Archives West Finding Aid

In January of 1891 several prominent sheep ranchers in northern Utah joined together to form the Deseret Live Stock Company in order to promote "stock raising, slaughtering, butchering, mercantile business, and other commercial enterprises in the Territory of Utah and other states of the U.S." The newly organized company--consisting of over 28,000 sheep, a few horses, and miscellaneous equipment--was valued at $90,000. In all there were ninety-five investors in the enterprise, however, control of the company rested principally in the hands of the Moss and Hatch families.

The company prospered, and after only six months of operation declared a ten percent cash dividend to stockholders. As profits climbed, the company enlarged its sheep herd to more than 50,000 and also began raising cattle as well. The increase in livestock was accompanied by an increase in the purchase of land for grazing, lambing, shearing, and raising crops. Numerous purchases of land were made in Utah's Rich and Morgan counties from the Union Pacific Railroad, the State of Utah, and private individuals.

The greatest period of land acquisition occurred following America's entry in World War I. Due to the demand for wool, beef, and mutton by the government, the Deseret Live Stock Company reaped massive profits, making available large amounts of money which was in turn used to purchase several needed ranches in 1917 and 1918. The first purchase was that of the Iosepa Ranch in Skull Valley. This property cost $150,000 and provided land for agricultural purposes, as well as giving the company a base for its winter operations. The company next bought out one of its neighbors along the Wyoming border, paying $275,000 for the holdings of the Neponset Land and Livestock Company. This provided Deseret Live Stock with a number of acres of irrigated farm land as well as a large ranch house. Before the ink was barely dry on the Neponset contract, the company bought the property of Thomas Jones for $250,000. This acquisition expanded the Deseret Live Stock lands into Wyoming for the first time. These and other purchases made the company the largest land-owning ranch in the state, with a total of 220,000 acres under its control.

The merchandizing efforts of the Deseret Live Stock Company were centered primarily at Woods Cross, Utah, where a company store was established. The store opened for business in 1891 in order to supply the needs of the company, its stockholders, and the public. Operating under the motto "If we haven't got it, we'll get it," the store returned profits regularly for over thirty years. However, in the 1920s problems developed and profits shrank. The store's decline was attributed to poor management and the overextension of credit, especially to stockholders and their families. Company officials belatedly replaced the manager in an effort to make the store a profitable operation, but all efforts proved fruitless. The store continued its downward slide, floundering in a sea of red ink until the Depression caused it to close its doors in 1933.

After years of high profits and regular dividends, the opening years of the 1930s wrought many changes upon the Deseret Live Stock Company. Seemingly overnight the bottom dropped out of the livestock industry, causing sheep and cattle to be valued at less than one-third their 1929 prices. From 1930 to 1938 the company was unable to pay dividends to it s stockholders, despite a drastic reduction in operating expenses. At this low point in the company's history several dominant figures among the directors passed away and a new general manager, Walter Dansie, was appointed. With the aid of government loans and the reduction of the sheep and cattle herds, Mr. Dansie was able to start the company along the road to financial recovery. It was not, however, until the coming of World War II and its resultant demand for wool, beef, and mutton, that the Deseret Live Stock Company began showing sizable profits and dividends once again.

Riding the wave of postwar prosperity, the Deseret Live Stock Company attempted to expand its operations and created the Deseret Salt Company. Unfortunately, the salt business proved unprofitable and was eventually abandoned by the parent organization. During the early 1950s the company lost its grazing rights to much of the government land it had been leasing near Dugway, Utah. This necessitated the purchase of property near Pilot Peak in eastern Nevada for a winter grazing area, spreading the company's holdings across three states. During this same period a "syndicate" of Utah businessmen bought up large quantities of the company's stock, and eventually gained control. The new board of directors continued to raise sheep and cattle on a large scale, but they were also interested in developing any mineral deposits on the property.

After two decades of continued prosperity, the syndicate attempted to sell their holdings in the Deseret Live Stock Company to the State of Utah for $8.5 million. The proposed sale created quite a controversy in the state, and after a stormy debate the bill was narrowly defeated in the state legislature. Following the state's refusal to buy, the company was soon sold to a foreign investor, Mr. Joseph Hotung, with the provision that the previous owners retain the mineral rights to most of the land. By 1976 it was determined that much of the company's property was located over potentially rich oil and gas reserves, and drilling operations were expected to tap large pools of oil.