Wrathall Landmarks in Utah

In 1999, Doris Demet , who is researching the Wrathell surname in Michigan and Canada, mentioned the following:
While searching the web, I went to FTM into the Library section. I searched their "US Geographical Names Information System." They had 2 listings for Wrathall:

1) Old Wrathall Well - Tooele Co. Utah--Geographical Coordinates 405901N1124954W

2) Wrathall Pass, (Gap)- Box Elder Co. , Utah--Geographical Coordinates. 410126N1125416W
For a map of Northwest Utah showing the locations of the two landmarks, click HERE. For a topographic map showing the location of the Old Wrathall Well, click HERE. For a topographic map showing the location of Wrathall Pass, click HERE

The Old Wrathall Well was built by Paul Wrathall of Grantsville (1887 - 1964) in 1932 in Lakeside Valley north of Craner Flat. It is a series of 2-inch steel pipes pounded into the soil in a spot about 2 miles east of the Lakeside Mountains (6,600 ft.) and 4 miles west of the Great Salt Lake, on public land about 22 miles north- northwest of Grantsville. For a view of the well and the Lakeside Range (taken by John Millward of Utah, a descendant of James Wrathall), click HERE.

Paul Wrathall and one of his partners used this as grazing land for their cattle, horses and sheep. They built a cabin and corral at the mouth of a nearby canyon, where a creek sometimes flowed. The vegetation was mostly sagebrush and greasewood, on the edge of the desert, but near enough the range and the creek to have some grass. A gasoline-powered pump brought up water through the pipe to a trough. For a picture of the trough (taken by John Millward) with Andrew Millward standing in it, click HERE.

Wrathall Pass is a gap (elev. 4,690 ft.) in the Lakeside Mountains, between Sally Mountain and Jedediah Peak. It was first used on a regular basis by James Wrathall of Granstville (1828-1896) in the 1860s. The gap was the best route to public grazing grounds on Grouse Creek, in the Grouse Creek Mountains (10,000 ft.) in northwest Utah. For a view of the pass (taken by John Millward), click HERE .

Wrathall Pass was once considered as a route for the Southern Pacific Railroad because it wasn't a pass, but was a gap near the same level as the Great Salt Lake Desert (4,400 ft.). The Southern Pacific instead took a route through the alkali marsh north of the gap, probably because the route west of the gap was claimed by the Western Pacific line. For a picture of the sign pointing to the pass (taken by John Millward), click HERE .

In Apr. 2005, the BrainyGeography website had some information regarding Wrathall Pass, Utah, and the Old Wrathall Well, Utah. Also in Apr. 2005, the Topowest website had a map of Wrathall Pass.

The following information regarding the James and Penninah Wrathall House was available in May 2006: Helen Aldridge (dustbuster777(at)hotmail(dot)com) has written accounts of 84 West Main (Paul E. and Carrie Wrathall's house), 278 West Clark (James Wrathall's house) and 5 South Center (James L. Wrathall's house). Helen contributed those accounts in May and Aug. 2006.

In Jul. 2007, a PDF file concerning the James and Penninah Wrathall House (written Korral Broschinsky (Grantsville CLG)) was available online. It includes architectural and historical information, and several photos. The section with the title HISTORY OF THE JAMES & PENNINAH WRATHALL HOUSE has some biographical data on James L. Wrathall's family (with thanks to the National Register of Historic Places Reference Team and the Utah State Historic Preservation Office).

In Jul. 2010, the Tooele Transcript Bulletin published an article on the James L. Wrathall house.