Pioneers of Plano

In the spring of 1883, a group of men led by Richard Hemsley and James Steel left Salt Lake City, by train, in search of a new place to live. They rode to the end of the railroad line, Market Lake, now Roberts, Idaho. Here they obtained horses and rode east across the desert to the Snake River. They followed the river north and found a land of sand and sagebrush with fertile soil and ample water and decided to locate there.

All returned to Salt Lake City and prepared to move. This time they traveled in wagons with their families and household goods. Driving their cattle along, they reached their destination just before dark on October 3, 1883. In April, 1884, Robert Fisher arrived, built a house of logs, and sent for his wife. Thus began a steady stream of settlers.

Later, when a townsite was formed and a post office established in this area, it was given the name of Plano. This was suggested by a school teacher who said that the Spanish word meant “a level place.”

The above text is from the monument (Daughters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #486) located at 5980 North 5000 West in Rexburg, Idaho.

• D.U.P. Historic Markers

The photos below were submitted by Marshall Hurst:

Jenny Leigh, an Eastern Shoshone Indian of Chief Washakie’s People, was born in 1849. She first married a French-Canadian trapper, who was later killed and despoiled of his furs by an Indian in Jackson Hole Country.

She later married Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh, who was the first permanent Caucasian resident of Upper Snake River Valley. This was the first wedding ceremony with a trapper marrying an Indian that was performed according to the laws in this region. They were married by a minister. Six children were born to this union.

Jenny and their children went with Beaver Dick on his hunting trips, After Beaver Dick shot his game, Jenny and her children would take the Indian ponies and bring home the meat. She was inoffensive, hardworking, efficient, and dutiful. Her ability to tan hides, cure meat, make and pitch wickiups, cook meals, and perform all manner of labor make Beaver Dick’s life comfortable. She protected and humored him; she tenderly care for their children. She often assisted the early Mormon pioneers, showing them where to pick wild berries and hunt for small game.

Jenny and their children accompanied Beaver Dick on many government expeditions and hunting trips into the Fire Hole (Yellowstone). She participated in President Roosevelt’s tour of Yellowstone, the first National Park, and Hayden’s Geological Survey of the western United States.

An Indian, named Humpty, died near Market Lake, leaving his squaw and child affected with his illness. Ignorant of their true condition (small pox), these two spread a path of desolation among the trappers of the Upper Snake River Valley.

On December 10, 1876, the diseased Indians exposed the entire Leigh family. Jenny and all six children died, The firstborn (sic, newborn?) child died on December 17, 1876. The other five children from December 14 through December 18, 1876.

Beaver Dick converted his cabin into a burial ground. Because the ground was frozen, he removed the floorboards and buried their bodies in the dirt. This is the actual site of the cabin. Jenny Lake in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is named in honor of Jenny Leigh.

The above text is from Daughters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #565 located at the Jenny Leigh Pioneer Cemetery north of approximately 5500 West Highway 33 in Rexburg, Idaho.

The photos below were submitted by Marshall Hurst: