Editing Salina, Utah (section)

==History==
The first permanent settlers (about 30 families) moved into the area in 1864 at the direction of leaders of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].  They found abundant [[salt]] deposits nearby so they named the area "Salina".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sa9SAAAAIBAJ&pg=2503%2C5092871 | title=You name it - there's a town for it | work=The Deseret News | date=Jan 22, 1977 | access-date=18 October 2015 | author=Van Atta, Dale | pages=W6}}</ref>

In 1866, troubles with [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] who used the area as their hunting ground (the [[Black Hawk War (Utah)]]) forced the white settlers to retreat to the [[Manti, Utah|Manti]] area.  They returned to Salina in 1871, organized a [[Militia (United States)|militia]], and constructed a fort and buildings for a school and a church.  At that time they discovered [[coal]] deposits in "almost inexhaustible quantities" in the canyon east of the settlement.

A creek north of the settlement was tapped to provide water for irrigation, domestic purposes, and to power various enterprises such as sawmills, grist mills, salt refineries and generation of electricity.  The [[Sevier River]] was tapped in 1874, and by 1908 the area west of the settlement was being fully cultivated.

In June 1891, the settlement was connected to the state's railroad system, and that year the central area was [[Municipal incorporation|incorporated]] as a town.  It soon became the shipping terminal between the area settlements and the rest of the state.  In 1913 the town was re-incorporated as a city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/s/SALINA.html |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |access-date=2009-07-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611175515/http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/s/SALINA.html |archive-date=2010-06-11 }} ''Media Solutions'', the University of Utah's Office of Information Technology, accessed 29 July 2009</ref>

During World War II, Salina contained a POW camp, housing 250 German prisoners, most of them members of [[Erwin Rommel]]'s [[Afrikakorps]].<ref>Valrie Plaza [https://books.google.com/books?id=cmTxCQAAQBAJ&dq=salina+massacre&pg=PA57 American Mass Murderers]</ref> On the night of July 8, 1945, Private Clarence Bertucci climbed one of the guard towers and [[Utah prisoner of war massacre|took aim at the tents]] where the prisoners were sleeping. He fired 250 rounds from a light machine gun and managed to hit some thirty tents in his [[Midnight Massacre (1945)|fifteen-second rampage]]. By the time a corporal managed to disarm Bertucci, six prisoners were dead and an additional twenty-two were wounded (three later died of their wounds).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3256256&itype=NGPSID&rss | title=History Matters: Few know of World War II massacre in Salina }}</ref>

This incident was called the Salina Massacre. Bertucci, who was from New Orleans, was declared insane and spent the remainder of his life in an institution.<ref>Salina Utah Massacre |author= Mike Rose</ref>