Martin Henderson Harris

Martin Henderson Harris was an outstanding pioneer and Harrisville's first permanent settler, first school teacher, and first presiding Elder. A nephew of Martin Harris, a Book of Mormon witness, he served as a missionary to Salmon River and the Eastern States. He was a county road commissioner who surveyed the road through North Ogden Canyon, Ogden Valley, all roads north of the Ogden River, and others in the county. Using a homemade water level, he laid out the Western Irrigation canal. He was among the first to introduce the silk worm industry in the county, and his wife made a famous silk dress exhibited at Pioneer Relic Hall in Ogden. He owned a store. At Farr West he worked as a blacksmith and, with others, operated a sawmill and molasses mill. He was a prominent orchardist, played in the Nauvoo Legion Band and in Utah bands and orchestras, and hauled logs for Harrisville School and the Ogden Tabernacle.

Harrisville, Utah · United States