The Riverton area was first known as home to the Yo No Indians, who lived along the Jordan River and used trails stretching from Utah Lake, where various tribes wintered, to Bear Lake, where they gathered in summer; they were credited for the free use of their byways, exchange of leather goods and furs, relinquishing lands, and a generally friendly attitude. Four forts west of the river were built but were never seriously needed for protection: Wight's Fort near the Oquirrh Mountains, English Fort at the Bennion Cemetery site, Fort Herriman, and Cedar Fort. Riverton grew from settlers who came to wrest a living from harsh land, many spending their first year in dugouts along the Jordan River as the Yo No had done. In 1855, Abraham Hunsaker, a convert from Illinois and member of the Mormon Battalion, moved his herds across the river to join Jesse Beckstead and Samuel and Thomas Butterfield, who were already grazing there; Hunsaker was the first man to own land and divert water, while Archibald Gardner was the first to live there and became the largest landowner, leading the area to be called Gardnersville for many years before Judge Charles Smith later named it Riverton. Between 1850 and 1881, most efforts to bring water to the land were inadequate, though some succeeded, and the fertile soil supported a permanent and expanding settlement whose economy was strengthened by sheep, cattle, alfalfa, beets, minerals, poultry, and dry farming. A major step in the community's growth came on August 8, 1886, when the Riverton Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized with 138 members and Orrin P. Miller as its first bishop. Plans soon began for a new meeting house designed by Richard W. Kletting and built by contractor Willard C. Burgon. Construction of the domed church began in 1899 on a two-acre site at 12800 South Redwood Road donated by Thomas P. Page, and the building, bearing the inscription "Holiness To The Lord" over the front door, could be seen from long distances. On January 21, 1900, Bishop Miller became stake president and Gordon S. Bills was ordained bishop of the 346-member ward. The lower part of the building was in use by 1908, and despite financial hardships it was finally paid for and dedicated on December 20, 1920, at a cost of about $25,000.00 plus much donated labor and materials. Because of its high ceilings and the resulting maintenance and heating problems, the church was razed in 1940 after only 30 years of use. Also gone were the brick kiln, Tithing Yard, molasses mill, flour mill, harness shop, the Commercial Building and dance hall built by Daniel Densley, and the Salt Lake and Utah Railroad, also called the Orem Commuter Line, which operated from 1914 to 1945.