Southern Utah Valley

Two very different explorers passed through this valley, sixty-eight years apart. The Domínguez-Escalante friars came first, in 1776, camping just north of here and preaching to the Ute. But it was the second visitor whose maps changed history. In 1844 Lieutenant John C. Frémont crossed this country making careful scientific observations, and it was his work that first defined the Great Basin as a place. His published reports — noting good soil and grass fit for settlement — were pored over by the Latter-day Saints before they left Illinois in 1846, and helped point them toward this very region.

What the plaque says

The Dominguez-Escalante expedition looking for a route between Spanish New Mexico and California were the first white men to enter Utah Valley. They camped a few miles north of this site on September 23, 1776, and spent several days exploring and teaching the Indians. In 1844 Lt. John C. Fremont whose careful scientific observations led to the definition of the Great Basin, also visited this area. His reports were studied by the Mormons prior to their departure from Illinois in 1846. He noted that "there is good soil and good grass adapted to civilized settlements." A fact which undoubtedly contributed to the choice of the Great Basin as the destination of the Mormon Pioneers. Despite the general Mormon policy of feeding rather fighting the Indians, a corollary of their settlement on Indians lands in Utah was the frequent loss of life and property among the Indians as well as the white man. Before Congress extinguished the Indian land title and removed local tribes to the Uintah Basin, a 640 acre Indian Farm was established in 1855 near the mouth of the Spanish Fork River in an effort to educate the Indians to sustain themselves through agricultural pursuits.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Payson Lakes — 8.0 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

• Santaquin — 0.2 mi
• First Relief Society Hall — 0.2 mi
• Spring Lake Villa — 2.7 mi
• Black Hawk - Ute Indian Chief — 3.0 mi