By Tim Binnall
A legendary Utah lake monster is having a moment in the sun thanks to a new historical marker celebrating the apocryphal creature. The Bear Lake Monster reportedly entered the cryptozoological canon back in 1868 by way of a newspaper article penned by Latter-day Saints settler Joseph C. Rich. In the piece, he shared Native American accounts of a sizeable serpentine animal said to inhabit Bear Lake, which sits on the Utah–Idaho border. The remarkable article sparked a stir among people in the area, with many claiming to have seen the mysterious creature and others calling for it to be captured.
Rich later conceded that he had created the Bear Lake Monster out of whole cloth, reportedly calling it a "wonderful first-class lie." However, his admission came over two decades after the initial newspaper account that put the creature on the proverbial map. That long delay allowed the 'monster' to take hold in the folklore of the area, where alleged sightings of the cryptid have continued through the modern day, including a 2002 report from a local business owner.
With that colorful backstory in mind, Utah State University folklore student Melissa Anderson Asay conceived of a project wherein the region could celebrate its resident lake monster with a historical marker. Unveiled late last month in the community of Garden City, which sits on the shore of Bear Lake, the plaque was provided by the Pomeroy Foundation, an organization aimed at preserving community history. The group has previously commemorated similar legendary creatures, such as the Lake Champlain Monster and the Bigfoot said to roam the New York town of Whitehall.