Editing Emery County, Utah (section)

===Old Spanish Trail===
The first non-indigenous persons to view Castle Valley were Spanish Traders and Explorers. The first of record was [[Silvestre Vélez de Escalante]]; in 1776, he crossed northern Utah through the Uintah Basin. Spanish traders and explorers soon found a more southerly route, and their path became known as the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Old Spanish Trail]]. It began at [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], to [[Durango, Colorado]], crossed the [[Colorado River]] (then known as Grand River) near present-day [[Moab, Utah|Moab]], then to the [[Green River (Colorado River)|Green River]]-crossing where Green River is now located, thence westerly to Cedar Mountain. It went on the South side of Cedar Mountain, across Buckhorn Flat, passed the Red Seeps to Huntington Creek, crossing about a mile below where the present bridge crosses; thence to Cottonwood Creek. It crossed the Ferron Creek where Molen now stands. It passed through the Rochester Flats about {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} east of present-day [[Moore, Utah|Moore]] and crossed the [[Muddy Creek (Utah)|Muddy Creek]] about {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} due east of the present town of [[Emery, Utah|Emery]]. [[File:OldSpanishTrailUT.gif|right|thumb|Route of the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Old Spanish Trail]] within southeastern Utah.]]
It then went over Salina (Salt Creek) Canyon. It then turned south and went through Parowan, Mountain Meadows, Las Vegas Nevada, Barstow California, and to the coast.<ref name=Jorgensen1>Jorgensen, John. ''History of Castle Valley Prior to Mormon Settlement''. 1990</ref> This Trail had to traverse Castle Valley to skirt the steep-walled canyons of the San Juan, Colorado, Green, Dirty Devil, and San Rafael Rivers.

Slavery was the principal trade between Santa Fe and the Utah region. The trading of Indian women and children to the Spanish, although illegal, was the purpose of the Spanish coming into the area to become Utah. The other use of the trail was to herd livestock, mostly horses, from California to Santa Fe. Since the slave trade was illegal, the traders kept neither records of their activities nor the extent of their travels and explorations.<ref>Hafen, LeRoy, and Hafen, Ann W.; Old Spanish Trail; pp. 109-129; [[University of Nebraska Press]]; 1993; {{ISBN|978-0-8032-7261-3}}</ref> Travelers along the Old Spanish Trail gave Castle Valley its names, as the travelers marveled at the imposing rock formations.