First Settlers in Castle Dale

Castle Dale began in holes in the ground. In 1879, answering Brigham Young's call to settle Castle Valley, Orange Seeley gathered families from Sanpete and led them over the mountains into this dry, broken country east of the Wasatch — land where sheep and cattle men had already run their herds. The first settlers dug their dugout homes into the earth beneath a big cottonwood tree just south of here and wintered in them. That October, Jasper Peterson became the first bishop of the new ward, and the town of Castle Dale had its start.

What the plaque says

Responding to a call from Brigham Young, Orange Seeley organized groups in Sanpete County to settle Castle Valley. Sheep and cattle men had been here earlier. In 1879 the first settlers located in Castle Dale building their first dugouts under a large Cottonwood tree 98 rods south and 12 rods east of this monument. Among the first men to bring their families were Niels P. Miller, J. Wellington Seeley and Jasper Peterson who on October 7, 1879, became the first bishop of the Latter Day Saint ward of Castle Dale.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry — 19 mi
  The densest concentration of Jurassic-era dinosaur bones ever found
• Wedge Overlook — 20 mi
  Utah's "Little Grand Canyon" — a 1,200-foot drop into the San Rafael Swell.
• Skyline Drive — 24 mi
  A hundred miles of dirt along the 10,000-foot crest of the Wasatch Plateau
• Mount Pleasant — 33 mi
  A National Register Main Street and Utah's oldest boarding school

More markers nearby

• Old Ranger Station — 8.4 mi
• Charles Winder & Caroline Mills — 16 mi
• Tithing Granary — 16 mi
• First Public Building — 16 mi