The First Sawmill

Rabbit Valley got its lumber from a mill hauled over the mountains. In 1877 William Wilson Morrell brought a water-powered sawmill down from Kamas and set it running near Mill Meadows, northeast of Fremont, where oxen dragged logs to it from Pole Canyon. Its boards raised the valley's first buildings. Morrell's sons ran it until an accident disabled one of them, and later owners kept it going until it burned. The mill's wheels, cast in 1862, lay buried below Mill Meadow Reservoir until a grandson recovered them in 1972 and brought them here to mark where it began.

What the plaque says

In 1877 William Wilson Morrell brought a water powered sawmill into Rabbit Valley (Fremont) from Kamas, Utah. The mill was located near Mill Meadows, three miles northeast of Fremont, and was operated successfully for several years by William, his sons Silas and Danial G. Brian. Logs were dragged by oxteam from Pole Canyon to the mill, and the milled lumber was used to build some of the first buildings in Rabbit Valley, much needed in the new settlement. When a serious accident disabled Silas, the mill was sold to Hans M. Hanson and Hiet E. Maxfield who operated it until it burned down. These mill wheels, bearing the manufacture date of 1862, were buried in the ground below Mill Meadow Reservoir. In August of 1972 they were rescued, restored, and brought to this site by Eldon Morrell, William's grandson, and several great grandsons.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fishlake National Forest — 8.4 mi
  Home to Pando — the largest living organism on Earth
• Torrey — 15 mi
  A charming gateway town for Capitol Reef National Park
• Gifford Homestead — 23 mi
  A pioneer homestead famous for its fresh-baked pies
• Fruita Historic District — 24 mi
  A pioneer orchard oasis in the red-rock heart of Capitol Reef.

More markers nearby

• First Public Building — steps away
• Fremont Park — steps away
• Allred Point Pioneers — 1.7 mi
• Peace Treaty with Fish Lake Indians — 8.3 mi