Category: Heritage Sites

This historic theater was built in 1913 by the Thatchers, a prominent family who loved plays and operas. A wing was added onto the theatre in 2001 and the building was beautifully refurbished. The theatre is home to a summer repertory season and other performances during the year. The beautiful building…

Malad Valley Heritage Square is a wonderful collection of Pioneer era cabins, an old fashioned Ice Cream store, covered wagons and farm machinery. It includes the Osmond Family Homestead. Free Self Guided Tours daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. Children must be accompanied by an adult. They hold several old…

Visit “Old Town” Montpelier, take photos of the bears (carved), where signs in front of the buildings describe the history of the area. Look for the Bank of Montpelier, which was robbed by Butch Cassidy in 1896. Cassidy and his pals got away with over $16,000. The Montpelier Historic District…

You can find a variety of old and new style headstones in this cemetery, including a headstone for a man’s amputated leg. In 1878, Ben Waldron lost his leg in a threshing accident. The leg was buried on the east side of the cemetery and was given a headstone with…

The Tabernacle was completed in 1891 and is a striking example of an early Mormon pioneer public meetinghouse.  A beautiful pipe organ was installed in 1908 and the building is used for Church conferences, community concerts, and other presentations.  An extensive genealogy library is located in the basement of the…

On January 29, 1863, Colonel Patrick E. Connor led a group of California Volunteers from Fort Douglas (Salt Lake City) in search of Shoshone Indians responsible for raids on settlers. The Indians had been pushed out of more and more of their lands in northern Utah, and some of them…

Samaria, about 9 miles southwest of Malad, was once the largest town in the Malad Valley. Settled in 1868 by homesteaders, the town did well until the railroad was routed through Malad. After that, the primary businesses developed around the railroad terminal, and Samaria remained a farming community. A number…

The village of Franklin is the oldest European-American settlement in Idaho, having been established in April, 1860 by Mormon pioneers moving northward from Utah. The Relic Hall, a museum of local history, is housed in a log building that was built as a museum in 1937 as homage to the…

Clarence Hughes runs this charming 1892 store, which was moved to the town park in Samaria to keep it from being torn down. It’s a popular hangout for school kids and farmers in the afternoon. He sells local crafts, cookbooks, candy and sodas, and has video rentals. Historic photos and newspaper…

This building was built of local lava rock in 1902. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Discover what western life was like from 1820 to 1920 at this 160-acre living history center. Learn to spin wool, weave rugs, milk a cow or just enjoy the fresh mountain air and beautiful scenery on a wagon ride around the site. The center offers hands-on learning as you visit…

The old Village Hall and Jail are part of the Franklin Historic District in the small town of Franklin, Idaho.

Utah State University was founded as a land grant agricultural college in 1888 and has developed into a major research university, especially in agriculture, natural resources, and space dynamics. The campus is filled with historic buildings and attractive landscaping. The oldest building on campus is Old Main, on the western…

Built in 1900, the Dansante Building has played a central role in the social life of the Cache Valley community for a century. For decades it served as the valley’s premier dance hall, hosting as many as 3,000 people on major holidays. It later became a clothing factory for two…

This is a branch of the Oregon Trail. On July 19, 1849, Benoni M. Hudspeth, captain of a wagon train headed for California, and John Myers, the wagon train’s guide, decided to open a new wagon route to shorten the northern and more established route through Fort Hall. Instead of…

Printable walking tour of historic sites and buildings in the city of Providence, Utah. Download their walking tour brochure.

Without the extensive networks of irrigation canals created by settlers of this region, farming as it now exists would have been impossible in this arid area. Residents created cooperatives to organize the use of the water, with families owning shares that gave them the right to irrigate their land on…

In 1920 the Morgan Pea Factory, located on the west side of Main Street in Smithfield, began business. It was later bought by Del Monte Foods and has since been turned into a can-making factory. Look for the brick building with the original name built into the masonry.

This is an Art Deco brick veneer building built in 1939 as part of a WPA project. It has an elaborate terra cotta entry.

Built in 1930, having a rich history in Preston, Idaho, the Worm Creek Opera House, formerly known as The Grand Theatre, and provides movies and live performances in Franklin County, Idaho. In 1986, the Theatre was a vacant building that had not been used for several years. Under the direction…

This preserve established by the Nature Conservancy protects travertine terraces and crystal clear pools and a unique wetland complex at the base of the scenic Aspen Mountains. The cold springs that feed the terraced pools and creek system deposit high concentrations of travertine (calcium carbonate), which gives the site its…

Free, clear sparkling soda water still is available in a beautiful Soda Springs city park located two miles north from the center of town. A prime attraction for more than 160 years, soda water from these springs was known nationally after rail service reached this resort area in 1882. W.H….

This old store in Henry, Idaho, was originally built as a trading post for Native Americans, trappers, and later gold miners from Caribou Mountain. It is also known as Chester Store by locals after one of the owners. The original building was destroyed by fire, and the current building was…

This theatre was built in 1913 by the Thatchers, a locally prominent family who loved plays and operas. A wing was added in 2001, and the building was beautifully refurbished. A ghost that is partial to Shakespeare is said to haunt the theatre. Actors who have worked here claim that…

This three-cell jail was built in 1880 of plank and five tons of spikes. Operated by the local chapter of Daughters of Utah Pioneers, the museum is a log cabin near the jail, and both sites are owned and operated by the organization.

A summer cabin was built in 1870 for Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Church President Brigham Young. The cabin was used for many years as a stopping place for Young and other church leaders as they traveled through the area doing church business. The home was destroyed in 1944 in an attempt…

The Hatch house is a Greek Revival style house built with local limestone in 1872 by Lorenzo H. Hatch, one of the earliest settlers of Franklin. A carpenter and farmer, he was the first Mormon Idaho legislator and served as mayor and Mormon bishop of Franklin. Since Hatch was the local bishop, he built…

Located in Caribou County, Soda Springs was founded around 1870. The town was named Soda Springs after the hundreds of natural springs found in the region many of which contain carbonated water. These springs were known by early Native Americans and, later, trappers and Oregon Trail travelers, making Soda Springs…

This Presbyterian Church began in Malad in 1876 when Reverend Duncan James McMillan came to the town and started a Sunday School. This church was built in 1882 as a chapel and is one of the oldest remaining buildings in the city.

This old cemetery is home to several interesting graves. The Wagon Box Grave is the 1861 burial site of an Oregon Trail emigrant family of seven killed by Indians and buried together in the wagon box from their covered wagon. You can also find a Morrisite headstone. The Morrisites were…

Five miles west of Soda Springs is a great stone bluff rising several hundred feet above the Bear River. This is the point at which the Bear makes its sweeping left turn, around the base of Sheep Rock, and heads back south toward the Great Salt Lake. Geologically, it marks…

Drive north from Brigham City along Highway 38 and you will see many late-nineteenth-century stone houses built from locally-quarried stone and generally reflecting vernacular building styles of the period. These charming private residences were built by pioneers and are now a part of the picturesque scenery on the drive between…

The intersection of US Hwy 89 and US Hwy 30 at Montpelier is the site of the attractive National Oregon-California Trail Center dedicated to the history and scenic wonders of the 2000-mile Oregon-California Trail, part of the largest voluntary migration ever. The sites in this area are documented in diaries of the emigrants, in military records,…

This tabernacle was once used as a meeting house by early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). It was built in 1908 and reflects Mormon architecture at the beginning of the twentieth century. Its Gothic English architecture and chapel with balcony, wooden benches and slanting…

Built on “Sagebrush Hill,” on a site chosen in 1865 by Brigham Young himself, this tabernacle took nearly fifteen years to build, then it was gutted by fire in 1896. The formerly somewhat plain building was rebuilt with a Gothic Revival tower and sixteen pinnacles. Free guided tours are available…

This monument honors the birthplace of Guston Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Borglum was born in St. Charles, Idaho in 1867. His marble head sculpture of Abraham Lincoln is on display in the Capitol Rotunda. Gutzon Borglum's Wars of America, a bronze sculpture of 42 humans and two horses,…

This Romanesque-style Mormon tabernacle was constructed in 1889 of red sandstone from a quarry 18 miles away. This place of worship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is still used by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A small museum houses heirlooms…

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple is an easily visible icon of the Cache Valley landscape. The edifice was designed by Mormon architect Truman O. Angell, and built from 1877-1884 by the donated labor of early pioneers. The modified Gothic building rests on a terrace of the ancient Lake Bonneville, and…

The town of Malad got its name from the fact that when Donald McKenzie brought a party of trappers through the area between 1818 and 1821, they drank the river water and got sick. The Frenchmen named the river the Malad, meaning illness. The town was settled in 1862, after…

This 1895 Gothic style church in Soda Springs Idaho is built of local lava rock.  In 1895 Captain John Codman donated the land, and a house, to the effort, and this building was raised.  Total cost of the construction and furnishing of the church amounted to $3,671.35.

The first designated historic district in Utah, the Willard district reflects the Welsh heritage of many of the earliest settlers. The main builder of the homes was Shadrach Jones, a Welsh stonemason, and the homes are mainly Greek Revival and Gothic in style, forming the largest grouping of pioneer stone…

Many beautiful turn-of-the-century homes and buildings are located in Logan. You won’t want to miss the Bluebird Café, the Logan Tabernacle, or the Episcopal Church. A 45-minute downtown walking tour guide can be picked up at tourist information center located in the Historic County Courthouse. The Logan Center Street Historic…

Come visit the world's only captive geyser! This park features information about the geyser and the history of the park. This geyser goes off every hour on the hour and sprays water at a cooler degree meaning you can touch the water! Experience the geyser and Soda Springs' historic downtown.

The Whittier School was built in 1908 and holds school day memories for many locals. It was purchased from Logan School district in 1992 and has undergone various rehabilitative projects. Each year, another goal is met in keeping up with building standards to make sure that the Whittier School is…

This building was built in 1883, designed by Truman O. Angell, Jr., who also designed the Logan Tabernacle and the Logan Temple. It is the oldest county building in Utah still being used for its original purpose.

The Oneida Stake Academy was one of many schools founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was started in 1888 in Franklin, Idaho. When the time came in 1889 to build a building for the academy, Preston was chosen as the location because it was centrally…

The Thatcher-Young Mansion was built in 1878 by G.W. Thatcher and his wife Mary Ann Angell-Young. The designer of the home is believed to be Mary Ann’s cousin, Truman Angell Jr., who designed the LDS tabernacles in Brigham City and Coalville, Utah, and in Paris, Idaho, as well as the…

Come watch newly hatched fish (fry and fingerlings), learn about fish reproduction and stocking, and maybe try your luck in a nearby creek! This fish hatchery was built in 1946 and supplies fish stock to southeast Idaho lakes, rivers, and streams. The primary fish produced in the hatchery’s 16 vats…

Here you can picnic in a place traversed by Oregon Trail travelers. The Oregon Trail, marked by white trail markers, heads up from Alexander Reservoir and crosses the road that leads down into the park.

In the 1860s, Brigham Young instituted what came to be known as the “cooperative movement” in Utah. With the new transcontinental railroad came goods made elsewhere, and the church leaders feared that materialism and covetousness would grow among the Mormons. A system of businesses owned cooperatively was created, with existing…

General Patrick Edward Connor, with California and Nevada volunteers, was ordered by President Lincoln to protect the overland travel routes in the West. (This is the same Connor who led his troops to slaughter upwards of 300 Shoshone Indians at the Bear River Massacre in January, 1863. Please see the…

The town of Corinne, Utah, was established in 1869 and for about a decade, it was known as “The Gentile Capital of Utah.” In Utah, the common use of the term “gentile” usually refers to non-Mormons rather than non-Jews, though it is used both ways. The town was established to…

This small pioneer building is over 125 years old and in its early days functioned as a school, local chapel, and meeting hall. In 1966, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave the building to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers who renovated it to create a pioneer relic…

This block housed the first department store in Idaho, the Evans Co-op, which was part of the Mormon cooperative movement of the 1860s, in which local production and purchasing was encouraged through cooperatives. The block, including both the co-op building and the old J.N. Ireland Bank, is on the National…

Originally known as Hull's Crossing because of the placement of the Hull family farms, Whitney was settled by families from Franklin who had need of extra land for crops. Prior to the building of their homes in 1869, they planted the crops and started farming. In 1888, after the railroad came through, the town…

Corrigan Park is located in downtown Soda Springs, Idaho, on the north side of US Highway 30/State Highway 34. It is a pleasant spot to stop and have lunch. While there, you can visit the Galloping Goose and the Dinky Engine, two locomotives that have a part in the history…

The Shoshone Indians used this trail system to cross the mountains between Cache Valley and Bear Lake Valley and on into Wyoming. When Mormon settlers came, they used the trail to take mail between the valleys. A marker commemorating the pioneer mail route is located up Cub River Road (County…

This two room log cabin houses artifacts and information about early Mormon leaders. Wilford Woodruff, the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lived here. The building now serves as a visitors information centers. Tours of the cabin are available.

Whitney was the boyhood home of Ezra Taft Benson who served as Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower Administration, and as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 1985 to 1994. The home in which he was raised and the red gambrel roofed barn sill stand on…

Octagon Spring is one of the hundreds of mineral springs in Soda Springs. This spring, like others in the area, is naturally carbonated. The Idan-ha Hotel used to be across the street before it burned down in 1921 making this a popular site for visitors. The water is carbonated and…