Bear Lake Pioneer Country

A pioneer church marker stands here in the Bear Lake Valley, in a corner of Idaho settled by Latter day Saint pioneers. In eighteen sixty three and eighteen sixty four, under the direction of Brigham Young and led on the ground by the apostle Charles C. Rich, families pushed north into this high mountain valley and founded a cluster of small towns, among them Bennington, Ovid, Montpelier, and Bloomington.

Many of the first settlers were immigrants, and the earliest homes were often rough dugouts cut into the earth against the brutal cold. Frost can come in any month here, and the first winters tested them severely. They soon organized the Bear Lake Stake to govern church life in the valley.

The simple churches these pioneers raised were the heart of every settlement, places of worship, school, and gathering.