Memorial tablet honoring Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and explorer of the Southwest United States during the late 18th century. He is known for his journal, in which he described the expeditions he went on. Tablet features a relief map of Utah and…
Published onDec 13, 2023
59. Reverend Father Silvestre Vélez de Escalante
Cedar City, UT.
Date
1929-1930
Material
Bronze
Description
Memorial tablet honoring Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and explorer of the Southwest United States during the late 18th century. He is known for his journal, in which he described the expeditions he went on. Tablet features a relief map of Utah and New Mexico, a cliff with one man pointing west and another mounted on a horse. The tablet, set in native Pinto sandstone, cost $185-200 to produce and Petersen is said to have donated his talents. Unveiled on Oct. 12, 1930.
Markings
Signed upper left: Christian Petersen SC; Inscription in Map: PROVO, CEDAR CITY, SANTA FE; Inscription at bottom: FATHER SILVESTRE VELEZ DE ESCALANTE / WITH FATHER DOMINGUEZ AND EIGHT OTHERS FIRST WHITE / MEN TO ENTER THE GREAT BASIN, LEFT SANTA FE JULY 29, 1776. / IN ATTEMPT TO REACH MONTEREY - ABANDONING ATTEMPT PARTY / PASSED THRU CEDAR VALLY OCT. 12 ON RETURN TO SANTA FE.
Provenance / Location
Funding provided by the Escalante Club and the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce. City of Cedar City, Utah. Marker is at the intersection of Main Street and 200 North on Main Street.
Alternate Title(s)
n/a
Notes / Sources
Papers, SC, Box 2 f.9, pictured in catalogue for Wrought Iron and Bronze, Chicago; In historical marker database: www.hmdb.org; Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), Nov. 2, 1929; Iron County Record (Cedar City, Utah), Oct. 11, 1930.
Image: The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Oct. 12, 1930 and Oct. 30, 1930.
Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, (c.1750–1780), Spanish Franciscan missionary-explorer, who in 1776–77 with his superior Francisco Domínguez, while seeking a route to Monterey in California from Santa Fe (now in New Mexico), rediscovered the Grand Canyon (Arizona). He explored what is now western Colorado and made the first Spanish penetration of what is now Utah (in which he recommended colonization), before returning, unsuccessful in his route search, to Santa Fe.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
