic building. (1)

In the 93 s Depression Era WPA City Hall of Price City (only 50 years after its
creation), there is a remarkable mural that documents the history of this area and
includes, prominently, the early LDS congregation. The mural is remarkable
because, out in the middle of Billy the Kid country one is surprised to see a quality
mural... and a big one at that!
The panorama historical WPA mural is 4' high and 200' feet long and depicts the life
of the areas original pioneers and cowboys... truly a time capsule of the Old West.
Renown artist, Lynn Fausett, a native of Price, Utah was just the right person in
1938 to pull together this historically accurate mural of his country. The Works
Progress Administration (the name was changed to the Work Projects
Administration a year after it got started) funded a municipal building in Price that
was the perfect place for Fausetts talents and vision for the mural. Based on photos,
entries in archives and his own personal experiences, he planned the composition of
this historical rendering of his town for the mural. Fausett had lived his life among
the buildings in this mural and knew these people. This mural is an authentic
historical record of actual people (whose names are written below their portraits),
buildings, customs and the process of taming the Wild West. The mural is a
documentation of the pioneer settlers, the beginnings of society in the newly
constructed town and the development of the area and its industries.

Price City Hall Lobby

35 years ago my painting conservation career in the USA (I studied and started
working in Italy) started in Utah and Ive known Lynn Fausetts painting style, having
worked on the restoration of his paintings previously and looked at many others.
This mural was considered so well done and so historical that it was a main reason
why the entire WPA funded building was added to the US Register of Historic
Properties, a considerable honor.
City officials began to be aware of the mural looking dingy and flat and water
infiltrations had stained a few hard-to-see areas a few years ago. Bret Cammins, an
affable get-it-done kind of city manager looked for a professional mural restoration
expert to discuss the options. Fine Art Conservation Laboratories is honored to have
been called and entrusted with the health and art restoration of this historical
mural, so important to the City of Price and to the area.
Click on this photo to see the short video of the mural restoration treatments (Give
it a THUMBS UP if you like it!)

The results of the mural conservation treatments were that the deterioration of the
painting was stabilized, it was returned to its best appearance and the mural was
protected for future generations... which should help make some more history. I
love my job. It feels like my work is socially conscious!
Scott M. Haskins, Art Conservator

(1) Utah Division of State History, Markers and Monuments Database

Carbon Tabernacle/Price River Valley

If you would like to know more about our background in mural restoration, see the
other art conservation videos on our YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCemzUslcaXyj4KEx26bnLDw
Scott M. Haskins
Fine Art Conservation Laboratories
(FACL, Inc.)
805 564 3438 office
faclartdoc@gmail.com

To find out more about Price, Utah go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price,_Utah

and http://www.priceutah.net
Link to Art Conservation Lab: http://www.fineartconservationlab.com
If you would like to know more about what you can do to protect and preserve your
original family history items, click on this link for a free copy of Scott M. Haskins
book Save Your Stuff Collection Care Tips, 210 pages with 35 embedded how-to
videos.

Keywords:
mural restoration consultation, WPA Mural, mural conservation, Scott M. Haskins,
art conservation, art restoration, painting conservation, painting restoration,
National Register of Historic Sites, Price Utah, Lynn Fausett, Fine Art Conservation
Laboratories, Bishop George Frandsen