New Canaan

New Canaan was a town established among the ruins of Ogden, Utah, inhabited predominantly by Mormons, usually referred to as New Canaanites.

History
The town was founded by Prophet Judah Black in 2235, among the ruins of the once great city of Ogden. The settlers were survivors from New Jerusalem, a previous Mormon settlement established in Salt Lake City, the destroyed pre-War capital of the Latter Day Saints. An unknown catastrophe forced the Jerusalem citizens out, rumored to be linked to their refusal to deal with outsiders. Out of the shattered glass and broken steel of SLC, Black led his people north, to Ogden. The community suffered as they rebuilt, but prevailed, despite numbering barely a hundred. After Judah Black's death in 2245, the community's leadership passed to Jeremiah Rigdon, who claimed to have experienced visions from God in 2247. Though many believed in him, some distrusted him and left.

Years of peace allowed New Canaan to become a powerful force in the north, controlling a majority of trade routes north of the Mojave. Rumors of its existence reached the Republic a few decades before 2281 and eventually contact between the two entities took place. The Republic, initially mistrustful over the religious nature of the New Canaanites (after its own experiences with religious cults), was happy to discover that the Canaanites were honest traders and good fighters, keeping the raider populations in check and developing a trade network. In fact, learning how to handle a .45 Auto pistol was considered a Mormon rite of passage, helping build up a strong defensive force that allowed New Canaan to survive in the violent Utah as one of the few islands of stability in a sea of regional warlords, raider tribes, and cannibals. The expansion of NCR and growth of Canaanite trade routes eventually resulted in competition between Canaanite caravans and the largest of the NCR-aligned trading companies, most notably the Crimson Caravan. Protectionism in trade helped Canaan to maintain an edge, but by 2281, they were willing to allow Crimson Caravan to open a trading post in the city, under proper taxes, of course.

The prosperity was not meant to last. Though powerful and prosperous, its days were numbered. The countdown started with the return of Joshua Graham, after three months of harrowing journey through the wasteland. Graham survived being set on fire and thrown into the Grand Canyon. Though he effectively betrayed them, the New Canaanites welcomed him as the prodigal son, as if he had never left. Graham's survival was known to Caesar, who immediately began sending out assassins and frumentarii to track him down and kill him. By returning to New Canaan, Graham doomed the city, as it also became an important trade route and one of the potential supply routes for the NCR in the Mojave.

Destruction of New Canaan
Caesar contacted the White Legs through one of his most capable frumentarii, Ulysses. Though the raider tribe was always a problem for New Canaan, their disorganized nature and lack of infrastructure meant they were manageable. With Ulysses at the helm, they became capable of wiping out New Canaan - and were mandated to do so by Caesar.

Ulysses took the White Legs and crafted them into a weapon. They were violent and could not live on their own, so rather than teach them how to live, he taught them how to murder. The walls of New Canaan were high, but once Ulysses uncovered New Canaan supply caches and helped the White Legs break into pre-War armories, they finally had the means to scale them. Ulysses dictated that they must kill everyone they find: Women, children, the elderly. He spoke of strength and Caesar's respect, but he only wanted to use them as tools. As distasteful as he found it, he followed his orders and ordered the death of a people with ancestry going back thousands of years. Another civilization, extinguished by the wasteland.

The White Leg attack took New Canaan by surprise. It happened at night, at a time when Joshua Graham and many other able bodied New Canaanites were away. The White Legs invaded the city and butchered everyone they found. Children were slaughtered in their beds, people found in the streets were cut down without mercy, while the elderly Bishop Mordecai was burned alive in his home. By dawn, maybe thirty New Canaanites were left in the region, scattered to the winds. The survivors regrouped along the Colorado river, with two seemingly incompatible men standing their ground at Zion. Joshua Graham and Daniel became leaders of two tribes from the canyon and sought different solutions to the White Leg onslaught. Graham wanted to face them alongside the Dead Horses and slaughter them, in retribution for New Canaan. Daniel wanted something different: To evacuate Zion and lose the scavengers in the Grand Staircase and the wilderness beyond. All the while, the world outside has not yet learned of New Canaan's destruction...

The history of New Canaan does not end with the fall of the city, however. Though the city was razed, the New Canaanites survived. As long as they live, the legacy of New Canaan will live on, rebuilding elsewhere. However, it does mean hardships for any outfit used to trading with them - like Happy Trails Caravan Company, which relied on its mission in Zion to turn a profit.

Behind the scenes

 * Owing to the religious background, New Canaan is named after the biblical Canaan and its history bears numerous parallels to biblical ones.

Appearances
New Canaan is mentioned in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts and was intended to be a major location in early drafts of Van Buren.