Editing Duchesne County, Utah (section)

==History==
Much of Duchesne County was part of the [[Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation#Land Ownership and the Allotment Process|Uintah Reservation]], created 1861 by US President [[Abraham Lincoln]] as a permanent home of the Uintah and White River Utes. Later the Uncompahgre Utes were moved to the Uintah and newly created Uncompahgre Indian reservations from western Colorado. At the turn of the century, under the [[Dawes Act]], both Indian reservations were thrown open to homesteaders. This was done after allotments of land were made to Indians of the three tribes. The homesteading process was opened on the Uintah on August 27, 1905.

Unlike much of the rest of [[Utah Territory]], settlement of the future Duchesne County area did not occur due to [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS Church]] pressures. It was settled by individuals who obtained 160 acres under the federal Homestead Act. Homesteaders were required to prove that they intended to farm the land. After five years of living on the land, making improvements, and paying $1.25 per acre, homesteaders were given title to their homesteads.<ref>[http://www.duchesne.utah.gov/your-government-2/about-the-county/history/ Duchesne County History (accessed 29 March 2019)]</ref>

On July 13, 1914, a referendum was presented to voters of [[Wasatch County, Utah|Wasatch County]] to partition the eastern part into a separate county. The referendum passed, so Utah Governor [[William Spry]] proclaimed on January 4, 1915. The county seat was decided by county vote on November 5, 1914, election. The new county was named for its county seat, which in turn was called for the [[Duchesne River]], which flows southward and then eastward through the central part of the county near the city. Its name is of uncertain origin, but the holding theory is that fur trappers named it in the 1820s in honor of Mother [[Rose Philippine Duchesne]], founder of the School of the Sacred Heart near [[St. Louis]], Missouri, although other theories as to the name exist.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3Pqk9tazU4C&pg=PA117|title=Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation|last=Van Cott|first=John W.|publisher=[[University of Utah Press]]|location=Salt Lake City|pages=117–18|year=1990|access-date=March 18, 2018|isbn=978-0-87480-345-7|oclc=797284427}}</ref> The county boundary with [[Uintah County, Utah|Uintah County]] was adjusted by legislative act on March 5, 1917; Duchesne County boundaries have remained in their current configuration since that date.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/UT_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm |title=Individual County Chronicles/Duchesne County UT. &#91;&#91;Newberry Library&#93;&#93; (accessed March 29, 2019) |access-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306153326/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/UT_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>