That last night must surely have been one of great anticipation, perhaps mixed with some trepidation. With 110 days and thousands of miles of trail behind them, they were perched on the edge of a new era of Mormon history. Yet, no one knew quite what the future would bring in this faraway place.

Tucked among the houses that now line Emigration Canyon is a monument that honors both the feelings and the achievements of that Last Camp.

The first monument, with words cut into the stone, was placed at the location in 1933. In 1936, due to both damage to the original monument from road repairs, and because the DUP was now placing its distinctive bronze plaques on monuments, they decided to replace the original with a granite slab and plaque.

"We hope it will always stay here so we can so honor our first pioneers," said Gwen Shurtleff. "We never drive up this lovely canyon that we don't think about our great pioneers." But that marker, too, was replaced in 1972.

The original marker was left at the site, but over the years it and the monument's foundation got covered over by dirt and debris. This month Scout Craig Jeppson offered to clear away that dirt and clean up the area as as his Eagle Scout project.

Jeppson, a great-great-grandson of pioneer and later church president John Taylor, thought it would be a good way to honor his pioneer heritage. When he started, he didn't realize the concrete foundation and old monument were even there. To uncover them and make the whole area look nice, he says, "was pretty cool."

DUP marker No. 155 — "Union Cemetery," 1484 E. 7830 South (Creek Road)

When Rufus Forbush arrived in the valley in 1847, he settled on Little Cottonwood Creek, east of Fort Union. In the winter he came down to the settlement to live but spent the rest of the year on his farm.

On Aug. 22, 1851, Rufus' wife Polly died, and because there were no graveyards outside Salt Lake City, "he chose the highest spot of ground on his farm and buried her there," noted great-granddaughter Lucy E. Graham Green.

"During the winter a severe epidemic of black smallpox broke out in Sandy, an adjoining town, and when Great Grandpap went back to his farm in the spring, he found that other graves were made upon his land. There seemed nothing to do but turn the land over to the community for a cemetery."

Although official records of the cemetery have been lost over the years, the local DUP chapter has been able to identify about 150 people (78 of whom were children) who were buried there. The last burial occurred in 1942. On Aug. 22, 1951, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first burial, the DUP placed a marker there.