8th Utah Territorial Legislature

The 8th Utah Territorial Legislature comprised members of the Territorial Council serving the second year of their terms, together with members of the House of Representatives elected to one-year terms.

Session
The legislative session convened amid some confusion on December 13, 1858. While newly installed Governor Alfred Cumming summoned the Legislative Assembly to meet in Fillmore at the Territorial Statehouse, only a minority of legislators appeared there when the session opened. It is not clear if Cumming was aware that the 1856 session of the legislature had abandoned Fillmore and relocated the capital to Salt Lake City, but on that basis a quorum of both houses initially met at the Social Hall in Salt Lake. The Salt Lake City group adjourned and traveled to Fillmore where the session resumed with the majority of the legislature on December 18. The legislators apparently were able to convince Cumming of the inadequate accommodations in Fillmore and inconvenience relative to population centers, especially as the Governor's office was also in Salt Lake. The Assembly thus passed a resolution with his approval to adjourn again and re-convene in Salt Lake City on December 27. The session then concluded as scheduled on January 21, 1859.