Written by: Lynsey Nielson, interpretation and exhibits manager, Red Butte Garden and Arboretum
Nestled at the mouth of the canyon that shares our name, Red Butte Garden and Arboretum is a living museum, both a connection to the past and a celebration of the present. As the Garden celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, we are mindful of how our history and the land we care for are entwined with those who came before us and those who surround us.
Long before pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley, Red Butte Canyon served as a stronghold for the Goshute people. It earned the Goshute name Mo’ni-wai-ni, which translates roughly to mean “hanging hands canyon.” The name refers to a precolonial occurrence after a battle, the hands of certain captives having been cut off and hung up at the mouth of the canyon as a warning against trespass.
By the time the Latter-day Saint people entered the valley in 1847, the Goshute were no longer active in the canyon. Due to its proximity to the initial pioneer settlement, the canyon quickly became a primary source of water, timber, rock, and grazing grounds for these early colonialists.
Camp Douglas was established in 1862 as a small Union garrison – forever changing the face of the canyon. The post was rebuilt using Red Butte sandstone in 1873-76 and renamed Fort Douglas. Sandstone was such a hot commodity at the time that a formal quarry business, Salt Lake Rock Company, set up shop and began pulling large amounts of sandstone from the canyon to help build the city. It is widely believed that sandstone foundations in the city built before 1920 likely came from Red Butte Canyon rock. After a heavy era of quarry activity, and military use, the canyon was certainly worse for wear.
Water rights were a continuing source of friction between the city, the Fort, and the quarry. Area settlers had used Red Butte Creek for 15 years prior to the Fort’s establishment, and there were many disputes over usage and pollutants sent downstream. Although holding ponds and many creek diversions existed prior to this, Red Butte Canyon’s first real reservoir was built in 1897 and held 700,000 gallons. The current reservoir was completed in 1930 and upped the capacity to 124,800,000 gallons.
After the U.S. declared the Fort a surplus in 1947, the land was gradually transferred to the University of Utah and partly to the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service lands were designated as a Research Natural Area (RNA) with restricted access, which has since helped preserve the canyon’s ecology over time.
The seeds for Red Butte Garden were planted during this time by University of Utah botany professor Walter P. Cottam, who cultivated native and exotic tree species across campus to test their hardiness. In 1961 Cottam successfully lobbied the State Legislature to designate the campus landscape as a state arboretum. That helped establish this corner of campus along the Foothills as a place to cultivate public knowledge and appreciation for trees and plants found locally and across the world.
As the University grew, so did the Arboretum’s need for permanent public educational facilities and themed gardens. Arboretum director Richard Hildreth, local philanthropist Ezekiel R. Dumke Jr., and others led efforts to have the University dedicate 100 acres at the mouth of the canyon for a regional botanical garden, which opened to the public in 1985.
Today the Garden cultivates and protects more than 3,000 unique species of plants and trees, including about 2,000 trees in 456 different taxa in its developed areas. It stewards and cultivates this environmentally critical and historic landscape in a variety of ways, and it offers educational and cultural experiences that deepen the community’s understanding and appreciation of it.
Red Butte Creek, which flows through the Garden, supports the native Bonneville cutthroat trout, Utah’s official state fish and a state-sensitive species. The Garden works with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to protect cutthroat trout in the portion of the creek in our care. Garden staff and volunteers also control noxious weeds and reintroduce native specimens in our natural areas, including parts of the RNA we have access to.
The Garden cares for a grove of rare oak hybrids Cottam developed, collecting and contributing acorns for other gardens and researchers around the world and carrying out genetic and propagation studies that lay the foundation for a new round of research on oak ecology and physiology. Staff also monitor pollinator activity—the Garden is an essential refugia for bees in the heavily developed valley—and trial new plants for their adaptability to our climate, with the same passion for plants and conservationist spirit that inspired Cottam.
Red Butte Garden is a proud steward of this land and its history. For 40 years, guests from all over the world have come here to learn about and connect with plants and trees —drawn, as humans always have been, to the beauty and promise of this stunning landscape where desert and mountains meet.
Lynsey Nielson is an expert horticulturist, ISA-certified arborist, and local history buff with fourteen years of experience at Red Butte Garden and Arboretum. She won the 2025 Women in the Green Industry Award by the Utah Nursery and Landscape Association.
References / Further Reading:
- Chamberlin, Ralph V. 1913. Place and Personal Names of the Gosiute Indians of Utah. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 52,208.1-20.
- Ehleringer, Arnow, Arnow, McNulty, and Negus. 1992. “Red Butte Canyon Research Natural Area: History, Flora, Geology, Climate, and Ecology.” In The Great Basin Naturalist, 52 (2) June. 95-121 Fort Douglas Military Museum, online history.
- Halvorsen, Dee W. 1995. “The History of Red Butte Canyon,” compiled for Red Butte Garden and Arboretum. Hibbard, Charles. 1999. Fort Douglas, Utah, 1862-1991.
Please note: The views and opinions expressed in partner content may not necessarily reflect the views of the Utah Historical Society.