In a grassy valley in the Uintah Basin, a couple miles north of the Strawberry Reservoir, a group of historians and cultural stewards gathered on a windy Friday at the very start of spring. In 1888, this valley was the site of the first large-scale U.S. Military exercises west of the Mississippi River.
It has special significance for the presence of two regiments of Buffalo Soldiers, Black Americans who served in the army when it was segregated, between the Civil and Korean wars.
“Buffalo Soldiers – we believe that the term originally came from Native Americans bestowing that name on [African American regiments] because of their fierce fighting spirit and curly hair,” explained Marcos Van Dalen, a researcher with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office. “Even though we haven't found an exact primary source confirming [that legend], the Buffalo Soldiers began adopting the name themselves, rendering a lot of credence to it and taking pride in it.”
The Utah State Historic Preservation Office, one of multiple groups collaborating on the Utah Buffalo Soldier Heritage Trail being installed this year.
On April 24th, volunteers and state preservation officers poured concrete on a set of signs outside the Strawberry Reservoir visitors center. They commemorate the military exercises which took place nearby, back in the frontier era. It’s the trail’s second stop to be installed.
When complete, the trail will stretch across eight sites from Salt Lake City to Carter Road in the Uintas, to Moab, marking key moments of military, Utah and African American history.
Rasmesus Stewart-Johnson leads military and veterans programming for the Sema Haditi Foundation, which tells the stories of Black Utahns and is collaborating on the trail. He said the trail marks lesser-known Utah history.
“It's funny, as I've gotten involved, no one knew the Buffalo Soldiers were in Utah,” Stewart-Johnson said. “Some of the cool things about Buffalo Soldiers here in Utah, is there were no police on the frontier. So Buffalo Soldiers were essentially the police, making sure settlers weren't unruly, but also bridging the gap between the Native American tribes and the settlers.”
Through their activities on the frontier and their presence at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Stewart-Johnson says Buffalo Soldiers began to shift inter-racial relations.
“As the Buffalo Soldiers came in, white settlers here were not very welcoming, and a lot of that, you can say, is due to different prejudices. But when the Buffalo Soldiers leave to go to the Spanish American War, they're beloved,” he said.
A military send-off when the 24th Infantry deployed to Cuba from Salt Lake City in 1898 drew a crowd of roughly 20,000 supporters, according to Stewart-Johnson. It’s just one of many details from the state’s Buffalo Soldier history.
The ground around Strawberry Reservoir still holds evidence of that history – scraps of military-issued harmonicas, flasks for bootleg liquor, the foundations of a regiment’s latrine.
Stewart-Johnson said the trail offers an opportunity to shine a light on under-appreciated and unifying stories. He feels everyone can benefit from the history along the trail.
“My message is, don't be afraid," he said. “We grow up with different stigmatisms and stereotypes. And I can admit that before I moved to Utah, I would be one of those people who would say there were no black people here…When you study history, study it with an open mind. What we're doing for the Buffalo Soldiers is honoring their legacy, not just as Buffalo Soldiers, but for their impact on the state of Utah.”
The first stop was installed in Moab this spring, and the remaining stops are forthcoming.