Cache Valley (Shoshoni: Seuhubeogoi, “Willow Valley”) is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley is often used synonymously to describe the Logan Metropolitan Area, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US per capita — both in terms of economic GDP and population.
Aerial view of the Wellsville Mountains at the southwestern end of the Cache Valley, September 2009
View across Cache Valley from North Logan, Utah, June 2009
Looking north on US-91 toward Richmond, Utah, August 2007
The Bear River Massacre, or the Engagement on the Bear River, or the Battle of Bear River, or Massacre at Boa Ogoi, took place in present-day Franklin County, Idaho, on January 29, 1863. After years of skirmishes and food raids on farms and ranches, the United States Army attacked a Shoshone encampment gathered at the confluence of the Bear River and Battle Creek in what was then southeastern Washington Territory, near the present-day city of Preston. Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led a detachment of California Volunteers as part of the Bear River Expedition against Shoshone tribal chief Bear Hunter. Hundreds of Shoshone men, women, and children were killed near their lodges; the number of Shoshone victims reported by local settlers was higher than that reported by soldiers.
A monument erected by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers commemorating the event.
A Shoshone encampment in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, photographed by W.H. Jackson, 1870
General Patrick E. Connor after his promotion
Massacre survivor Chief Sagwitch and spouse Beawoachee, circa 1875