Burraston Ponds
Burraston Ponds was the campsite of the Escalante Expedition, 27 September 1776, from Santa Fe to the Utah Basin. Father Escalante mapped this area and named this spring "Ojo de San Pablo" or Eye of Saint Paul.
The great Indian chiefs before and during the Walker and Black Hawk Indian Wars used this campsite as a meeting place. They called it Punjun Spring and said it was without bottom and that in the still of the evening a baby's cry could be heard from its depths.
Richard James Burraston and his wife Emma Price were called to settle this area in 1865. They were to protect the mail route. They had private livestock under the Burraston brand. They managed a large cattle operation for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1878, over 1,000 head of cattle, taken from this ranch, provided funding for the Mormon Church's purchase of what is now Snowflake and St. Johns, Arizona.
In 1879, railroad ties from Mount Nebo timber were used for the building of the Utah Southern Railroad.
In 1901, this pond site was gifted to the State of Utah by Mr. Burraston to commemorate its statehood and for the enjoyment of the people.
No. 434 - - 1987 - - Juab County