The San Juan Mission

The hardest road in Mormon settlement ended here. In 1880 the church sent two hundred and fifty colonists to plant a town in the San Juan country — the Four Corners, shared by Navajo, Ute, and Paiute — both to hold it and to keep peace with its Native peoples. They chose to reach it by a shortcut through the Hole-in-the-Rock, and the shortcut nearly broke them: six months of blasting road and hauling wagons over slickrock that no one had crossed before. When the exhausted company could go no farther, they stopped here and named the place Bluff.

What the plaque says

Bluff was the first settlement of the white man in San Juan County and its first county seat. It was founded April 6, 1880 by the San Juan Mission "called" by the L.D.S. Church to establish friendly relations with the Indians. A small band of mission scouts found good farm land at this location in 1879 and it was resolved to settle here. Late in October 250 colonists from several southwestern Utah communities began the migration via the Hole-in-the-Rock shortcut across the Colorado River. Contrary to expectations the route proved almost impassable and after nearly six months of the most strenuous effort the exhausted company reached this site. No pioneering band ever overcame greater difficulties in establishing and maintaining a home. The turbulent river proved uncontrollable and for 40 years hostile Indians and various types of white renegades threatened life and property. In spite of hardships and personal sacrifice the missionaries remained steadfast to the calling until released by the church. The San Juan Mission is an unexcelled example of the highest type of pioneer endeavor.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Valley of the Gods — 19 mi
  A free, uncrowded alternative to Monument Valley
• Mexican Hat Rock — 20 mi
  A perfectly balanced sombrero-shaped rock formation
• Moki Dugway — 22 mi
  A heart-pounding series of switchbacks carved into a cliff face
• Goosenecks State Park — 22 mi
  A 1,000-foot-deep river canyon with impossibly tight meanders

More markers nearby

• Chief Posey's War — 18 mi
• Settlement of Blanding — 23 mi
• ZCMI Co-Op Building — 24 mi
• Blanding Veterans Memorial — 24 mi