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How did Eagle Mountain get its name. That has been a question that I have been asked several times, and figured I would do some digging into the subject to find the answer.
Debbie Hooge, the first mayor of Eagle Mountain, who was appointed by the County Commissioner in December of 1996, explains how the name for Eagle Mountain was selected.
Bob Lynds, who at the time was Walden’s (John Walden was one of the Eagle Mountains first developers) project manager, suggested we have a contest to name the city. We all threw in some ideas but nothing really stuck. Over the period of several weeks we would suggest one thing or another without any real inspiration. One of the beautiful things about the area that is now Eagle Mountain is that the birds of prey; eagles and hawk; were quite prevalent back then. You could sit in your car and watch and enjoy them for hours. They would usually soar down from the top of the Lake Mountain range into the valley where they hunted the rabbits and other small vermin. Anyway, it was beautiful. One day Bob dropped by our trailer at Cedar Pass and said he had a name; “Eagle Mountain”…..and somehow that stuck. When he brought it up I noted that the irony in naming it Eagle Mountain was that as the city grew; the birds of prey would slowly move away. I haven’t seen an Eagle in the valley for a while….sad that my prediction came true.The book, “A Ride from the Past on the Road to the Future: A history of Eagle Mountain” by Marci Pernell and Leah Woodard discusses an interview with Mike Wren, an Employee of MCM Engineering and one of the primary engineering firms involved with starting Eagle Mountain, states this about the naming of the city (page 10).
On the south end of Cedar Valley is what I like to refer to as a sage brush sea. There is much more animal life than meets the eye in that range of sagebrush. The desert cotton-tailed and black-tailed jackrabbits are a staple in the diets of the year-round Golden Eagles and wintering Bald Eagles that are often seen hunting during the morning hours.Eagle Mountain has always been a great place to find birds of prey, including Golden and Bald Eagles. Eagle Mountain is also home to a large number of American Kestrels, the smallest member of the Falcon family. Eagle Mountain has a Kestrel Project that is in full swing. They currently have placed over 20 nesting boxes around the city that they monitor. This year there have been several clutches that have already hatched and the project is expected to expand over the years. The project has setup a webcam in one of the nesting boxes, you can view the feed at: http://cedarvalleysentinel.com/kestrel/webcam/ If you look, you can also find owls, hawks, and other birds among the desert landscape.
Golden Eagle Photo provided by birder and nature photographer Shon Reed, you can find more stunning photos on his instagram page. He is also one of main individual that is running the Eagle Mountain Kestrel Project.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.
Excellent article! I’ve been wondering about how our beautiful city got its name. Thank you!