Jensen (Mau-be) Ferry

Before bridges provided an easy way across the Green River, crossing the water near present-day Jensen could be a serious obstacle. Lars Jensen helped solve that problem by establishing a ferry that became an important transportation link for the growing community. In 1881, Jensen built a wooden boat about 2½ miles downstream from the location of today's historical marker. The boat, constructed with wooden pegs, initially carried passengers and baggage across the Green River. As settlement and travel increased, a simple passenger boat was no longer enough. In 1885, Jensen replaced it with a cable ferry capable of carrying wagons. An even larger ferry was constructed in 1894 to accommodate the growing traffic across the river. The ferry carried people, wagons, livestock, and supplies between the two sides of the Green River for decades. Lars Jensen's son, Jens Jensen, also operated the ferry. One of its most remarkable recorded days occurred on October 5, 1908, when Jens reportedly made 86 crossings while transporting a large group of Ute people who were leaving the Uintah Reservation and traveling toward the Dakotas. The ferry's long service was nearing its end. Ice eventually carried away the large boat, and the construction of a highway bridge across the Green River in the early twentieth century made ferry transportation obsolete. Lars Jensen's influence on the area survived the ferry itself. The settlement became known as Jensen in his honor. In 1937, the Escalante Camp of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers erected this monument overlooking the Green River. A one-eighth-scale replica of Jensen's last ferry, made by his son Jens Jensen, was incorporated into the monument, preserving the story of the river crossing for future generations.

Jensen was first settled in the late 1870s along the Green River in northeastern Utah. The river provided water and opportunity, but it also created a major transportation barrier. In 1881, Lars Jensen established a ferry approximately 2½ miles downstream from the present historical marker. What began as a wooden boat for passengers and baggage evolved into a cable ferry capable of carrying wagons and livestock. These ferries were especially important before permanent bridges connected communities on opposite sides of Utah's rivers. They allowed settlers, travelers, livestock, freight, and other traffic to continue across the region rather than being stopped by the Green River. The Jensen family operated increasingly large ferries into the early twentieth century. As roads improved and a highway bridge was constructed across the Green River, the need for ferry service disappeared. The present monument does not mark the exact ferry landing. Instead, it overlooks the Green River from Highway 40 and commemorates the crossing and the Jensen family who operated it.