The Great Fur Cache

This is the cache that named a valley. In the winter of 1825–26, the mountain men of Ashley's brigades — James Bridger, Jedediah Smith, William Sublette, and others — dug pits near here and buried an enormous haul of beaver pelts: seventy-five bales, worth an estimated hundred and fifty thousand dollars, hidden to await the spring caravan. Most of it went east by pack train and river to the fur markets of St. Louis. From caches like this one, the trappers gave Cache Valley the name it carries today.

What the plaque says

To commemorate an important episode in the early history of the west and to honor the scouts and explorers of earlier days, this monument was erected. In this vicinity in the winter of 1825-26 a cache containing 75 bales of furs, mostly beaver, with a value estimated at $150,000 was made by James Bridger, Jedediah Strong Smith, William L. Sublette and others, who had come west with General W.H. Ashley. Later most of the furs were taken by pack train and water to the fur markets at St. Louis.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hyrum State Park — 0.3 mi
  A family-friendly reservoir at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon
• Wellsville Mountains — 4.9 mi
  The steepest mountains in North America for their height
• Logan — 7.1 mi
  A vibrant college town tucked into a stunning mountain valley
• American West Heritage Center — 11 mi
  A living history farm spanning 160 acres of Cache Valley

More markers nearby

• Hyrum Pioneers — steps away
• Hyrum First Ward Building — 0.4 mi
• Camp Hollow (2) — 1.1 mi
• Cache Valley — 2.9 mi