Santaquin

This town carries the name of a Ute leader who chose friendship. Settlers first came in the spring of 1851 and called the place Summit Creek, for the ridge it sat on between Utah and Juab counties. The Walker War drove them out to Payson in 1853, and they didn't return until 1856. When the town was renamed in 1875, they named it not for a founder but for Santaquin, a Ute chief who had befriended the settlers in those uneasy years — a rare instance of a Utah town honoring the people whose country it was built on.

What the plaque says

The town of Santaquin was settled in the spring of 1851. At that time it was called Summit Creek, as it was located on a ridge between Utah and Juab counties. Due to Indian hostilities in 1853, the settlers were forced to leave their homes and move to Payson. In 1856, Summit Creek was permanently settled. The name was changed to Santaquin in 1875, after an Indian chief who befriended the settlers. Plaque below: To our pioneers, who nearly a century ago, came to this valley, then a barren desert, and whose persistence, loyalty and love of God, built through the years a heritage worthy of their name. Latter-day Saints, We pay heartfelt and eternal tribute

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Payson Lakes — 7.9 mi
  Three alpine lakes in the pines, twelve miles up Payson Canyon
• Nebo Loop Summit — 9.5 mi
  The byway's 9,300-foot high point, with Utah Valley spread out below
• Mount Nebo — 11 mi
  At 11,928 feet, the highest and southernmost peak in the Wasatch Range
• Devil's Kitchen — 13 mi
  A pocket of red-rock hoodoos high in the green Wasatch — a "little Bryce Canyon"

More markers nearby

• First Relief Society Hall — steps away
• Southern Utah Valley — 0.2 mi
• Spring Lake Villa — 2.5 mi
• Black Hawk - Ute Indian Chief — 2.8 mi