Holden

Holden started as a fort and got its name from an act of sacrifice. Settlers built an adobe-walled fort here in 1855, on spring-fed cedar hills in Pahvant country, and called it Fort Cedar Springs — though for its dairy herds and the buttermilk poured for travelers, everyone knew it as 'Buttermilk Fort.' In 1857 Elijah Holden froze to death in a snowstorm on the pass to the north, having given his life trying to save a small boy caught in the same storm. When the town got a post office in 1858, it took his name.

What the plaque says

Established by Mormon Pioneers in 1855, as Fort Cedar Springs. Church President Brigham Young gave permit for the families of William Stevens Sr. and Richard Johnson to start a settlement near these grassy, spring-fed cedar hills. Joined that fall by eight more families, the small colony began construction of an adobe walled fort to serve as a home for the people and protection from Piute Indians. In use until 1867, it was a place of refuge for the weary frontier traveler. It came to be known as "Buttermilk Fort" because of its dairying industry and its refreshing drink. In 1858 a Post Office was established and the name changed to honor the memory of Elijah Holden. He had perished in 1857 on the Scipio Pass (nine miles to the north) in a snowstorm, while attempting to save a small boy's life. Residents of Holden still radiate the enduring qualities bequeathed them by their hardy pioneering ancestors...thrift, perseverance, and a strong abiding love of God.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Scipio — 13 mi
  A tiny crossroads town where I-15 meets the old highway
• Gunnison — 24 mi
  Sanpete's southern hub, home to Utah's oldest operating theater

More markers nearby

• Fillmore Veterans Memorial — 10 mi
• Blue Star Memorial Highway - Fillmore — 11 mi
• Settlement of Scipio — 13 mi
• Scipio Town Hall — 13 mi