James Smyth

A stone by the canyon road marks a death almost no one can explain. On a February night in 1877, a snowslide broke loose above Blacksmith Fork and crushed the cabin where James Smyth was sleeping. He was twenty-five, from Kansas, and that is nearly all anyone knows — probably one of the crews cutting railroad ties in the canyon that hard winter, when the thaws sent slides down nine at a time. Historians have tried and failed to find the rest of him. The monument keeps a name the record almost lost.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area — 0.9 mi
  A winter elk feeding ground where you can take a sleigh ride among hundreds of elk
• Wind Cave Trail — 11 mi
  A short hike to a triple-arched limestone cave overlooking the canyon
• Logan Canyon — 11 mi
  A winding National Scenic Byway through limestone cliffs and alpine forest
• Hyrum State Park — 15 mi
  A family-friendly reservoir at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon

More markers nearby

• Old Ephraim Bear — 11 mi
• Hjorth Molasses Mill — 13 mi
• Paradise Tithing Office — 14 mi
• Camp Hollow (2) — 14 mi