Soda Springs 
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History of Soda Springs Idaho


Wood carving of pioneers traveling on the Oregon TrailThe Soda Springs area is steeped in both geological and pioneer history. In our Travel The Oregon Trail in Caribou County brochure you can read about Sulfur Springs, Pyramid Springs, the Brigham Young Cabin Site, the Wagon Box Grave, Ninety-Percent Spring, Camp Connor, the Morrisite Settlement, the signing of 1863 Shoshone-Bannock Peace Treaty, the First Marriage in Soda Springs, Sheep Rock, Hudspeth's Cutoff, the volcanic Cinder Cones, Chesterfield Townsite, and the Wagon Ruts & Trail Markers left behind by the pioneers on the Oregon Trail.



The Wagon Box Grave

The Wagon Box Grave headstone in Soda Springs CemetaryThe Wagon Box Grave headstone marks the burial site of the emigrant family.  A family of seven, killed by Indians, was buried here together in the wagon box from their covered wagon. 

A wagon train pulled away from Little Spring Creek, where it had camped overnight.  One man’s horses were lost and the lone family stayed behind to hunt for them. The next morning three trappers discovered that the father, mother, and five children had been murdered.

One trapper said, " We all decided that the best thing we could do was to bury them in their own wagon box, undefined for we had no lumber to make a coffin. . . We went and got the dead emigrants’ horses and hitched them to their wagon, then hauled the bodies in it to the place of burial. We took them out and laid them down on the ground. Then we took off the wagon bed and placed it in the bottom of the grave after it was dug. " The full story is on page 6 of our  Travel The Oregon Trail in Caribou County brochure. Oregon-California Trails Association

Pioneer Historic Byway Marker SignOregon Trail-Bear Lake Scenic Byway MarkerThe Oregon Trail Bear Lake Scenic Byway and the National Pioneer Historic Byway cross paths in Soda Springs. The scenery is breathtaking and history runs deep. You can plan your trip and see each place to visit at Southeast Idaho's History Tour Website.
Pioneer Historic National Byway in Southeast Idaho
Oregon/California Trail Center - Pioneer History Museum in Montpelier
Pioneering Adventures - Pioneer Treks in Paris, Idaho


Soda Springs Chamber of Commerce  

9 West 2nd South, Soda Springs, ID 83276  

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