Lehi unveiled its 24th historical marker at Dry Creek Park on Oct. 10, honoring an 1855 wheat harvest credited with feeding a community during a grasshopper plague. According to an October 14 report, city leaders and descendants of Sarah and Canute Peterson gathered at the park located at 1550 N. and 100 W. for the ceremony.
The marker commemorates a specific historical event from 1855. During that year, Sarah Peterson planted her wheat later and deeper than other local farmers, which meant her crops had not yet sprouted when grasshoppers destroyed other crops in Lehi. This late harvest provided food for her family and neighbors.
When her husband, Canute, returned from a mission to Norway for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sarah gave him a jar of the grain. He referred to it as his "Salvation Wheat" and was eventually buried with it.
Nicole Kunze of the Lehi Historical Society opened the ceremony, noting that the marker's inspiration came from the book Eliza's Field of Faith. Author Jenny Lund, the wife of Tony Lund and a great-great-grandson of the Petersons, stated that while Canute's life was well documented, Sarah's story had been somewhat forgotten because many women of that era were too busy to keep diaries.
Other attendees included Mark Peterson, a great-great-grandson who has hosted visitors from Norway interested in the family history. Lehi City Council member Heather Newall, whose great-great-grandfather lived near the Petersons in Ephraim, closed the ceremony. During the event, Bradley and Shawna Anderson displayed a replica of Canute's jar of Salvation Wheat alongside pioneer-era farm tools.
The Lehi Historical Society's Historical Marker Program began in 2022 with funding from a Lehi City PARC grant and the John David and Danaca Hadfield family of HADCO Construction. STRATA Networks and SIRQ Construction are 2026 sponsors, and Holbrook Farms sponsored the Oct. 10 unveiling. The society selected Dry Creek Park for the marker because the name reflects where the Petersons once lived, though the exact location of their farm remains undetermined.
The next unveiling for Historical Marker No. 25 is scheduled for Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. at Lehi Junction, located at 754 W. 2100 N., Lehi. More information is available at lehihistory.org.
