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Photo by Shon Reed via Golden Eagle What's in a name? June 25, 2017, 5:22 amDebbie Hooge, the first mayor of Eagle Mountain, was appointed by the County Commissioner in December of 1996. She explained, "Bob Lynds, who, at the time, was Walden's project manager (John Walden was one of Eagle Mountain's first developers), suggested we have a contest to name the city. We all threw in some ideas but nothing really stuck. Over the period of several weeks we would suggest one thing or another without any real inspiration. "One of the beautiful things about the area that is now Eagle Mountain is that the birds of prey; eagles and hawk; were quite prevalent back then. You could sit in your car and watch and enjoy them for hours. They would usually soar down from the top of the Lake Mountain range into the valley where they hunted the rabbits and other small vermin. Anyway, it was beautiful. "One day Bob dropped by our trailer at Cedar Pass and said he had a name; "Eagle Mountain" and, somehow, that stuck. When he brought it up, I noted that the irony in naming it Eagle Mountain was that as the city grew, the birds of prey would slowly move away. I haven't seen an Eagle in the valley for a while ... sad that my prediction came true." The book, "A Ride from the Past on the Road to the Future: A history of Eagle Mountain" by Marci Pernell and Leah Woodard discusses an interview with Mike Wren, an employee of MCM Engineering (one of the primary engineering firms involved with starting Eagle Mountain). Wren said this about the naming of the city (page 10): "It took several months prior to this to decide what the name of the city would be. A number of names were discussed and considered, but in the end the name Eagle Mountain was chosen. "Many had favored the name Nauvoo West, as most of the people involved in the planning and engineering were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as a reference to the city raised by Mormon pioneers from the swamps of Illinois. Some were concerned that such a name would be too exclusive though. "In future discussions, Bob Lynds came up with the idea of Eagle Mountain because one can always see eagles flying in the valley and nesting on the side of the hills and mountains in the area. The name was settled and agreed upon." Development has come to Eagle Mountain, but it has kept its name sake. There are still people who like to come to Eagle Mountain to watch the Eagles and other birds of prey. Jeff Cooper, an avid birder and nature photographer, enjoys visiting the areas around Eagle Mountain to view birds of prey. "On the south end of Cedar Valley is what I like to refer to as a sage brush sea. There is much more animal life than meets the eye in that range of sagebrush. The desert cotton-tailed and black-tailed jackrabbits are a staple in the diets of the year-round Golden Eagles and wintering Bald Eagles that are often seen hunting during the morning hours," Cooper said. Eagle Mountain has always been a great place to find birds of prey, including Golden and Bald Eagles. Eagle Mountain is also home to a large number of American Kestrels, the smallest member of the falcon family. A city sponsored Kestrel project is in full swing. Employees have placed and monitor over 20 nesting boxes around the city. The project is expected to expand in the future. This year, there have been several clutches that have already hatched. A webcam has been set up in one of the nesting boxes. You can view the feed at: http://i84005.com/kestrel/webcam/. If you look, you can also find owls, hawks, and other birds among the desert landscape. The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2024 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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