Hilda Anderson Erickson

Hilda Erickson lived long enough to see the frontier close. She crossed the plains from Sweden by ox team in 1866, a girl of six, and died in Grantsville in 1968 at a hundred and eight — the last of the eighty thousand pioneers who reached Utah before the railroad. She ran four careers: seamstress, licensed midwife who delivered hundreds of babies across the west desert, rancher, and storekeeper, with twelve years on a mission among the Goshute at Ibapah. She drove her own car until ninety-four. Her first airplane flight, she said, was the biggest thrill of all.

What the plaque says

Hilda Anderson Brickson, born in Ledsjo, Sweden December 11, 1859 was the last surviving immigrant pioneer. In 1866 at the age of 6 she crossed the plains with her family in the Abner Lowry Company. She married John A. Erickson in the endowment house in 1882. Soon after the couple was called to serve an LDS mission among the Goshute Indians in Ibapah, Utah. Later the couple homesteaded the Last Chance Ranch with their son, Perry and daughter, Amy. A talented seamstress, tailor, and licenced obstetric, Hilda was known as the "doctor" to many expectant mothers. After the ranch was sold, Hilda opened a store in Grantsville which she operated for 21 years. She drove her own car until she was 94 and at 99 flew to Nauvoo, Ill. to be honored by the Centennial Commission of Utah. Her return flight was the first passenger jet airplane to land at the Salt Lake Airport. She passed away in Jan. 1968 at the age of 108. Kate B. Carter in our pioneer heritage said of Hilda: "Probably no woman in our state has lived a more energetic life." This monument to a grand lady was erected by the Sons of Utah Pioneers, to honor all Utah pioneers. Sculptor Peter M. Fillerup

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Great Salt Lake — 11 mi
  The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere
• Bingham Canyon Mine — 16 mi
  The largest man-made excavation on Earth
• Saltair — 21 mi
  A haunting lakeside resort with a storied past

More markers nearby

• Grantsville Fort — 1.4 mi
• Donner-Reed Memorial Museum & Early Bldgs. — 1.4 mi
• Lincoln Highway — 1.9 mi
• E.T. Benson Grist Mill — 8.6 mi