Icelandic Monument.

Icelandic Monument: Viking Ship and Lighthouse

Spanish Fork, Utah

What's an odd little lighthouse, topped with Viking Dragon Boat weathervane, doing in landlocked Spanish Fork, Utah?

It was built in 1938-39 to honor the first permanent Icelandic settlement in the USA. The original 16 settlers weren't lured to Spanish Fork's by its un-Icelandic climate. They were religious zealots, Mormon converts who, according to the church, were banished for their beliefs and decided that Utah was the place to resettle. Spanish Fork holds an Icelandic Days festival every summer in their honor.

According to a plaque bolted to the lighthouse, the Viking boat is a tribute to "Leif Eiriksson, an Icelander," who "discovered America in 1000 A.D."

The president of Iceland has visited the monument twice since 1997.

Icelandic Monument: Viking Ship and Lighthouse

Address:: 800 E. Canyon Rd, Spanish Fork, UT
Directions:: Southeast of downtown. From UT-198/S. Main St. turn east at the stoplight to continue on UT-198. Follow UT-198 for eight blocks. You'll see the small lighthouse on the left, at the corner of UT-198/E. Canyon Rd and S 800 E.

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Nearby Offbeat Places

Krishna's Lotus Temple, Spanish Fork, UT - 2 mi.

Texaco Big Friend: Service Station Man, Springville, UT - 4 mi.

Stuffed Polar Bears in Hearing Aid Store, Provo, UT - 9 mi.

In the region:

Biggest Pit in the World, Herriman, UT - 37 mi.

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