Son of Stephen Robert Wells and Annie Thorne
Married Mary Louise Woolley, 27 Jun 1898, St. George, Washington, Utah
Children: Edwin Gordon Wells; Helen Wells; Samuel Newton Wells; Robert Stephen Wells, Katherine Wells
Samuel H. Wells moved his family, consisting of his wife and three children, to the Moapa Valley in the early spring of 1904. He was born and reared in St. George, Utah and there married Mary Louisa Woolley. After they had two children he moved his family to Salt Lake City where he went to school for two years.
When the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company started building a track between these two cities, having been in Moapa Valley, Samuel could see the great possibilities of agricultural development there. So he went to President Joseph F. Smith, president of the Mormon Church, and discussed with him the great future that he thought existed for this area. Samuel was asked by President Smith to go to the "Muddy" and do all that he could to help with the growth and development there. After helping to form a corporation of Salt Lake City businessmen to be known as the Moapa Improvement Company, he went to the Moapa Valley and bought for them three hundred and sixty acres of land from Mr. W. C. Bowman just a little north of the little town of Logan (formerly St. Joseph). He cleared this land of brush and oeprated it as manager for the company for the next eight years. During this time he purchased an additional five hundred and twenty acres in St. Thomas and resold all of it except ninety acres which he kept himself.
Samuel was among the first to ship cantaloupes and asparagus commercially out of Moapa Valley. He planted the first asparagus from seed brought from Woodscross, Utah, by Wall Muir, a director of the company, who said, "This should be good. It was gathered in the moonlight." The industry started in 1908. In 1909 one hundred seventy-five carloads of cantaloupes were shipped. These cantaloupes were hauled over rough roads a distance of eleven to twenty-two miles to the railroad station at Moapa where they were loaded into boxcars without ice. They gained an enviable reputation for quality in the markets as far east as Chicago. This industry grew to four hundred carloads per years.
Samuel initiated the effort to get a branch line of the railroad built down the Moapa Valley and was instrumental in getting this line extended as far as St. Thomas. It was completed in 1912.
In 1909 when Clark County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln County, Mr. Wells was appointed by the governor as ibe if the first county commissioners, and he rode horseback from Logan to Las Vegas, a distance of over fifty miles to attend their meetings. That same year he was one of the group of men who organized the Moapa Valley Telephone Company. A line twenty-five miles long was built at a cost of four thousand dollars; the switchboard was located in the rear of the Whitehead Brothers Store in Overton.
In 1912 when the Moapa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint was organized from part of the St. George Stake, the presidency of the new stake consisted of Willard L. Jones, president, and John M. Bunker and Samuel H. Wells, counselors.
In 1912 the Wells family moved to their farm in St. Thomas and farmed there for three years, then moved to the little town of Kaolin, between Overton and St. Thomas. here Mr. Wells was superintendent of the Nevada Land and Livestock Company until 1919 when the family agained moved to Logan where he had bought one hundred ten acres of land from the Moapa Improvement Company which included the old homestead.
Samuel H. Wells served on the board of directors of the Muddy Valley Irrigation Company for many years, serving as president of the company part of that time. He also served ont he board of education, being one who helped consolidate the Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley schools into Educational District Number One.
Samuel died of heart trouble after a long illness. He left his widow, two sons and five daughters.
"100 Years on the Muddy", pages 207-210.
Married Mary Louise Woolley, 27 Jun 1898, St. George, Washington, Utah
Children: Edwin Gordon Wells; Helen Wells; Samuel Newton Wells; Robert Stephen Wells, Katherine Wells
Samuel H. Wells moved his family, consisting of his wife and three children, to the Moapa Valley in the early spring of 1904. He was born and reared in St. George, Utah and there married Mary Louisa Woolley. After they had two children he moved his family to Salt Lake City where he went to school for two years.
When the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company started building a track between these two cities, having been in Moapa Valley, Samuel could see the great possibilities of agricultural development there. So he went to President Joseph F. Smith, president of the Mormon Church, and discussed with him the great future that he thought existed for this area. Samuel was asked by President Smith to go to the "Muddy" and do all that he could to help with the growth and development there. After helping to form a corporation of Salt Lake City businessmen to be known as the Moapa Improvement Company, he went to the Moapa Valley and bought for them three hundred and sixty acres of land from Mr. W. C. Bowman just a little north of the little town of Logan (formerly St. Joseph). He cleared this land of brush and oeprated it as manager for the company for the next eight years. During this time he purchased an additional five hundred and twenty acres in St. Thomas and resold all of it except ninety acres which he kept himself.
Samuel was among the first to ship cantaloupes and asparagus commercially out of Moapa Valley. He planted the first asparagus from seed brought from Woodscross, Utah, by Wall Muir, a director of the company, who said, "This should be good. It was gathered in the moonlight." The industry started in 1908. In 1909 one hundred seventy-five carloads of cantaloupes were shipped. These cantaloupes were hauled over rough roads a distance of eleven to twenty-two miles to the railroad station at Moapa where they were loaded into boxcars without ice. They gained an enviable reputation for quality in the markets as far east as Chicago. This industry grew to four hundred carloads per years.
Samuel initiated the effort to get a branch line of the railroad built down the Moapa Valley and was instrumental in getting this line extended as far as St. Thomas. It was completed in 1912.
In 1909 when Clark County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln County, Mr. Wells was appointed by the governor as ibe if the first county commissioners, and he rode horseback from Logan to Las Vegas, a distance of over fifty miles to attend their meetings. That same year he was one of the group of men who organized the Moapa Valley Telephone Company. A line twenty-five miles long was built at a cost of four thousand dollars; the switchboard was located in the rear of the Whitehead Brothers Store in Overton.
In 1912 when the Moapa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint was organized from part of the St. George Stake, the presidency of the new stake consisted of Willard L. Jones, president, and John M. Bunker and Samuel H. Wells, counselors.
In 1912 the Wells family moved to their farm in St. Thomas and farmed there for three years, then moved to the little town of Kaolin, between Overton and St. Thomas. here Mr. Wells was superintendent of the Nevada Land and Livestock Company until 1919 when the family agained moved to Logan where he had bought one hundred ten acres of land from the Moapa Improvement Company which included the old homestead.
Samuel H. Wells served on the board of directors of the Muddy Valley Irrigation Company for many years, serving as president of the company part of that time. He also served ont he board of education, being one who helped consolidate the Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley schools into Educational District Number One.
Samuel died of heart trouble after a long illness. He left his widow, two sons and five daughters.
"100 Years on the Muddy", pages 207-210.
Son of Stephen Robert Wells and Annie Thorne
Married Mary Louise Woolley, 27 Jun 1898, St. George, Washington, Utah
Children: Edwin Gordon Wells; Helen Wells; Samuel Newton Wells; Robert Stephen Wells, Katherine Wells
Samuel H. Wells moved his family, consisting of his wife and three children, to the Moapa Valley in the early spring of 1904. He was born and reared in St. George, Utah and there married Mary Louisa Woolley. After they had two children he moved his family to Salt Lake City where he went to school for two years.
When the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company started building a track between these two cities, having been in Moapa Valley, Samuel could see the great possibilities of agricultural development there. So he went to President Joseph F. Smith, president of the Mormon Church, and discussed with him the great future that he thought existed for this area. Samuel was asked by President Smith to go to the "Muddy" and do all that he could to help with the growth and development there. After helping to form a corporation of Salt Lake City businessmen to be known as the Moapa Improvement Company, he went to the Moapa Valley and bought for them three hundred and sixty acres of land from Mr. W. C. Bowman just a little north of the little town of Logan (formerly St. Joseph). He cleared this land of brush and oeprated it as manager for the company for the next eight years. During this time he purchased an additional five hundred and twenty acres in St. Thomas and resold all of it except ninety acres which he kept himself.
Samuel was among the first to ship cantaloupes and asparagus commercially out of Moapa Valley. He planted the first asparagus from seed brought from Woodscross, Utah, by Wall Muir, a director of the company, who said, "This should be good. It was gathered in the moonlight." The industry started in 1908. In 1909 one hundred seventy-five carloads of cantaloupes were shipped. These cantaloupes were hauled over rough roads a distance of eleven to twenty-two miles to the railroad station at Moapa where they were loaded into boxcars without ice. They gained an enviable reputation for quality in the markets as far east as Chicago. This industry grew to four hundred carloads per years.
Samuel initiated the effort to get a branch line of the railroad built down the Moapa Valley and was instrumental in getting this line extended as far as St. Thomas. It was completed in 1912.
In 1909 when Clark County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln County, Mr. Wells was appointed by the governor as ibe if the first county commissioners, and he rode horseback from Logan to Las Vegas, a distance of over fifty miles to attend their meetings. That same year he was one of the group of men who organized the Moapa Valley Telephone Company. A line twenty-five miles long was built at a cost of four thousand dollars; the switchboard was located in the rear of the Whitehead Brothers Store in Overton.
In 1912 when the Moapa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint was organized from part of the St. George Stake, the presidency of the new stake consisted of Willard L. Jones, president, and John M. Bunker and Samuel H. Wells, counselors.
In 1912 the Wells family moved to their farm in St. Thomas and farmed there for three years, then moved to the little town of Kaolin, between Overton and St. Thomas. here Mr. Wells was superintendent of the Nevada Land and Livestock Company until 1919 when the family agained moved to Logan where he had bought one hundred ten acres of land from the Moapa Improvement Company which included the old homestead.
Samuel H. Wells served on the board of directors of the Muddy Valley Irrigation Company for many years, serving as president of the company part of that time. He also served ont he board of education, being one who helped consolidate the Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley schools into Educational District Number One.
Samuel died of heart trouble after a long illness. He left his widow, two sons and five daughters.
"100 Years on the Muddy", pages 207-210.
Married Mary Louise Woolley, 27 Jun 1898, St. George, Washington, Utah
Children: Edwin Gordon Wells; Helen Wells; Samuel Newton Wells; Robert Stephen Wells, Katherine Wells
Samuel H. Wells moved his family, consisting of his wife and three children, to the Moapa Valley in the early spring of 1904. He was born and reared in St. George, Utah and there married Mary Louisa Woolley. After they had two children he moved his family to Salt Lake City where he went to school for two years.
When the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad Company started building a track between these two cities, having been in Moapa Valley, Samuel could see the great possibilities of agricultural development there. So he went to President Joseph F. Smith, president of the Mormon Church, and discussed with him the great future that he thought existed for this area. Samuel was asked by President Smith to go to the "Muddy" and do all that he could to help with the growth and development there. After helping to form a corporation of Salt Lake City businessmen to be known as the Moapa Improvement Company, he went to the Moapa Valley and bought for them three hundred and sixty acres of land from Mr. W. C. Bowman just a little north of the little town of Logan (formerly St. Joseph). He cleared this land of brush and oeprated it as manager for the company for the next eight years. During this time he purchased an additional five hundred and twenty acres in St. Thomas and resold all of it except ninety acres which he kept himself.
Samuel was among the first to ship cantaloupes and asparagus commercially out of Moapa Valley. He planted the first asparagus from seed brought from Woodscross, Utah, by Wall Muir, a director of the company, who said, "This should be good. It was gathered in the moonlight." The industry started in 1908. In 1909 one hundred seventy-five carloads of cantaloupes were shipped. These cantaloupes were hauled over rough roads a distance of eleven to twenty-two miles to the railroad station at Moapa where they were loaded into boxcars without ice. They gained an enviable reputation for quality in the markets as far east as Chicago. This industry grew to four hundred carloads per years.
Samuel initiated the effort to get a branch line of the railroad built down the Moapa Valley and was instrumental in getting this line extended as far as St. Thomas. It was completed in 1912.
In 1909 when Clark County was formed from the southern portion of Lincoln County, Mr. Wells was appointed by the governor as ibe if the first county commissioners, and he rode horseback from Logan to Las Vegas, a distance of over fifty miles to attend their meetings. That same year he was one of the group of men who organized the Moapa Valley Telephone Company. A line twenty-five miles long was built at a cost of four thousand dollars; the switchboard was located in the rear of the Whitehead Brothers Store in Overton.
In 1912 when the Moapa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint was organized from part of the St. George Stake, the presidency of the new stake consisted of Willard L. Jones, president, and John M. Bunker and Samuel H. Wells, counselors.
In 1912 the Wells family moved to their farm in St. Thomas and farmed there for three years, then moved to the little town of Kaolin, between Overton and St. Thomas. here Mr. Wells was superintendent of the Nevada Land and Livestock Company until 1919 when the family agained moved to Logan where he had bought one hundred ten acres of land from the Moapa Improvement Company which included the old homestead.
Samuel H. Wells served on the board of directors of the Muddy Valley Irrigation Company for many years, serving as president of the company part of that time. He also served ont he board of education, being one who helped consolidate the Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley schools into Educational District Number One.
Samuel died of heart trouble after a long illness. He left his widow, two sons and five daughters.
"100 Years on the Muddy", pages 207-210.
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