"LITTLE VALLEY" Early History The valley is named Box Elder Valley or Little Valley. (This information came from the records of Lorenzo Snow.) The valley is about 1½ miles wide and 2½ miles long. It is properly called a basin as it is completely surrounded by mountains with just one canyon cutting the south and west parts, which was made at the time Lake Bonneville received. It was well known to the early trappers and hunters in the Wasatch Mountains. As soon as the settlement of Box Elder (now Brigham City) was founded in 1851, "Little Valley" became a favorite herd ground for the stock belonging to the settlers. In November 1856, Eli H. Perrce and others were appointed to a committee to manage and control Box Elder Valley and Devil's Gate Canyon for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of Brigham City. By an Act of the Utah Legislature approved on January 18, 1858, Box Elder Valley was granted to Lorenzo Snow and others for a herd ground. Father Abraham Hun-saker was among the men who ran one of the largest herds in the valley.

In the Spring of 1863, about a dozen Danish families were called by the Church Authorities to settle in "Little Valley". In charge was Hans Peter Jensen, others were Rasmus Nielsen Jeppsen, Niels Christian Schow, Jorgen Jorgensen, Jorgen Hansen, Lars J. Halling, Niels Nielsen, Thomas C. Andersen, Peter Olsen Hansen, Fredrick Sorensen, Hans Nielsen Petersen, and a few others. These people, like many others, joined the church in their native country, then because of religion, decided to come to America. Some landed at New Orleans, crossed the Mississippi, and came on to Utah by teams. Others crossed the plains with some of the larger groups of Pioneers. They first settled in Brigham City, but then the call came to move up and settle in "Little Valley". These settlers were willing to heed the call pull up stakes and start over. The Church Authorities conceived the plan of raising flax or hemp to help with the supply of cloth. The climate of "Little Valley", with its cool nights and short growing season seemed to favor the growing of flax. The first settlers were called to try this out. The growing of flax did not prove to be a success for use as cloth as it was too coarse. It did make strong rope and the finer fibers made good thread. The settlers made their homes in the northwestern part of the valley along Halling Creek. Halling Springs is now the source of the culinary water supply for Brigham City. The first houses were cellars or dugouts. After the first winter, they were later replaced with log houses. They built their houses in the shape of a fort for protection against the Indians. During the early settlement, the Indians were hostile. The problem necessitated extreme cooperation between the settlers. This cooperation was one of the main factors in the survival and advancement of community life. In the early Spring of 1864, a rock fort was started where the old church house now stands but later was abandoned as the Indians became more friendly. When the settlers reached "Little Valley",