Bear Valley- Sarah Hyde Dummer Died

I have lately been wanting to see Bear Valley, I was not understanding why the Dummer Family when they came back to Salt Lake City in 1870 went through this valley. From several papers that I have read: My ancestor Sarah Hyde Dummer died in this valley on their way back to Salt Lake from the Muddy Mission in Nevada. I convinced Ed to take me there on the way to St. George for Thanksgiving. It was an eyeopener for me. I felt that it looked much the same as it would have in 1870, except that it was a different time of year. Here are some of the pictures of the valley that I took while there.

While going through the valley I realized why thy would have traveled that way. First of all there is a small river there and when we are zipping along I-15 you do not see very much water, it seems like the saints would have wandered back and forth to find water. Also this is one of the locations of the old Spanish trail, so it would have been an established road to take.

Heading south down the road to Parowan

Looking southeast

According to some papers that were in the possession of my Great Grandmother, Sarah died in this valley on the way back to Salt Lake. The muddy mission in Nevada was closed when the saints, found out they were in Nevada instead of Arizona and the Nevada government demanded back taxes to be paid in gold. William Dummer's father Charles had already died in St. Thomas Nevada, and William with his family, mother and brothers and sisters and other saints went back to Salt Lake City.