Rockwell street? Shoot yes, city says

BLUFFDALE — It hardly seems right, naming a street after a guy most known for his prowess with a gun.

But this is no ordinary guy.

And this is no ordinary city.

Bluffdale is kind of a last frontier amid a valley that has mostly succumbed to urban sprawl. It's a city in search of an identity as it grows from relative obscurity into a hotbed of residential growth both in and around Bluffdale.

The current name Bluffdale city officials are using for a yet-to-be-built street is Porter Rockwell Boulevard. It's where much of this city's future growth will be centered.

The new thoroughfare would link Redwood Road to I-15 and help ease the city's already nagging traffic headaches, mostly brought on by massive growth to the south on the west side of Utah County.

What's in a name?

The street name comes from Orrin Porter Rockwell, known by many throughout Mormon history as the "Destroying Angel" — a nickname that, no doubt, reflected his way with the gun and with religion.

Porter Rockwell was one of the first to join forces with LDS Church founder Joseph Smith in the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints.

These days an office complex in Bluffdale bears the name Porter Rockwell. The man also has deep ties to a city where it's believed he once had a home, though he lived in Lehi for some time.

Bluffdale is also where Rockwell ran a stagecoach inn where weary travelers could buy whiskey. The remains of that inn were demolished in 1989.

So, why not name a street after him?

Draper has a trail with his name. A restaurant in Lehi has been using the name Porter. You can find statues of him at the business park in Bluffdale and at Lehi's Pioneer Park.

"He was a colorful character," says Mayor Wayne Mortimer. And hairy.

A picture of Rockwell can be seen on the Web site www.findagrave.com. He has long, thin hair, a bushy beard and deep-set, piercing eyes — a very intimidating look.

The hair probably came as a result of a blessing from Smith, who told Rockwell that no bullet or blade would harm him so long as he didn't cut his locks.