Last updated: June 13, 2026
Place
Supplication Hill - Temple Camp
Photo/L. Kreutzer
Quick Facts
Location:
East side of S Echo Rd, 0.6 mile north of Temple Lane, Echo, UT Viewing Area GPS 40.985808 -111.448763
Significance:
Several members of the Latter-day Saints’ vanguard company grew desperately ill with “mountain fever” in mid-July 1847. Because they were too ill to travel, the company halted July 17-18 along the Weber River at a site that became known as Temple Camp, and 10 members climbed the nearby “Supplication Hills” to offer prayers for the sick.
Designation:
Historic site on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and Sons of the Utah Pioneers (viewing locale) and private.
Amenities
4 listed
Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Scenic View/Photo Spot
Worsening symptoms of “mountain fever”—thought to be Colorado tick fever—afflicting Brigham Young and others of the 1847 vanguard brought the company to an early halt beside the Weber River on July 17.
As the emigrants nursed the patients, 10 men of the company hiked into the tall hills east of camp. There they dressed in temple robes and, recorded Thomas Bullock, “prayed to God for the Sick to be Healed, the Camps to be prospered, [and] the Saints to be blessed…” On their return to camp the
men paused for some amusement, rolling boulders down the steep hillsides to see how far they would travel before smashing to pieces.
One of the group, Erastus Snow, made note of an interesting geological feature, “a conglomerate column, about 125 feet high, 30 feet in diameter at the base, and 10 at the top.” The column, called Sentinel Rock, can be seen from the roadside today, helping identify the area of the “Supplication Hills” where the men offered their prayer.
The company remained in “Temple Camp” the next day, Sunday, for prayer and fasting, and that evening Bullock reported that Young was “much better, that our prayers were answered.” The following morning the company split into 3 groups: an advance team of strong men to clear trail, the main body of emigrant wagons, and 8 to 10 wagons bearing the sick, which would travel separately and more slowly than the others. In that order they entered the Great Salt Lake Valley between July 21 and 24.
As the emigrants nursed the patients, 10 men of the company hiked into the tall hills east of camp. There they dressed in temple robes and, recorded Thomas Bullock, “prayed to God for the Sick to be Healed, the Camps to be prospered, [and] the Saints to be blessed…” On their return to camp the
men paused for some amusement, rolling boulders down the steep hillsides to see how far they would travel before smashing to pieces.
One of the group, Erastus Snow, made note of an interesting geological feature, “a conglomerate column, about 125 feet high, 30 feet in diameter at the base, and 10 at the top.” The column, called Sentinel Rock, can be seen from the roadside today, helping identify the area of the “Supplication Hills” where the men offered their prayer.
The company remained in “Temple Camp” the next day, Sunday, for prayer and fasting, and that evening Bullock reported that Young was “much better, that our prayers were answered.” The following morning the company split into 3 groups: an advance team of strong men to clear trail, the main body of emigrant wagons, and 8 to 10 wagons bearing the sick, which would travel separately and more slowly than the others. In that order they entered the Great Salt Lake Valley between July 21 and 24.
Site Information
Location (East side of S Echo Rd, 0.6 mile north of Temple Lane, Echo, UT. Viewing Area GPS 40.985808 -111.448763)