Have you heard of the Fourth of July celebrations at Black Rock?

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — On July 4, 1851, townspeople in Salt Lake were awoken by three cannon blasts before they prepared for an hours-long march to a holiday celebration.

Utahns were about to embark on a four-hour trip to Black Rock in Great Salt Lake — but the trip would not be silent.

Brass bands — that traveled around in wagons — were a big deal in Utah back then, and the Nauvoo Brass Band played patriotic music to lead the parade across the dusty land.

Pioneers in Utah had a special attraction to Black Rock, with some even building homes near it. The pioneer celebration consisted of 130 carriages heading to the lake, and they arrived at about 2 p.m.

After arriving, the marchers put up a giant flag and began to climb the rock. There was a flag pole on Black Rock for years, and a pole remained at the site for years to come as Black Rock became a go-to destination for the July 4 holiday.

By 1881, the Utah and Nevada Railway was running special trains to Black Rock for the Fourth of July — and those trains ran past midnight.

By the 1880s, Black Rock was surrounded by water, which meant special “bathing trains” were the rage. They even had races from Black Rock to Antelope Island, with Orson Spencer setting a record in 1937.

In the 1930s, the celebrations were so big, with fireworks being launched off of Black Rock, options for a beer garden or a free lunch, and dancing all night long.

The resort survived until the 1960s, but the Fourth of July parade began to pass it by — and now, the parade is just a memory of the place where thousands and thousands of people went for the holiday for more than a century.

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