In April 1883, a group of pioneer men from Mendon, Cache, Utah, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, traveled to Idaho seeking new homes for their families. The company included Henry Sorenson; John and Niles Peter Anderson; Fred and John Gardner; James and Joseph Graham; Charles and Freeman Bird; and John and Tom Gittens. They stopped near the Teton River, laid out a town site on May 1, 1883, and named it Teton for the view of the Teton peaks. The town was divided into 10-acre blocks, with each family allowed one 2 1/2-acre lot, a 10-acre center block reserved as the public square, and 80 acres for farming. The settlers built log cabins with windows covered by greased paper or mosquito netting, made furniture, hauled iron stoves from Utah, dug irrigation canals, and planted crops. On Sunday, June 8, 1884, Heber J. Grant, Wilford Woodruff, and Thomas E. Ricks organized the Teton LDS Ward, and John Donaldson became the first bishop. James Briggs and James Graham cut logs for the first LDS meetinghouse and floated them down the Teton River; the building was finished and dedicated in December 1884 and also served as a schoolhouse and a place for community dances. The settlers suffered greatly from mosquitoes during the first summer and for six months used sagebrush smudge fires against the clouds of insects. By the summer of 1884 the population had reached 98 people. Among the early families were James and Hannah Gubbins Gardner and their four children, survivors of the Willie Handcart Company. Jane Graham, the wife of James, became the first community midwife. The Teton Cemetery was created in September 1884 after the first death occurred, and victims of a diphtheria epidemic were buried there.