At that time the Chief Kanosh and many of his tribe were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mortimer Wilson Warner, a local pioneer, is credited with having suggested that the town be named Kanosh in honor of the wise tribal chief.

Certainly, the physical characteristics of Kanosh and others of the "Bearded Utes", as Silvestre Vélez de Escalante had called the Pahvants in the 1770s, suggest generations of contact with the Spaniards.

Even though many of the natives were deeded farmland, most chose to abandon the lifestyle and accept a government offer to move into the Uinta reservation where they would receive economic assistance.

Even then, Kanosh and his people did not always remain in the Uinta Basin; they returned often to Corn Creek to farm, forage, and beg [citation needed] from Mormon settlers.

Though Chief Kanosh still has a headstone in an honored location of the city cemetery, it was not until 1929 that the U.S. Government granted official recognition of the tribe and deeded them a small reserve near their ancestral lands at Corn Creek.

Those few tribal members that remain today have now been almost fully assimilated into the local culture shaped by agriculture, ranching and the Mormon faith.

Some of Kanosh's descendants have earned university degrees and returned from successful careers elsewhere to contribute to a comeback in the local economy.

The government has taken positive steps to clean up the area so that many former residents have begun to return, adding or refurbishing businesses such as a motel, service station and eating places which were once closed or barely surviving.

[clarification needed] Thus, the once new interstate which once hastened the town's exodus has breathed new life into the town since the new state road connects to either the northbound or southbound I-15 interchanges within a few miles in either direction and also greatly reduces the driving time to Fillmore, Utah, county seat and one-time territorial capitol.

On the evening of July 25, 2021, a sandstorm led to a series of crashes near here on Interstate 15 involving 20 vehicles, that killed 8 people, including four children, and injured at least ten others, three critically.