Funk's Lake

The valley a mile east of Sterling was a wintering ground of the San Pitch Utes, the band led by Chief Arapeen, when the Sterling settler Daniel Funk set his mind on building a lake there in 1873. With Brigham Young's help he obtained the land, then did the improbable — diverting Six Mile Creek to fill a dry valley that skeptics swore would never hold water. He planted tens of thousands of trees and ran a popular pleasure resort until his death in 1888. Funk's Lake is now Palisade State Park.

What the plaque says

In 1873, Daniel B. Funk purchased the winter camp grounds of the Sanpitch Indians situated in Arropeen Valley, one mile east of Sterling, Utah. With the help of President Brigham Young, he obtained from Chief Arropeen a deed to the valley. Here he built the lake, planted 65,000 trees and ran a pleasure resort until his death Dec. 30, 1888. Later the resort was operated by Hyrum Moroni Bradley. The lake was 1.8 miles from this monument.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sterling — steps away
  A highway hamlet and the doorway to Palisade State Park
• Palisade State Park — 1.7 mi
  A pioneer-built lake turned central Utah's favorite state park
• Mayfield — 5.1 mi
  Gateway to Twelve Mile Canyon and the Skyline Drive high country
• Manti — 5.8 mi
  Sanpete's first settlement, crowned by an 1888 oolite temple

More markers nearby

• Sterling — steps away
• First Presbyterian Church of Manti — 5.7 mi
• Manti Bell Tower — 5.7 mi
• Manti Carnegie Library — 5.8 mi