Charles Crismon (December 25, 1805 — March 23, 1890) was a miller, most notable for helping establish the city of Mesa, Arizona.

[1] After migrating and spending approximately two years in Utah, building mills to support the growing church, he sought new opportunities for himself and members of his family.

[1] After living in California, Charles moved back to Utah in 1858 where he began to work in many new trades such as mining coal and precious metals, raising stock, and the railroad business.

Lastly, he married Cristiana Amelia Crismon (formerly Hessel) on October 12, 1867, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Early Latter-day Saint Pioneers journeyed west[6] from Illinois and Missouri to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah.

Charles assisted in moving Joseph Smith, the founder and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at that time, to Missouri from Ohio.

[3] From 1846 to 1847, he went to Mississippi to help more pioneer families move west after being called on a church mission by Brigham Young.

[3] Charles built the first flour mill that aided in grinding wheat for the Saints who trekked west in the Salt Lake Valley.

[1] After spending a short time in California, he spent 12 more years in Utah[3] before being asked to help the Saints settle Arizona.

[2] Approximately two thousand years before pioneers arrived, the land in the Salt River Valley that would later become Mesa, Arizona was inhabited by a Native American tribe called Hohokam, meaning “the departed ones”.

They settled the area and named it “Fort Utah”, which was changed to Jonesville, and later to Lehi by the direction of Brigham Young.

Charles left for Arizona on September 26, 1877,[11] and arrived in early 1878 with the First Mesa Company[12] which consisted of 25 wagons and a large herd of livestock.

Even at the end of his life, he was still engaged in this work as he was promoting a plan to transport water south of Mesa through a canal system.

[2] In addition to helping settle Mesa, Arizona, Charles served 3 missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the ages of 34, 38, and 71.