Introduction
E a r l y Bear Lake settler Joseph C. Rich remarked to his future wife Ann Eliza Hunter in 1863 that "only men with plenty of hair on 'em are tough enough to stand the climate of Bear Lake." To those who endured, raised families, and whose names became linked with the area, the rigorous climate of Rich County became something to be celebrated. Not just anyone could make a go of it in Rich County. And not just anyone did. The early history of Rich County is peppered with examples of settlers who came, spent one winter in the area, and then left the next spring. The paths of outgoing settlers crossed the paths of other incoming settlers as the population of Rich County has either declined or remained static during much of its history. Although its climate is extreme, the area is a land of extreme beauty. Hardly anyone who ever traversed the area has failed to note that fact. "What a country!" Rich exclaimed to Ann Eliza. The country Rich described was one full of wild game, fish, water, timber, and grass. It had been an important point of operations for early fur trapping activities in the late 1820s. Prior to the fur trade era, Rich
