First Log House

The Uinta Basin was settled backwards. Brigham Young's scouts dismissed it in 1861, and President Lincoln reserved it that year for Ute bands — people soon forced from their Wasatch homelands onto it. Pardon Dodds, a Civil War veteran, arrived as the reservation's first Indian agent in 1867. When he left the post, he came over to Ashley Creek in 1873 with two partners to run cattle and built the valley's first settler cabin east of this monument — a home the Dodds family kept until 1897, the seed of what became Vernal.

What the plaque says

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln established by proclamation the Uintah Indian Agency. Brigham Young held the office of Supt. Indian Affairs. Lieut. Pardon Dodds, civil war veteran, came to Utah Sept. 7, 1866 and in 1867 was appointed first Indian agent for the Uintah Basin, by President Andrew Johnson. After posting a $20,000 bond, he arrived at Whiterocks, Christmas day and served until 1873 when he came to Ashley Valley as a stockman with Evans and Huffaker. East of this monument they erected the first log cabin built by white men in Uintah Basin. It served as a home for the Dodds family until 1897.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Steinaker State Park — 2.2 mi
  A warm-water reservoir popular for swimming in the desert heat
• Vernal — 2.9 mi
  The self-proclaimed Dinosaur Capital of Utah
• Utah Field House of Natural History — 2.9 mi
  A dinosaur museum with life-size replicas in an outdoor garden
• McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs — 4.6 mi
  Massive Fremont-era rock art panels on private ranch land open to visitors

More markers nearby

• Old Ashley Post Office (2) Markers — 0.5 mi
• Reynold's Flour Mill — 1.4 mi
• Fort Thornburgh — 1.7 mi
• St. Paul's Episcopal Church — 2.8 mi