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< Back Return to Roads Indian Camp Road Indian Camp Road is named in remembrance of the Indian camps that existed here in the 1800s. 1968 view of Indian Tree; the Indians once hung their meat in the tree to dry; photo Dave Montgomery. 2005 view of Indian Tree before it was cut down. Located at 145 Century Dr. 1983 view of Indian Tree from 2nd St.; the tree became a symbol of the Indian camps that use to fill the surrounding meadows; the tree died in about 1997; it was cut down in 2005. 2011 view of the same site pictured above. The Indian Tree was a landmark on 2nd Street for 100 years, symbolizing the former surrounding Indian camps; the tree was located at today’s address of 145 Century Drive. Indians camped here and hung their meat to dry in this tree and others. A large spring was located near the tree and a pond 3 blocks to the north. The tree and surrounding Indian camps were described by four writers over the years. Sarah Stone Crowther (1872- 1963) grew up on today’s Fort Bingham subdivision. She wrote in the 1920s: A very large tree stands on the place and it has been there for fifty years. It is a monstrous tree today measuring around the trunk, and its outspreading branches are a sight to behold, and I am told it is the largest tree in Weber County. Many times my brothers have wanted to cut it down but I have always put up such a fight for it that I have won out and the tree still stands. There used to be another tree like this one in a field below us and many more smaller ones. When I was a little girl about eight years old (1880) great companies of Indians used to come to this spot and camp for weeks at a time. This use to please me. I have always liked the Indians and then they were so peculiar in their mode of living. I have seen five and six wicki-ups planted in between the trees and they always had lots of horses with them. There were always papooses and I was crazy to see them. They use to hang their meat in the trees to dry. They would beg for everything they saw, and sometimes old bucks would get drunk on whiskey and then we were afraid of them for they would quarrel and shoot at each other and someone would have to get an officer of the law to quiet them. They would stay for a few weeks and then they would all go again. One cold autumn day they drove away and left an old Indian woman. She was very old and they left the poor old thing to die. She came up to our house ( 386 West 2nd Street ) and begged for clothes. She was freezing, and she could not see but very little. We asked her why she did not go with the others. She said she was too old and that she must die. They would not have her any more. I do not know what became of her after she left our place. [1] Gwendolyn Shaw wrote in 1928: On West 2nd Street, Ogden, Utah stands an old cottonwood tree which is the largest specimen of its kind that I have ever seen. It towers above and spreads its protecting branches over a tiny log house which was built within the confines of Bingham’s Fort. It has stood unmoved through the changes of time, indifferent to the change of flag and government, the passing of the Indian, the coming of the fur traders and trappers and finally the coming of the Mormon settlers. [2] Mary Elizabeth Hutchens Sherner recalled: There was a huge cottonwood tree in Mr. Gates’ meadow (in the 1860s), not very far from the schoolhouse. The children played under this big tree. It had such huge, outspreading branches that four large swings were hung in it… She also noted that there were Indian encampments on both sides of 2nd Street from Slaterville all the way to the fort. Once during seasonal migrating the road was so crowded with Indians that it was difficult for her parents to drive their wagon on the road ( 2nd St.). [3] In an interview published in the Standard Examiner in 1934 Fred Pierce remembered the Indian camps during the 1880s: “the Indians made their camp in Bingham Fort meadows during the eighties. The Indians were friendly and not quarrelsome. They would come and beg once in a while, but that is all they would bother us. I remember that as a boy I gave one of them a big piece of cake, and he always remembered it and was good to me as long as he lived there. The Indians lived by hunting ducks and geese and fishing and didn’t do much else. I’ve seen them catch carp weighing as much as twenty-five pounds (from Stone’s Pond ).” Respect for Indians Taught in School c. 1865 The teacher, Mrs. Bingham, instructed the children to respect the Indians and “explained that Brigham Young had made a treaty with the Indians (so) that the white people would live at peace with them. That the children must learn to respect the rights of the Indians as the country really belonged to them first, and that the white people were the interlopers and should always treat the Indians with respect, as there were just a handful of white people and many thousands of Indians in the valley. Mary told her father what the teacher had said and he agreed with Mrs. Bingham in everything. He warned the children again not to go into the Indian camps but to keep to the roadways when they left home and to be courteous to the Indians always.” [4] Relics from the Past Ancient Indian arrowheads were plentiful on the Bingham/Stone farm. From 1910 to the 1960s the Stone family filled a shoe box full with arrowheads over the years of plowing the fields. It was easy to see them when plowing with a horse, but a sharp eye could also spot them from the high tractor seat. Sample of arrowheads found in the fields of the Bingham/Sone Farm. [1] - Autobiography of Sarah Stone Crowther, manuscript, typed 1959 by Macel Stone Montgomery, p.1. [2] - Gwendolyn W. Shaw, History of Bingham’s Fort, Weber College, Ogden Utah, manuscript, 1928, p.1 [3] - Editors Dorthy Amelda Sherner and Laura Sherner Welker, Mary Elizabeth-Her Stories, manuscript, 1933, p. 20, 85, 88; Dorthy Amelda Sherner and Laura Sherner Welker, Mary Remembers, p. 101. [4] - Ibid, p.85. Previous Return to Roads Next

< Back 150 West 2nd Street - Bertinotti Return to Homes Michael Bertinotti (1835-1911), arrived in Utah on the railroad in the 1870s. He left behind a daughter born 1872 in Italy named Maria. Michael’s nephew came to Ogden after Michael in about 1878. The Italian population grew rapidly in Ogden after the coming of the railroad. In the 1890s Michael bought the Pierce house, granary and 5 acres of farmland on Old Pioneer Road from his nephew’s estate. In a few years Michael provided the Pierce farmhouse for the home of his widowed sister-in-law, Maria Peraca Bertinotti, and he built a simple board house for himself about 100 feet to the south. So there were now two houses on Old Pioneer Road at the mailing address of 150 W 2nd Street rear, the larger house (the Pierce farmhouse) for Maria and a simple board house for Michael. YESTERDAY: Michael Bertinotti’s board house built in the 1890s, 100 feet south of the old Gillson farmhouse; photo c.1998. YESTERDAY: Gillson farmhouse became home to Maria Peraca Bertinotti in the 1890s; granary in rear; her house and Michael’s house had the same address, 150 W 2nd Street rear; photo 2001. Michael was a farmer and used the granary for storage of farm products. He owned more farm land at the end of 7th Street where the Bertinotti Ditch was named after this Italian family. In 1896 his grown-up daughter, Maria Bertinoti, and her husband, Baptista Maero, arrived from Italy, to join her father in America. In time the Maeros lived at 142 W 2nd Street. In 1897 Maria Peraca Bertinotti’s daughter Anna and her husband Joseph Genta arrived. In addition to the Bertinottis, the Maeros and the Gentas, many other Italian families settled on 2nd Street named Sully, Ionne, Clapier, Notas, and Malin. 2nd Street west of Five Points was known as “Little Italy” by 1900. In addition, the Mastenardis and the Cardons lived at Five Points. Michael Bertinoti died in October 1911; he had resided in Ogden for about forty years and left many relatives behind. His niece, Anna Bertinoti Genta, purchased his two houses, granary and five acres at 150 W. 2nd Street rear in Jan. 1912 for $850. Many families lived in this house simple board house for more than on hundred years. In 2001 Brent Baldwin restored and enlarged Michael Bertinotti’s house, adding wings on each side. Michael Bertinotti’s frame house with two wings added in 2001. TODAY: Michael Bertinotti’s house remodeled by Brent Baldwin; photo 2007. Return to Homes Previous Next

< Back "Fighting Squaw" and "Brother" Return to Native Americans When uninvited guests came in the door… her decorum went out the window… but her husband’s smile was bigger than the house… Mary’s mother, Eliza Hutchens, respected the Indians but didn’t like the ones that stole from them, and many times she told them to go away from her coops when they intended on taking eggs or a hen. Her father, William Hutchens, told his wife to be careful in her dealings with the Indians and to let them have whatever they wanted as they had to be treated with kindness. Her mother said there were some things she couldn’t stand, but that she would try and be more careful. [1] Because it was difficult to provide food, the Indians didn’t take chickens for recreation or pleasure. They had no concept of personal property, and they felt that everything should be shared with those who had less. [2] But they did know it was out of order to take a chicken or grain unless the Chief had made arrangements with William. [3] One day Indian Jack came to William and said he must have some chickens to eat. Her father told Jack he only had a few and they were laying eggs. Jack replied that they needed some for food and it wasn’t the time of year to go into the hills for deer. So, William and Indian Jack went into the coop and Jack was given six chickens. Jack said he would bring William some venison after their hunt. [4] Mary’s mother was known for speaking her mind. One day six Indian men entered the house without knocking, and one Indian threw Charles out of his chair and seated himself in the chair. Eliza was very angry. She grabbed the long-handled fire shovel and hit him and hit the others and told them all to get out and stay out, as she didn’t want them coming in and hurting her little children. The Indians rushed out of the house with her after them. She chased them out of the gate and then shut it. The Indians laughed and went off. They told William about it and ever after called her “Fighting Squaw”. [5] Mary’s father had a mild manner and temperament. William Hutchens learned the Shoshone language, shared his garden, and made the Native Americans welcome to anything he had. Many times, the Indians brought the Hutchens family a jackrabbit, a beaver, a hind quarter of a deer, a mountain sheep, a huge piece of buffalo, serviceberries, elderberries, or other wild fruit gathered in their journeys. [6] One time an Indian came and told William that he wanted his white shirt, his Sunday best that was hanging on a line. William said to the Indian, “But that is my best shirt, and I only have two white ones for Sunday.” The Indian replied, “You say I am your brother. I haven’t any white shirts so if I am your brother you would share with me.” And William gave the Indian the white shirt off the line. [7] The Shoshone were virtuous, pure-hearted people, and many of them had no concept of personal property. After the coming of the white man, it became difficult for them to provide food for their families. But they all shared whatever they had and took care of one another. [8] Uncle Art Tries to Scare Them A story from 1861 told by Mary Hutchens about her Uncle Art. “Fighting Squaw” treated all her guests the same, even her brother…. It was on a Saturday night because Mary, her brother Charles and sister Mel had all had their baths and had been put to bed while her mother washed their clothes. Her Aunt Sarah was staying with them at the time. Mary was still awake, so she must have been the last one to take a bath because she was watching her mother as she worked around the room talking to her Aunt Sarah, as their clothes hung on chairs before the fire in the fireplace drying. All at once, the door opened and a terrible-looking something with a mask crawled into the room. It was dressed in a fringed jacket of buckskin, but it seemed to be incased in a sort of skin tube or sack which extended to the feet, and then its feet protrude it in long fringed moccasins. The mask entirely covered the head; the face was a horrible shape. There were little slits for eyes and the nose was enormous, and the mouth was a wicked grin. Long hair covered the head and fringed the horrible mask face. Back of this crawling, squirming thing crowded several Indians in their fringed suits, and wearing masks also, but their masks were simply pieces of tanned skin in which were slits cut for eyes, nose, and mouth, and the mask was tied at the back of the head with buckskin leases. Mary remembers her mother picking up the fire shovel immediately and raising it as though to strike, saying, “Art that’s you! You get right out of here, and don’t you scare my babies,” and she rushed to meet the intruders. Sure enough, it was Eliza’s brother Art, and he called to her, “Eliza don’t strike me. Can’t you take a little joke?” But he scrambled up, and the Indians helped him out of the door, laughing at Art’s chagrin because his sister had gotten after them and had not been frightened at all. Mary always loved her Uncle Art. [9] William and Eliza Stone Hutchens, “Brother” & “Fighting Squaw”. [1] - Autobiography of Mary Elizabeth Hutchens Sherner, Mary Elizabeth – Her Stories, dictated to her daughter Dorothy A. Sherner, manuscript, 1933, p. 86. [2] - Darren Parry, The Bear River Massacre, Common Consent Press, 2019, p. 17. [3] - Sherner, Mary Elizabeth- Her Stories, p. 91. [4] - Ibid, p. 86. [5] - Ibid, p.88. [6] - Ibid, p. 86. [7] - Biography of William Birch Hutchens, unknown author, manuscript, p. 2, 3. [8] - Parry, The Bear River Massacre, p. 17, 71. [9] - Mary, p. 1. Return to Native Americans Previous [object Object] Next