Utah preservation groups plan statewide launch of Buffalo Soldier Heritage Trail

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Fort Douglas Military Museum is home to the largest collection of Buffalo Soldier artifacts in Utah. In the coming months, the stories of the soldiers and these artifacts will become even more widely known to the public.

Plans are currently underway to develop a Buffalo Soldiers heritage trail in Utah.

MORE ABOUT THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS:

Robert Burch, who wears many hats, is the founder of the Sema Hadithi African American Heritage Foundation and a board member of the Utah Board of State History.

He said that while working with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, he became aware of information gathered over the past decade about the Buffalo Soldiers.

“We have enough information here to be able to establish a heritage trail for the entire state of Utah,” he said.

A number of preservation organizations (including state ones) are stepping up to help move the heritage trail forward.

This will eventually turn into a massive statewide project.

Unique details, including soldier marks carved into walls and rocks along Nine Mile Canyon and Gateway Canyon, will be marked along the trail with special signage.

The teams working on this project are still in the early planning stages.

Burch said several sites have been identified along the Buffalo Soldier Heritage Trail. However, more could be added later.

“We are creating a tri-fold brochure that will actually have a map showing the designated locations. So you can see which city and which village to go to,” he said.

The Buffalo Soldiers made history in other ways.

In 1866, Congress formed six regiments composed entirely of African Americans.

Over time, this number dropped to four regiments.

The 24th Regiment (which would also be the largest regiment with 600 soldiers) was stationed here in Utah.

The soldiers played a variety of roles, including helping to maintain peace in parts of the western border.

Ramesus Stewart Johnson leads a team of researchers from the Sema Hadithi African American Heritage Foundation on the Buffalo Soldiers.

“The name ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ was a nickname given by Native Americans to black soldiers. The primary role of the Buffalo Soldiers was to build infrastructure to protect the settlers. It didn’t matter whether they (the settlers) were members of the church or not,” Johnson said.

The construction of the first infrastructure of Nine Mile Canyon was attributed to the Buffalo Soldiers.

Buffalo Heritage Trail organizers hope to celebrate the trail’s grand opening in about two years.

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