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Hyde Park named for man who found spring north of Logan By
Sarah Mulholland In 1856 Brigham Young began to organize the Mormon settlement in Cache Valley. Apostle Ezra T. Benson was in charge. He had a bishop-leader-colonizer for each of his settlements, according to the book, Pioneer Edition of events in the early history of Logan and Cache Valley. James Perkes and his family were asked by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to organize the settlement of Hyde Park. It was cooler and higher than Salt Lake City, but had more timber and water. Before Hyde Park was established as a settlement, other cities in Cache Valley were already settled, including Hyrum, Logan, Wellsville, Mendon, Millville, Paradise, Franklin, Richmond, Providence and Smithfield. Peter Maughan, the bishop of the valley, knew of a spring five miles north of Logan. He recommended it to his friend, William Hyde. Hyde located this spring on April 16, 1860, according to the book For Heaven's Sake. He then returned to Lehi for his family. The town was named after Bishop William Hyde. There is also a Hyde Park in England, where many of the early settlers originally came from. Hyde and other pioneers believed that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. This faith is what helped them have the power to move and build West with Brigham Young being the organizer. Five other families settled near the spring also. This included the families of Robert Daines, Rendell Seamons, George Seamons, Armenia Neely and Anthony Metcalf. Neneita Daines, the granddaughter of Anthony Metcalf, says that her relatives were staying in Brigham City and moved to Hyde Park before Hyde returned. They staked out the South of the spring, which is next to what is now known as Reader Park. They literally had to start from the beginning. Brian Daines, son of Neneita, says they had to build dugouts during the first winter. He believes they had co-ops, where each family would provide something different, such as a slaughterhouse or dairy. "I'm sure they had to have brought a few things from the outside," Brian said. Brian's great grandmother, Jemima, emigrated from England, where she was a seamstress. When she arrived in Hyde Park, she made a straw hat for her husband. After he went to work all of his coworkers liked his hat and wanted one too, so Jemima made one for each of them. Rendell Seamons is the great grandson of Henry and Mary King Seamons. Rendell says that Henry died at Winter Quarters with many other pioneers, but the rest of the family moved on and settled in Hyde Park. Rendell's grandmother, Sarah Hurren, traveled with the Willy Handcart Company. She died in 1948 in Hyde Park. Rendell grew up in her home and came to know her very well. Patison D. Griffeth, another early settler, was baptized on April 7, 1841, according to Pioneer Edition of events in the early history of Logan and Cache Valley. His parents and nine brothers and sisters never joined the church. But this didn't stop Patison from moving forward with faith. He walked for two days and a night to attend the funeral of the beloved prophet and martyr, Joseph Smith. After Joseph Smith was killed, people began to question who should lead the church. Brigham Young, at that time an apostle, arose and spoke. Those who attended could hear Joseph's voice come from Brigham Young and knew that Young would be the new prophet. Not only did Young sound like Joseph, but he also appeared as him for a few minutes. This kept Patison going because he never forgot the miracle that took place that day. According to For Heaven's Sake, in 1865 a new meeting house was built under the appointed committee of William Hyde, S.M. Molen, John A. Woolf, Robert Daines and Henry Ashroft. Each settler had to pay a 22 percent tax on their property to pay for the expense of the building. The meeting house was finished the next year. In 1867 most of the crops were destroyed, being a severe hardship for the early settlers. Brigham Young made his first visit to Hyde Park that year. Through the faith and hard work of the early pioneers, Hyde Park was settled and has grown to be a beautiful town.
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