Founded in 1859, Logan, a city of approximately 33,000, is located on the east side of Cache Valley in northern Utah at the mouth of Logan Canyon.

On 6 June 1859 a small group of Mormon settlers sent to Cache Valley by Brigham Young surveyed a fort site near the banks of the Logan River and began harvesting logs for houses. By the middle of the month, the first drawing for parcels of land took place. A second group plowed land and planted three acres of wheat on 10 June on an area called "the island." They constructed two rows of cabins facing each other, patterning the settlement after Salt Lake City, including streets wide enough for several vehicles to pass each other. By March 1860 there were 100 houses in the settlement, which was named Logan after an early trapper, Ephraim Logan. The city was incorporated on 17 January 1866 and Alvin Crockett was elected Logan's first mayor.

Though not the first white settlement in Cache Valley, Logan became the principal city because of its central location and its abundant water supply for mills and irrigation. Farmers and their families gathered there to buy and sell; industries grew to service the community. Eventually, Logan became the county seat for Cache County.