The first brick home built in Ferron once sat approximately 100 feet northeast of this marker. Stone footings are all that remain of the former home of Mike and Eunice (Lowry) Molen, early settlers of Emery County. Three miles east on Molen Road is the small community of Molen, named for lands where Mike Molen grazed his cattle during Emery County’s early years. At one time, the town of Molen boasted a school, community center, and church. Molen reached its apex of 164 residents in 1900. Today only a few residents and a tidy cemetery, one mile to the east, remain.

Eunice Lowry was born April 16, 1860, to John Lowry Jr. and Sarah Jane (Brown) Lowry of Manti, Utah. Eunice married Mike Molen in 1879. Ferron remained the family home until a few years after the tragic death of their 18-month-old son, Simpson Hazelton, in 1887. He drowned in the Molen ditch just south of this marker. Eunice went into a deep depression for several months. After recovering, Mike moved her and their 8 remaining children to Mapleton, Utah, and later to Idaho and Montana. Mike and Eunice are buried in Great Falls, Montana.

Michael Webster Molen was born January 15, 1842, in Bureau County, Illinois, to Jesse Molen and Laurany Huffaker. After converting to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the large Molen family gathered with other church members at Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1846, anti-Mormons forced some 15,000 Mormons, including the Molens, from Nauvoo. After crossing Iowa, the Molens migrated west in 1847, reaching Utah with the Jedediah M. Grant wagon train company. Both parents died within two years of Mike’s 12th birthday.

While growing to manhood, Mike worked at a variety of frontier jobs, including work as a chore boy at Porter Rockwell’s stage station in Lehi, Utah. After working with cattle for several years, Mike developed a herd of his own in Sevier County. Around 1875, range land became scarce. Mike was among the many early settlers who came to graze his cattle on the vast range lands of Emery County. In Emery County, Mike served as a Bishop’s counselor, Justice of the Peace, and County Commissioner. He operated the first dry goods store in Ferron. In 1892 Mike disposed of his 3,300 head of cattle.

This historic marker was erected August 2, 2002 by The Molen Family Organization and it is located at approximately 135 South State Street in Ferron, Utah.