In 1866, a group of Mormon Scandinavians were called by the Latter-day Saint Church to establish this settlement and develop an irrigation project from the waters of the Malad River. Their first homes were dugouts built in the west bank of the Bear River north of the steel bridge that now spans the river. In the fall of 1867, they built homes in a fort for protection from the Indians. This cabin was built there by Lars C. Christensen and his wife Christiane, handcart pioneers of 1859.