Northwest of Montpelier lies the fertile pleasant valley of Nounan. It stretches from the foothills for a distance of 10 miles parallel to the Gentile Valley on the upper side of the Bear River Mountain range.
One hundred years ago the first settlement was begun in Nounan on May 13, 1873. Only a few of the original families remain in the Valley. The first, the Skinners, is one which does.
The Skinner name is recorded forever as the name of the main canyon in north Nounan but it remained for another to provide the name for the community. No one knows for sure full name of the logger and cutter for whom the community was named.
Philemon Christopher Merrill, his son and Sylvanus Collett were first to establish a permanent settlement in the valley. They came May 13, 1873, with 212 head of cattle from W. H. Hooper herds from Soda Springs and Gentile Valley.
The men built the first three permanent cabins in the valley. They remained there through what proved to be a disastrous winter of 1873-74. Snow came early, piled high and stayed long. It had been expected that the cattle would be able to graze freely on open range but before spring, 87 of them were dead and when the trio began to trail them back to Soda Springs in the spring an additional 18 were listed as too weak to travel.
Only the cabins remained. Into one of these, a large two room structure made of logs[,] John Skinner, the first permanent resident, moved with his large family on June 1,1875. Before winter he had two neighbors, Philip Chugg and Andrew Freebern who came with their families and pushed the population to 23.
Late in the fall, Nounan, the logger for whom the valley was soon to be known arrived. He located a sizable timber area above Crossley Canyon and established Nounan's tie camp.
Throughout the winter Nounan spent much of his time at the home of John Skinner where he was able to obtain fresh laundry, food and milk.
In late April, a 12 man crew arrived and began filling the 5,000 tie contract. According to railroad records, the contract called for 8-foot ties, hewn smooth on two sides to be delivered as close to Preston as possible. The ties were brought. out of Crossley Canyon, hauled to Bear River and floated downstream towards Preston.
By December, 1876, the Skinners were well established in a new log home, a dairy barn had been constructed and the first valley school was begun in one room of the dairy. On December 8, 1876 Nephi Aaron Skinner, the thirteenth child in the Skinner family became the first white boy born in the valley. He was later to play a prominent part in the valley's history by serving as Bishop of the Nounan Ward for many years.
During 1876, numerous Mormon families moved into the valley under the call of the LDS Church colonization program. Under direction of Bishop Henry J. Horne of Paris, a cooperative dairy enterprise, known as the Paris Cooperative Dairy Association, was begun in the valley. Although the Skinner[s] continued to maintain an independent dairy program, John Skinner was set apart as the first community presiding elder.
The dairy co-op was located 2 1/2 miles south of the Skinner holdings near the mouth of a well-watered canyon which became known as Co-op Canyon after the enterprise. By following spring 200 head of cows were moved into the valley. First only butter was made. This was salted and shipped to Paris and Soda Springs. At first attempts were made to float the butter down Bear River to Soda but this was a failure.
Eventually both Swiss and American Cheese were made, and by 1884 records show that the dairy was producing about 257,000 pounds of cheese annually with dairy products being hauled directly to the railroad which passed by near the river.
At its largest, the co-op had 245 cow, 200 stockholders, 200 shareholders and capitol of $25,000. It paid out annually $20,000 for labor. However by 1900 it had failed and today nothing exists except some of the early records and the name Co-op Canyon.
In the late 1870's, the southern end of the valley was settled and for a time it appeared as though the valley would be separated into two communities. The southern end become known as Lindsayville after the most prominent figure in the area, Edgar Monroe Lindsay. A school house was built, District 22 was formed. [A] a post office was finally authorized in the 1900's and Lindsayville became a legal entity, but not for long.
The church built in 1896 and dedicated on March 9, 1897, with Edgar M. Linsay as the first Bishop was destroyed in the spring of 1928. The population was much larger in upper Nounan and it was decided to build the new church there, across from the main Skinner ranch. In the interim while it was being constructed, church meeting were held in upper Nounan School House, District 14, until the church could be put into use in 1929.
The loss of the churchhouse and the establishment of mail routes brought Lindsayville to an end. In 1930 the postal service was stopped.
With the operation of a large sawmill, built by and operated by Brigham Skinner, Nounan climbed to its highest peak in population with 294 registered members in the ward.
Today things have changed, the post office which was in Lester Skinners home has closed, the school house built in 1911 has been converted into a hay barn, and the church stands idle with its members going to the Georgetown Ward.
The sawmill no longer functions, but lumbering continues to be a factor in the economic picture of the valley and the dairy industry is bigger than ever. The farms are larger, the people fewer, but those who remain there is the feeling of a bright future for the next 100 years. The Skinners especially feel that Great-grand-dad got quite a good thing going 100 years ago.
