• Built in Salt Lake City, Utah 1861

• Replicated in 2001

The Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 called for a telegraph line running from Omaha, Nebraska to San Francisco, California. This line was completed in 1861, and ran directly through Salt Lake City. Though it provided a line of communication from east to west, it did little to connect the isolated communities of Utah and the intermountain region. This lead Brigham Young to create the Deseret Telegraph Line. Construction of the line began in 1866, eventually connecting from Idaho to Arizona by the 1870's.

Did you know? The Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City played an important role in the construction of the Pacific telegraph line by supplying timber for poles for over 1,000 miles of the line, labor, food, and transportation. All in all, the Latter-Day Saint Church received $11,000 in gold for its aid.