A Place Called Gandy

The Settlement of Gandy in The Snake Valley

Gandy is located at the junction of Foot Ranch Road and Gandy Road, 39.44.590N 113,98.392W, in Snake Valley, Millard County, close to the Nevada border about 120 kilometers due west of Delta and 150 kilometers north west of Fillmore.

Most of Gandy’s water comes from a spring inside a large cavern, located at the south end of Spring Mountain or Gandy Mountain. The volume of water from the spring has been measured at 13 to 14 cubic feet per second and is very warm – over 80 degrees. People homesteaded where they could use the spring’s waters.

The original homesteaders were Triffly (or Trefle), Alex and Alfred Doutre and Almond Rhoades (Rhodes). Almond Rhoades planted an orchard. He was the first to bring a threshing machine into the community – it was powered by ten horses. Rhoades also planted a big lane of poplar trees, transporting them from Italy. This was the ranch at Warm Springs bought by Isaac Gandy.

Poplar Trees
Italian Poplar trees planted by Almond Rhoades in Gandy. Photo Bill Wiersdorf

Click here to see other photographs of Gandy by Bill Weirsdorf.

“The beginnings of the small ranching community of Gandy were rather violent, with at least two unsolved murders arising from land disputes. Also, a man named Stevens was killed in a gunfight at Salt Marsh by Trefle Doutre. Isaac Gandy, a thirty-five-year –old Englishman, arrived in Millard County in 1870 to take up a homestead south of the Gonder Ranch at Garrison. He later purchased the Rhodes Ranch in what was then called Smithville, forty miles further north in Snake Valley. The settlement at the lower ranch was named for him and continues to be home to a number of families.”

Excerpt from “A History of Millard County” by Edward Leo Lyman and Linda King Newell , Utah Centennial County History Series, 1999 and “North Snake Valley, Part I” by Marlene Bates.

The History of Gandy

This essay was written by Gandy student Thomas Sims, 7th grade, and printed in The Millard Country Progress, 1937-10-15.

“Gandy is in the northwest corner of Millard County in Snake Valley, about two miles from the Nevada line and six miles from Juab County line.

Why they call it Snake Valley is because years ago the Snake Indians lived here. It is about one hundred miles long.

Gandy was settled about seventy–five to ninety years ago, we cannot tell for sure. The first men we can get track of are Sam Foreman and Ern Green. We are not sure whether Ern Green was with this man or whether he came later. It is said that Ern Green was given permission to take up Warm Creek. He did not do so for he was more for riding wild horses and here there were plenty.

Some years later Mr. Roads (Rhodes) took up some land where the Post Office is now. It was taken up for the Warm Creek of water which runs winter and summer. It never varies or slacks up.

Some time later there came a family named Doutre. At this time the mail went to Smithville, seven miles from here. It was carried by horse and buggy. George Bishop was postmaster. Then Mr. Gandy moved to Warm Creek and had the Post Office moved down to Gandy. Gandy was named for him. Jimmy Robison married Mr. Gandy’s daughter and a little later bought Mr. Gandy out. Ike Robison, one of his sons, bought his share of the place. There was quite a fight over water until they put in a water box and had the water measured and divided into shares. Ike Robison traded places with Alfred Bishop later.

This spring Jim Robison and his wife passed on and that leaves Mrs. Gandy, Mrs. Jim’s mother, in Garrison.

Twelve families live in the valley now and there are twelve pupils in school.”

Read also article by another Gandy pupil in The Millard County Chronicle