Manti Pioneers

Manti was settled at a Ute chief's invitation. In 1849 Wakara — Chief Walker — urged Brigham Young to send colonists into the Sanpete Valley, hoping for trade and alliance, and 224 pioneers under Isaac Morley came that November. Their first winter nearly broke them: they lived in dugouts cut into Temple Hill, lost animals to deep snow and cold, and went hungry. Spring brought a discovery — they had built atop a rattlesnake den, and killed the snakes by the hundreds. The alliance Wakara hoped for would fray within a few years.

What the plaque says

Under direction of Bishop Isaac Morley 224 pioneers arrived in this vicinity Nov. 22, 1849. In response to an invitation from Indian Chief Walker to President Brigham Young. Their first homes were dugouts in the south side of Temple Hill. That winter, heavy snows, loss of animals, famine and serious Indian trouble taxed their endurance. The following spring they found they had settled in a rattlesnake den. Several hundred reptiles were killed. The City of Manti was surveyed and named in 1850. Manti Camp D.U.P.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Manti Temple — 0.4 mi
  A striking pioneer-era temple crowning a hilltop above the Sanpete Valley
• Manti — 0.7 mi
  Sanpete's first settlement, crowned by an 1888 oolite temple
• Palisade State Park — 5.0 mi
  A pioneer-built lake turned central Utah's favorite state park
• Sterling — 6.3 mi
  A highway hamlet and the doorway to Palisade State Park

More markers nearby

• The Manti Temple — steps away
• Pioneer Memorial Cabin — 0.3 mi
• The John Patton House (2) Markers — 0.4 mi
• Manti City Hall — 0.4 mi