For traveling Mexican caravans between 1829 and 1848, the Old Spanish National Historic Trail was known as the shortest path to riches between Los Angeles and Santa Fe. It was a trail of commercial opportunity and western adventure as well as slave trading, horse thieving and raids. The Old Spanish Trail route was established along a loose network of Indian footpaths that crossed the wide expanse of the Colorado Plateau and the Mojave Desert. With time, this newly established trade corridor attracted frontiersmen and U.S. military expeditions.
William R. Palmer of Cedar City, Utah organized the Spanish Trail Association in 1946. The Southern Utah Chapter was established through Articles Of Incorporation by Enoch City residents in 2007.
Matthew Matheson envisioned, planned, and implemented his Eagle Project that renovated the Old Spanish Trail Monument. This project, completed spring of 2015, is a reminder of his ancestors who helped build our community and our current residents who continue that heritage.