We wanted to share some things about Vernal that you may not know.<\/p>\n
While most people know of Utah’s high Mormon population, and how the Church of Latter-day Saints settled the state, Vernal is not a part of that story.\u00a0 In 1861, Brigham Young scouted the area, but termed it useless, and never sent pioneers.\u00a0 That same year, Abraham Lincoln sent a man to “aid” the Native American reservation in the Uintah Basin, and settlers filtered into the area after that.<\/p>\n
In 1916, William Coltharp wanted to build a branch of Zion Bank in Vernal, but knew that shipping building supplies there by freight could be very expensive.\u00a0 At the same time,\u00a0however, shipping parcels through the mail was very cheap.\u00a0 As a result, he mailed 80,000 bricks through the US Postal service, along with other building supplies.\u00a0 Now, the bank is a historical landmark, and the USPS has taken precautions to ensure no other buildings are mailed.<\/p>\n