Charleston Settlement

Sawmill workers who climbed the Wasatch in 1857 looked down on this valley and called it a paradise: high, green, well-watered, and long used by the Timpanogos Ute for summer hunts. Settlers came over the new Provo Canyon road, and in 1859 three towns took root at once: Heber, Midway, and Charleston. Charleston got the low ground, the wet river-bottom farmland along the Provo. It never grew the way the others did — no county seat, no resort, just fields and a few hundred people. Deer Creek Reservoir now laps at the edge of what they broke to plow.

What the plaque says

Daughters of Utah Pioneers No. 71 Erected Sept. 7, 1941 Charleston Pioneers In 1859 George Noakes and William Manning and families came to Provo Valley and settled near Noakes Spring, (2 blocks north and 2 blocks west) where they built the first homes. Other settlers soon followed and a church and school were erected. George Noakes became a leader among the settlers and won the friendship of the Indians. Many of the old landmarks are now covered by Deer Creek Reservoir. The kettle on top of this marker was brought across the plains in 1847. Timpanogos Camp

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Midway — 3.4 mi
  A Swiss-inspired village with a geothermal crater you can snorkel in
• Heber Valley Railroad — 4.3 mi
  A vintage steam train ride through a stunning mountain valley
• Homestead Crater — 4.4 mi
  A hidden geothermal spring inside a 55-foot limestone dome
• Cascade Springs — 5.4 mi
  Seven million gallons a day welling up through travertine terraces and clear pools

More markers nearby

• Midway Social Hall — 3.4 mi
• Midway Fort — 3.4 mi
• Midway Town Hall — 3.4 mi
• Pioneer Lime Kiln — 3.6 mi