Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery

The cemetery began with a rushed grave. When Ephraim's first settler died in 1854, mourners were carrying his body toward a neighboring town's burial ground when word of a threatened attack turned them back — so they dug in on this rise instead. The threat was real: these were the years of the Black Hawk War, the fighting that followed as Mormon settlement pushed the Ute and their neighbors off the land that fed them. Rows of small graves here mark children lost to disease. Restored in 1990, the pioneer cemetery still keeps its knoll north of town.

What the plaque says

In 1854, Ephraim's first settlers erected a one and one half acre stone fort for housing and protection against Indian attacks. A cemetery was not included in their plans. The first pioneer to die was Mr. Manwaring. Permission had been granted to use Allred Settlement's (Spring City's) cemetery, and the funeral party was en route to that site when a warning came of a threatened Indian attack. Instructions were given to dig a grave, bury the body, and return to Fort Ephraim. This burial took place about two miles north of Ephraim and is the present site of Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery. It was used almost exclusively until May 1905. Mr. Manwaring's grave site is unknown as are other burials recorded in journals but not on grave markers. Numerous markers bear names of young children, as various diseases and malnutrition took a terrible toll in those early years. Ornate oolite, granite and simple wooden markers dot the cemetery, most engraved with loving words, poetry and decorative emblems. A striking granite marker designates the burial site of seven pioneers who were massacred by Indians in 1865. Seven Ephraimites, who drowned in Funks' Lake in 1878, are buried nearby. For many years, the cemetery had an unkempt appearance until 1990 when the present transformation occurred under the direction of the Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery Committee.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ephraim Co-op — 2.0 mi
  The 1871 cooperative store that outlived the economy it was built to replace
• Ephraim — 2.1 mi
  Utah's Little Denmark and the home of Snow College
• Spring City — 8.0 mi
  An entire pioneer town preserved on the National Register
• Manti Temple — 8.8 mi
  A striking pioneer-era temple crowning a hilltop above the Sanpete Valley

More markers nearby

• Ephraim Co-op Building — 2.0 mi
• Ephraim Settlement — 2.0 mi
• Snow Academy Building — 2.0 mi
• Fort Ephraim Peace Treaty — 2.0 mi