History Of Malad Valley

The Welsh history of Malad Valley began in Wales in the 1840s when missionaries for the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints were sent to the British Isles. Dan Jones, a famous LDS missionary, converted hundreds of Welsh people to the LDS Church, which promised a spiritual rebirth for the Welsh people. They had been forced to give up their religious beliefs when the English took over their country. Seeking an opportunity to practice their new religion and adhering to the Church’s call to gather to Zion, hundreds of Welsh converts came to the United States.

Most Welsh emigrants sailed to the promised land from Liverpool. Some landed in New York, traveling overland to Nauvoo, Illinois, central location of the LDS Church. Others sailed to New Orleans, paddling up the Mississippi river to Nauvoo. Under the direction of Brigham Young, Welsh converts moved West in wagon trains and handcart companies. The Welsh tended to stay together in family groups, settling towns that retained the Welsh culture, tradition, and language. Many Welsh families moved north to Willard, Utah, and from there to Samaria, Idaho, in the Malad Valley, which was settled by John Evans Price in 1868. It is believed that the Malad Valley reminded the settlers of their mountain valleys in Wales. Samaria became one of the most solidly Welsh communities settled by Mormon pioneers.

Another reason the Welsh left their country for the United States in the 1850s was economic necessity. By that time, the English had taken over ownership of the mines, quarries, and iron works that had made Wales prosperous. Miners and iron workers were reduced to eking out a living performing dangerous jobs, and farmers were barely able to survive on tiny farms that were now owned by the English.

The promise of a new and better life in the New World drew the poverty-stricken Welsh, just as it beckoned all oppressed Europeans. Many LDS missionaries used the promise of a better, more prosperous life to convince the Welsh to join the Church and then gather to Zion. They could starve to death just as easily in the United States as in Wales, but it would be on their own land. And if they died true to their new faith, they would be saved.

As Mormon settlers were homesteading in Samaria, Malad was expanding into a rollicking “gentile” community with many bars and gambling parlors. Two sides of town developed: one side populated by religious pioneers and one side known for its less desirable activities. Commerce developed rapidly in Malad. It became a major stop on the freight route between Utah and Montana. What is now Main Street was once called Montana Road or the Gold Road. Bannock Street was an offshoot of the Oregon Trail.

Through the 1890s, Mormon settlers of all European nationalities came to the Malad Valley to homestead, work for the railroad, and establish shops. The Mormons were joined by the Presbyterians, Catholics, and “Josephites” (the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Gradually, the Welsh families scattered throughout Malad Valley were joined by the Swiss, Germans, Scandinavians, English, and French. Most were seeking freedom to practice their religion and freedom to own land. In the Malad Valley, they found both and learned to live together in cooperation and peace.
Today, Malad Valley has the largest concentration of persons of Welsh descent per capita of any place outside of Wales. Descendants of those Welsh pioneers founded the Malad Valley Welsh Society in 2005, and held the first Malad Valley Welsh Festival that year.

The Malad Valley Welsh Festival is held annually on the last weekend in June. It features presentations about Welsh culture, history, literature, concerts, and Celtic music. You’ll get glimpses of the culture of Wales, featuring poetry competitions and readings, art competitions and displays, a quilt show, wagon rides to historic sites in downtown Malad, family activities in Samaria, and much more.
Source: Malad Valley Welsh Festival