On North Westside Highway (County Highway D1) near West 900 North, on the left when traveling north.
In 1867 Joseph Chadwick and family settled on Five Mile Creek and built a log cabin. In one room he had a supply store to accommodate the few settlers and freighters. He was followed by Peter Poole, Robert Taylor, Stephen Callan, George Mendenhall, . . . — — Map (db m140159) HM
This building is an example of the stone craftsmanship of the Mormon pioneers of southeastern Idaho. Built in 1868 of local stone cut with a rough , or rusticated, finish, the building demonstrates the gradual change in the late 19th century from . . . — — Map (db m44454) HM
On East Main Street near 1st Street East, on the left when traveling east.
Franklin is Idaho's oldest town. Settled in 1860 by Mormon pioneers who traveled to the vicinity of the confluence of Worm Creek and Muddy River, by year's end, 61 Latter-day Saints (LDS) families were there. The LDS laid out a fort-style . . . — — Map (db m105566) HM
The log Relic Hall is a fine example of Depression Era rustic architecture. Completed in 1937, it also represents a successful early effort to preserve and interpret community history. The building was designed in 1935 by architect Chris Gunderson . . . — — Map (db m44458) HM
On East Main Street near 1st Street East, on the right when traveling east.
The first school in the new colony was in the home of Hannah Comish, who was the teacher. This was the first white school taught in the State of Idaho. Her home was located on the east side of the fort where she taught about 20 pupils with a three . . . — — Map (db m105559) HM
On East Main Street near 1st Street East, on the left when traveling east.
In 1874, Bishop L.H. Hatch built a mansion that has been preserved as a fine example of pioneer Idaho architecture.
Idaho's only railroad serving Montana's thriving mining camps, reached here that year -- a time of depression between gold . . . — — Map (db m105694) HM
On South State Street (U.S. 91 at milepost 1.4) near East 2nd Street South, on the right when traveling north. Reported damaged.
Franklin was settled April 14, 1860 by Mormon pioneers. The free local museum exhibits a large collection of tools and relics of pioneer days.
The founding of Franklin was part of a well organized plan of Mormon expansion. Church . . . — — Map (db m105556) HM
On East Main Street near 1, on the left when traveling east.
These two buildings are examples of the types of houses that were built in Franklin and other Mormon communities from the 1860s to the 1880s. Typically early Franklin dwellings were simple cabins with a central hall, as the residents prospered they . . . — — Map (db m105695) HM
On North State Street (U.S. 91) at Parkinson Road, on the left when traveling north on North State Street.
Franklin, the first permanent Anglo-Saxon settlement in Idaho, was settled in 1860 by a group of Mormon Pioneer families from Utah. The fort in which they first lived was erected for protection against Indians, men standing guard outside at night . . . — — Map (db m105697) HM
On Cub River Road near Birch Creek Road, on the left when traveling east.
This marks the trail of the first communication between Cache Valley and Bear Lake Valley known as the Shoshone Indian Trail in 1864. Mail was carried to Bear Lake on snowshoes, a distance of 25 miles over steep and rugged mountains from Franklin . . . — — Map (db m140344) HM
On South State Street (U.S. 91) near Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
Samuel Cowley was born in Franklin, Idaho on July 23, 1899 to parents Matthais F. Cowley and Luella Parkinson. He was the fifth son in the family of nine sons and six daughters. The Cowleys lived here until Sam was six years old and the family . . . — — Map (db m105558) HM
On East Main Street near 1st Street East, on the left when traveling east.
Official outlet of the ZCMI (Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution), "America's First Department Store". This building housed the Franklin Co-op from circa 1877 to 1900. It was part of the ZCMI co-operative system serving more than 150 . . . — — Map (db m105563) HM
On North Westside Highway (County Highway D1) at Main Street, on the right when traveling north on North Westside Highway.
July, 1864, a company of explorers were sent to Idaho by President Brigham Young to locate suitable places for settlements. The same year Noam Brimhall and John Boice built the first homes in Oxford. William G. Nelson, George D. Lake, and George D. . . . — — Map (db m140160) HM
Near U.S. 91 near Hot Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
The four-hour fight left the Shoshone band decimated and terrified. Lodges, food caches and belongings were burned and women and children murdered. Chief Bear Hunter was cruelly tortured to death. When the killing ceased, the massacre field was . . . — — Map (db m165798) HM
Before dawn on the bitterly cold day of January 29, Shoshone leader Sagwich rose early to survey the area. As he looked toward the bluffs to the south he observed what seemed to be a mist of fog crawling down the bluffs across the river from the . . . — — Map (db m165797) HM
On U.S. 91 just south of Hot Spring Road, on the right when traveling north.
Very few Northwestern Shoshoni survived a battle here that turned into a massacre by Col. P.E. Connor’s California Volunteers.
In 1863, Conner and his force set out from Salt Lake City on a cold January campaign in response to friction between the . . . — — Map (db m165800) HM
On Highway 91 (State Highway 91) just south of Hot Spring Road, on the right when traveling north.
Attacks by the Indians on the peaceful inhabitants in this vicinity led to the final battle here January 29, 1863. The conflict occurred in deep snow and bitter cold. Scores of wounded and frozen soldiers were taken from the battlefield to the . . . — — Map (db m105785) HM
On U.S. 91 near West 5000 North, on the right when traveling north.
First Overland Emigrant Party
"Left the river on account of the hills which obstructed our way on it, ... Road uncommonly broken, did not reach the river, distance about 4 miles" -- John Bidwell, Saturday, August 14, 1841
"We traveled about . . . — — Map (db m105832) HM
Near U.S. 91 near Hot Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
The tensions between the Shoshone and the settlers eventually led to a call from Utah territorial leaders of help from the Army, but the Civil War was on and military resources were stretched thin. In 1861 the third California Volunteer Infantry has . . . — — Map (db m105801) HM
Near U.S. 91 near Hot Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
End of a Way of Life
The delicate balance in which the Shoshone managed food resources for thousands of years was drastically altered by colonization. By the mid-1800s, the Oregon and California Trails brought thousands of pioneers and . . . — — Map (db m105799) HM
On U.S. 36 at milepost 12.9 at North Sage Ridge Road, on the right when traveling north on U.S. 36.
Diverted into this valley by lava flows, the Bear River deposited a huge, mostly red clay delta here where it entered a vast inland sea that covered much of Utah.
About 14,500 years ago , its shoreline suddenly went down about 80 feet . . . — — Map (db m105834) HM
The Oneida Stake Academy was constructed with hand-hewn rock by Mormon pioneers between 1890 and 1895. Its purpose was to provide an inspirational setting for their youth to obtain a first-class education, despite frontier challenges. Of 35 . . . — — Map (db m105699) HM
On State Highway 91, on the left when traveling north.
Concrete shaft located one-half mile west on Bear River marks the site of the Nathan Williams Packer Toll Ferry and Bridge, one of the first on the river. The ferry operated with rope and carried equivalent of one team and wagon. In 1869 a bridge . . . — — Map (db m48977) HM
Near U.S. 91 near Hot Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
Bia Ogoi - Big River
The Bear River -- called Bia Ogoi or Big River by the Shoshone people -- runs west and south through this semiarid valley, eventually emptying into the Great Salt Lake. The river and its many tributaries create . . . — — Map (db m105797) HM
On Highway 91 (State Highway 91) just south of Hot Spring Road, on the right when traveling north.
The Battle of Bear River was fought in this vicinity January 29, 1863 Col. P.E. Connor, leading 300 California volunteers from Camp Douglas, Utah against Bannock and Shoshoni Indian guilty of hostile attacks on emigrants and settlers engaged about . . . — — Map (db m105787) HM
Near U.S. 91 near Hot Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
We cry for the loss and sacrifice of those who did not survive and we honor the strength of those who lived.
After the massacre, the survivors, now under Chief Sagwitch, were aided by other bands as they escaped southward. Most of the . . . — — Map (db m165799) HM
Near U.S. 91 near Hot Springs Road, on the left when traveling north.
Newe, The People
The Shoshone refer to themselves as Newe, the People. Their ancestral territory reached from the Wind River Range in western Wyoming to the middle of Nevada, and from the Salmon River in northeastern Idaho to central . . . — — Map (db m105795) HM
On Highway 91 (U.S. 91 at milepost 13.2) near Hot Springs Road, on the right when traveling north.
One mile south and directly west of this highway, an old 1878 railway grade is still visible, although trains have not used it since 1890.
Jay Gould -- a nationally prominent financier and Union Pacific owner -- extended Utah and Northern . . . — — Map (db m105708) HM
On U.S. 34 at milepost 31.4 near Main Canyon Road, on the left when traveling north.
Armed cattle ranchers delayed farm settlement here for six years before a permanent farm community was organized in 1872.
This kind of conflict occurred in widely scattered western areas when farm crops displaced rangeland. Families of early . . . — — Map (db m105835) HM
On Weston Canyon Road (State Highway 36) near West 300 South, on the left when traveling west.
The Pass of the Standing Rock was held sacred by the ancient ones of the Shoshone and other Native American Tribes long before John C. Fremont's exploratory party came to Weston Canyon on August 29, 1843. Fremont's surveyors spent the entire day . . . — — Map (db m140345) HM
On East 2nd South at South 3rd Street East on East 2nd South.
President Brigham Young directed Mariner W. Merrill to explore new town sites. Out of Merrill's survey, several families from Richmond, Utah crossed the Bear River on April 15, 1865, and settled in the Weston area. The first dugouts were constructed . . . — — Map (db m140136) HM
On West Depot Street near North Center Street, on the left when traveling south.
April 15, 1865 the following pioneers settled at Weston.
Christopher Funk, his wife Annie Kofoed and children.
John Maughan, his wife Marie Davenport and children.
Samuel Rodgers, and is wife Augusta.
Hanz Funk, his wife Christina . . . — — Map (db m140129) HM