Camp Hollow (2)

Hyrum began in wagon boxes and dugouts. In April 1860, in bitter early-spring cold, the town's first families camped on this stream — sheltering in their wagon beds and in holes cut into the banks — and set to plowing a hundred acres of untouched ground. That fall, on an apostle's advice, they shifted a mile southwest, threw up a fort, and named the place Hyrum, for the martyred brother of Joseph Smith. Many bore Danish and Norwegian names — Nielsen, Jensen, Olsen — the mark of the Scandinavian converts who would people much of Cache Valley.

What the plaque says

On April 6, 1860 the first pioneers of Hyrum encamped on this stream they lived in wagon boxes, shelters dug into the banks, tilled and planted about one hundred acres of virgin soil. Later in the fall, following the advice of Apostle Ezra Taft Benson, they moved about one mile south west. Built a fort and named the place Hyrum in honor of the beloved brother of the prophet Joseph Smith both of whom were martyred at Carthage Illinois June 27, 1844. Heads of Families Ira Allen · Thomas Williams · Andrew A. Allen · Alva Benson · Oliver McBride · David Osborn · Hans E. Nielsen · Niels B. Nielsen · George Nielsen · Andrew Nielsen · Adam Smith · William Williams · Jens Jensen Sr. · David Parks · Hugh Parks · Calvin Bingham · Alonzo Bingham · Hans Monsen · Noah Brimhall · Jonas Halversen · Rasmus Jensen · Andrew A. Andersen · Christopher Olsen · Soren Nielsen Erected 1962

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hyrum State Park — 0.9 mi
  A family-friendly reservoir at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon
• Wellsville Mountains — 5.8 mi
  The steepest mountains in North America for their height
• Logan — 6.4 mi
  A vibrant college town tucked into a stunning mountain valley
• American West Heritage Center — 11 mi
  A living history farm spanning 160 acres of Cache Valley

More markers nearby

• The Great Fur Cache — 1.1 mi
• Hyrum Pioneers — 1.2 mi
• Hyrum First Ward Building — 1.4 mi
• Pioneer Church Farm — 2.3 mi