It was the winter of 1825-26. Here, on the edge of what is now Hyrum Reservoir, General William H. Ashley and his crew reportedly stached $150,000 in furs, mostly beaver. The furs were stored in caches dug into the clay banks of the Little Bear River just east of where you're now standing. They were safe from animals, insects, Indians and the weather. It was a common practice in the trade. When summer came and snow melted from mountain passes, the crew returned and transported the furs by train and river raft to St. Louis, Missouri, a difficult journey indeed. Utah's last known grizzly bear lived and died in the nearby Wasatch Mountains. In 1923, long after grizzlies were thought to be gone from the area, a sheepherder named Frank Clark claimed to be familiar with the giant bear, nicknamed Old Ephraim. --------------------------------------------------- Determined to put an end to the depredation on his sheep herd, Clark set a trap in the bear's favorite wallows. Sure enough, late one night he heard the roar of the angry bear, went to investigate and shot the bear (still dragging the trap and the huge log it was attached to).

Long before the reservoir was built, settlers dug a nine-mile long canal to bring irrigation water from the Little Bear River to area farms. With only hand tools available, they devised a crude V-shaped plow, known as a go-devil, built from two logs joined together on one end and pulled by oxen.

Irrigating became easier in 1935 when construction of Hyrum Dam was completed. Its specific purpose was to provide irrigation water and flood control for the farms of the fertile Cache Valley. The dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. (The dam, reservoir and nearby town are named Hyrum Smith, brother to the founder of the Mormon Church.)

In 1959, the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation assumed administration of the lake for recreation purposes. This site became one of Utah's earliest state parks. Some 75,00 visitors enjoy the park's recreation facilities annually.