Fielding History

Fielding

In the late 1870's and early 1880's, the people were settling to the north and east of what is now Fielding in a scattered condition.  This area was referred to as Hessville.  With the wishes of the Mormon Church to centralize, the people saw the need for a townsite.  A meeting was called April 29, 1884 to consider the matter.  Bishop M.J. Richards was appointed chairman, with James H. Hess as secretary.  A committee was selected to work with them.

Over the next few years, several sites for the town were chosen, but much opposition and deadlocks occurred.  M.P. Anderson, the surveyor for Box Elder County, Utah Territory, surveyed a townsite on June 14, 1884 that was rejected.  Alvin Hess in his "History of Fielding " states:

"...and lucky for these over burdened people that they did not proceed to erect a town on these dry clay knolls for their efforts would have been wasted, because in 1890, only five years later, the townsite committee negotiated with E.O. Wilcox, Oliver Wood, and Micah Garns for the present townsite of Fielding."

This area was selected mainly because of the Bear River canal that was being built at this time.  The area was known as South Plymouth, but it was soon changed to Fielding (in honor of President Joseph Fielding Smith).  The people erected a frame building which was used for church and school.  This building was called the Pink schoolhouse.  The survey map made by M. Mortenson on September 4, 1892, shows where the schoolhouse, Micah Garn, and E.O. Wilcox's homes were.  Since the townsite was laid out on part of their farms, Garn and Wilcox became the first settlers.  The survey of 1892 was vacated and a new survey was made by May 5, 1894.  On this day Plat A was laid out. Fielding grew quite rapidly, and more lots were needed.  Plat B was added July 22, 1895; Plat C on March 14, 1896; and plat D on July 20, 1905.  In 1911, Fielding was incorporated. 
The post office was reflected by Aerial Hansen's poem "Fielding Is a Quaint Old Town/1920".