Editing Coalville, Utah (section)

==History==
[[Image:Coalville c. 1879.jpg|thumb|left|Coalville circa 1879|alt=]]
[[File:Allen House Coalville Utah.jpeg|left|thumb|[[Thomas L. Allen House]]]]

Coalville originally began as a settlement known as '''Chalk Creek.''' In 1853, Mormon Church president Brigham Young awarded hundreds of acres of farmland to trailblazer and trusted bodyguard "Return" Jackson Redden. Redden first visited the valley around 1846 while scouting trail ahead of advance Mormon pioneers. The first recorded settlement was Redden's ranch, spanning from 100 N. Main Street to beyond the Coalville City Cemetery where he is buried. In 1854, the territorial government in Utah offered a $1000 reward to anyone who could find coal within 40 miles of Salt Lake City. Four years later, Redden and associate Thomas Rhodes found a coal vein in the Chalk Creek area, and coal mining began in earnest.<ref>Thompson, Norma Eileen Pyper, A Community Study of Coalville, Utah 1859-1914, pg 42 and 47 - as quoted at {{cite web|url=http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html|title=Coalville - Summit County Utah Historical Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510062822/http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html|archive-date=2009-05-10|access-date=2008-02-20}}</ref> Hundreds of tons of coal were shipped to Salt Lake City, and soon a narrow gauge railroad was built.<ref>Peterson, Marie Ross and Pearson, Mary M., Echoes of Yesterday, Daughters of Utah Pioneers of Summit County 1947, pg 89 - as quoted at {{cite web|url=http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html|title=Coalville - Summit County Utah Historical Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510062822/http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html|archive-date=2009-05-10|access-date=2008-02-20}}</ref> The settlement was then renamed Coalville, as a result of this early success.

Coalville was officially founded by William Henderson Smith, an early [[Mormon]] [[freight]]er. He noticed that wheat, spilled by other wagons moving through the area, would grow to maturity without being tended. In 1859, he signed Coalville into official township.<ref>Utah Guide to the State - American Guide Series, Hastings House Publishers 1941, pg 367 - as quoted at {{cite web |url=http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html |title=Coalville - Summit County Utah Historical Society |access-date=2008-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510062822/http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html |archive-date=2009-05-10 }}</ref>
[[File:Summit Stake House.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Summit Stake Tabernacle]]

Early life in Coalville was difficult, and during winters, the settlers dealt with a constant scarcity of food. When food ran out, they would travel to [[Salt Lake City]] for supplies. The local Indian tribes were also hostile for a time, and the settlers built a fort on the advice of [[Brigham Young]].<ref>Thompson, Norma Eileen Pyper, A Community Study of Coalville, Utah 1859-1914, pg 18 - as quoted at {{cite web |url=http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html |title=Coalville - Summit County Utah Historical Society |access-date=2008-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510062822/http://www.co.summit.ut.us/history/coalville/coalville.html |archive-date=2009-05-10 }}</ref> In 1867, Coalville was incorporated.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bradley | first = Martha Sonntag | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = Coalville | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/COALVILLE.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240321165603/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/COALVILLE.shtml | archive-date = March 21, 2024 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = April 12, 2024}}</ref>

By 1880, success in the coal industry led to the extension of the railroad into [[Park City, Utah|Park City]]. Then known as the Summit County Railway, the railroad continued to transport coal and was also used for Park City's silver mines.<ref>{{Citation | last = Strack | first = Don | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = Railroads in Utah | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/r/RAILROADS.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221113203038/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/r/RAILROADS.shtml | archive-date = November 13, 2022 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = April 12, 2024}}</ref>

Unlike most Mormon settlements in Utah and the intermountain west, Coalville city streets are not aligned to the true north. Main Street in Coalville is offset such that it runs slightly north-northwest, and Center street runs slightly east-northeast. 
Both the [[Thomas L. Allen House]] and the [[Summit Stake Tabernacle]] in Coalville are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.