Provo: Pioneer Mormon City, compiled by the Workers of the Writers’ Program of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Utah, is a comprehensive historical account of Provo from its origins as a Mormon pioneer settlement through its transformation into a regional community. A central and particularly significant theme of the book is the complex, often fraught interaction between Mormon settlers and the Timpanogos people, whose homeland encompassed Utah Valley long before Euro-American settlement.
This emphasis is most clearly developed in Chapter IV, “Fort Utah Mission,” Chapter V, “Second Fort Utah – ‘A Very Eligible Place,’” and Chapter VI, “Indian Slaves and the Walker War.” These chapters examine early missionary efforts, the establishment and relocation of Fort Utah, negotiations and conflicts over land and resources, and the escalating violence that culminated in warfare and forced displacement. The book does not shy away from detailing episodes of coercion, enslavement, and armed conflict, situating them within the broader context of territorial expansion and settler colonial policy in early Utah.
Beyond its treatment of Native–settler relations, the book also covers the founding of Provo, its role in the development of the Utah Territory, economic and industrial growth, and the social and cultural life of its residents. Illustrated with historical photographs, maps, and drawings, it offers readers a vivid picture of life in Utah Valley during the nineteenth century.