Bear River Massacre Site |
| 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 had reacted by attacking settlers. In the early morning darkness, the soldiers attacked the winter camp of Chief Bear Hunter on Battle Creek, trapping them in the ravine, and slaughtered at least 250 men, women, and children (some accounts say it was 400). It was the worst massacre of Native Americans in the West, but received little attention, in part because it occurred during the Civil War, when Americans’ attention was more on events in the East than those in the West. The event is noted by several historical markers on US Highway 91 outside of Preston. The various markers show how the event has been remembered;first as a “battle,” and later as the massacre it was. There are often items of remembrance such as feathers or little bundles of cloth left by visitors to the site. Please do not disturb these if you see them. |
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Location: |
About 2.5 miles northwest of Preston, Idaho on US Hwy 91 |
Lat/Long: |
42.15288° N 111.90733° W |
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Ezra Taft Benson Home and Gravesite |
| 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 the family farm. The home and farm are private property, not open to the public. Benson is buried in the Whitney cemetery nearby. |
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Location: |
2003 East 800 South, Whitney, Idaho |
Lat/Long: |
42.08187° N 111.82765° W |
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Franklin Relic Hall |
| The village of Franlkin 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 log homes of the early settlers. Exhibits inside the Hall have remained relatively unchanged since they were installed in 1937. The collection includes farm implements, photos of settlers, and a Yellowstone Park Touring Stagecoach. In addition, there is a replica of the old fort that was the first structure when Franklin was settled. Next to the Relic Hall is the stone building that was the Franklin Cooperative Mercantile Institute, part of the cooperative movement instituted under Brigham Young. The idea was to locally produce as much of what was consumed as possible, to avoid dependance on "imported goods" from the coasts. |
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Location: |
111 East Main, Franklin, Idaho |
Lat/Long: |
42.0173° N 111.80087° W |
Hours: |
Summer season, June 1st to September 30th, Tuesday thru Saturday 11 am to 3 pm. By appointment during off season. |
Information: |
208.646.2309 |
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Hatch House and Doney House |
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 his house large enough to accommodate visiting dignitaries and travelers. The original floor plan included a front parlor, hallway and staircase on one side, a kitchen in the back, and four bedrooms (three upstairs and one downstairs). A brick addition was built in 1905. Descendants of L.H. Hatch lived in the house until the 1940's. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is not open to the public. This is also the site of the Doney house, which has been moved from its original location. It is the second oldest house in Idaho, built in 1864 by John Doney, and an example of a pioneer rock house. View both houses from the street. |
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Location: |
125 East Main, Franklin, Idaho |
Lat/Long: |
42.0173° N 111.80005° W |
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Old Village Hall and Jail |
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Location: |
122 East Main, Franklin, Idaho |
Lat/Long: |
42.01705° N 111.8° W |
Hours: |
By appointment during city office hours; 9 am to 5 pm, Mon thru Fri |
Information: |
City office: 208.646.2300 |
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Oneida Stake Academy |
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 Frankiln, Idaho. When the time came in 1889 to build a building for the academy, Preston was chosen as the location because it was centrally located in the region. It is the oldest academy building still standing. Ezera Taft Benson and Harold, B. Lee, former Mormon Chrurch Presidents, were among the graduates of the school. In 2002 the Franklin County School District decided that they needed the land occupied by the empty Academy building to expand facilities at the high school, and declared that the building would be razed if the funds could not be found to move it. A tremendous outpouring of community, regional, state and even national support raised the required $1.2 million, and on December 10, 2003 the building was lifted from its foundation and moved two blocks to Benson Park, a process which took a week. It is now being restored as a museum and community center, and donations are still needed to complete the project. Visit Oneida Stake Academy on the web at: http://oneidastakeacademy.com/index.htm |
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Location: |
Benson Park, 90 East Oneida Street, Preston; on the south side of Oneida Street between State Street and 100 East. |
Lat/Long: |
42.09611° N 111.87425° W |
Open: |
By appointment |
Information: |
Oneida Stake Academy Foundation, Inc., c/o Necia Seamons, 208-852-1837 |
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Shoshone Trail |
| 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 Road 406 which turns off US Hwy 91 about four miles south of Preston, Idaho). The markers are about 12 miles up Cub River Road. When you get to the fork in the road, take the Willow Flat, Franklin Basin turn. There are two markers;one at Thomas Spring and one a little further on. The GPS coordinates are for the first marker. |
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Lat/Long: |
42.14559° N 111.64217° W |
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Whitney, Idaho |
| 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 was given its present name. To this day, Whitney remains a farming community. |
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Lat/Long: |
42.06618° N 111.8377° W |
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Worm Creek Opera House |
| This old theater was named after a creek the flows through Preston. It was reopened about 30 years ago and now serves as a playhouse for students performing in Westside High and Preston High musicals, and performers in general from Northern Utah and Idaho. In between productions put on through Franklin County Theater Arts Council and Northern Cache Valley's Theatre Guild, the opera house shows current movies. Call for information for current offerings. |
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Location: |
70 South State Stree, Preston, Idaho |
Lat/Long: |
42.09477° N 111.87677° W |
Hours: |
Call information number for play and movie times. |
Open: |
208.852.0088 |
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