Date of Award

12-2025

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

English

Committee Chair(s)

Jeannie Thomas (Committee Chair)

Committee

Jeannie Thomas

Committee

Afsane Rezaeisahraei

Committee

Ross Peterson

Abstract

In the early 1960's a group of UFO believers, called Christ Brotherhood Inc., established themselves in Smithfield Canyon, UT and called their commune White Horse Village. A main house was built where the leader of the group lived and two or three smaller cabins were erected for the believers. Without running water they used an outhouse among them and built a small church where they would meet for lectures. Their beliefs centered around the popular movement of New Age spirituality of the time, which included scientific explanations for Christian beliefs including a belief in benevolent aliens as modern angels. Their leader, Wallace Halsey, received messages from extraterrestrials while in a sleep-like trans and then lectured to small groups in his home, in the church they built, or by invitation in other intimate settings. After Halsey went mysteriously missing, only a few years after moving to Cache Valley, Christ Brotherhood Inc. disbanded and White Horse Village transformed into a counter culture commune of hippies in the mid 60’s to early 70’s. The evolution of the landscape, however, remained a space for “othering,” which became a source of legend tripping within the community. There is very little recorded about this UFO folk group so the main purpose of this project will be to create a history that can be used for future researchers and historians. It will also illustrate the contribution Cache Valley, UT has in the National UFO narrative of the mid twentieth century. This research will cover the philosophy of Wallace Halsey and the spiritual group known as Christ Brotherhood Inc., it will explore the influence Christ Brotherhood Inc, and the counter-culture commune, had on the residents in Smithfield Canyon. It will also give understanding to the impact the local religion had on the UFO group and the impact the group had on the local religion. The majority of this research will be archival and library work, though informal conversation with local residents will also be a valuable contribution.

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