Iosepa Town History

The Hawaiians came to Utah to be near their temple, and Salt Lake City pushed them out. Unsettled by their presence and fearing leprosy, the church moved its Pacific Islander converts to Skull Valley in 1889, and there, in a desert far from any ocean, they built a town. They named it Iosepa, gave its streets Hawaiian names, raised carp where they'd once have fished, and made the valley bloom. By 1915 it held 228. When a temple rose in Hawaii they went home, and the town was leveled for pasture. Their descendants return every Memorial Day.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Great Salt Lake — 19 mi
  The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere

More markers nearby

• Lincoln Highway — 14 mi
• Stockton (3) Markers — 20 mi
• Rock Monument (Ophir Mail Drop) — 21 mi
• Tooele's First Cemetery — 23 mi