Union Pioneer Cemetery

Among the first party into this valley in 1847 was Green Flake, an enslaved man who drove a wagon west for the family that owned him. He lived out his life in Utah as a free man and is buried here, beside his wife Martha Ann, beneath a headstone he carved himself. The cemetery began by accident: Rufus Forbush buried his wife on the highest ground of his farm in 1851, and when a smallpox epidemic needed graves, he gave the land over. Records are lost, but the restored plots hold well over a hundred graves.

What the plaque says

Daughters of Utah Pioneers No. 155 Erected 1951 Union Cemetery Rufus Forbush buried his wife, Polly Clark, at this spot on 22 August 1851. In 1852, after several victims of a black smallpox epidemic had been buried here, he contributed the land for use as a pioneer cemetery and many of the prominent early citizens of Union were buried here. All official records are lost but the restorers of the cemetery have been able to identify the graves of 48 adults, 72 children, and 20 persons of undetermined age. Union Fort Camp Salt Lake County

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• International Peace Gardens — 8.7 mi
  A hidden garden where 28 countries are represented in miniature
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 9.2 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood
• Liberty Park — 9.4 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• This Is The Place Heritage Park — 10 mi
  A living history village at the mouth of Emigration Canyon

More markers nearby

• Mormon Battalion Monument — steps away
• Union Fort — 1.0 mi
• Sandy-Alta Railroad — 1.9 mi
• Early Sandy Schools & Church Takes Root (2) — 2.1 mi