Pioneer Cemetery

Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery

“Ephraim’s forgotten cemetery stands as a memorial to early Scandinavian settlers and a reminder of violence in pioneer-era Utah”.

The Pioneer Cemetery is located in north of Ephraim about one mile, west of US-89. The easy-to-miss location is marked by a small clump of pine trees, and only accessible by a dirt road.

When Chief Wakara met the LDS-church Prophet Brigham Young in 1849, he invited members of the church to settle in an area of central Utah called “Little Denmark” due to the high influx of Danish immigrants, but these peaceful relations quickly soured, and many deaths resulted from the ensuing warfare. Most of the graves in the Pioneer Cemetery are occupied by early settlers from Fort Ephraim who fulfilled important roles like blacksmiths, masons, stonecutters, etc. Their last names often ended in -son or -sen, and their birthplaces were often either Denmark or Sweden.

The first war, called the “Walker War” was fought between the indigenous peoples and the settlers, and lasted from 1853-54, as Fort Ephraim was being built. The first casualty was a man named Mr. Manwaring, whose cause of death is unknown. As the funeral party was on its way to bury him in Spring City, a settlement about 9 miles north of Ephraim, they had to stop about two miles out of the fort, because of an imminent attack, and ended up burying him where the pioneer cemetery stands today.  

Military markers were added to many of the gravestones. For example, we know that a certain Christian Thorpe was a second lieutenant in the Blackhawk War, which was fought between the United States and Sauk leader Blackhawk. There are also many children's graves in the Pioneer Cemetery. Many of these include victims of drowning or disease, which were risks common to the early settlers.

In 1905, the Pioneer Cemetery was replaced by the Ephraim Park cemetery as the primary burial location for the city. Throughout the 20th century, the old cemetery went through many decades of neglect and decay. However, in 1990, there was a committee organized to revamp and renew the dilapidated resting place. In 1995 the Daughters of Utah Pioneers added plaques to inform visitors about the history, and in 2017, an eagle scout project involved moving old farm equipment from the 1800s into the cemetery.