- Settled: Homesteaded by Lehi Curtis in 1868, after whom Curtis Creek and a canyon named Dry Curtis canyon were named; the property was sold by Curtis to the Box Elder Hardware Company in 1886
- Origin of Name: Alonzo Snow, a former owner of the ranch, owned a hardware store in Brigham City named Box Elder Hardware, that supplied supplies to the loggers who worked in Blacksmith Fork Canyon; his ranch was named Hardware Ranch, after his Brigham City-based business
- Historic Summary: Blacksmith Canyon was naturally heavily forested, and became a noted area for harvesting timeber; after Hyrum, Utah was settled, since there were too many cattle and livestock for the amount of rangeland in that area, so herds were taken up Blacksmith Fork Canyon for summer grazing; at one time Blacksmith Fork Canyon had at least four sawmills, and a dairy that produced cheese; the area always had an abundance of big game animals, ao in 1946 Hardware Ranch was purchased by the State of Utah, administered by Utah Divisin of Wlildlife Resources, becoming a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) of the state; not a working ranch, Hardware Ranch is a gathering area to feed and sustain elk, deer, moose and many other species; originally composed of 7,560 acres, it has expanded presently to over 19,000 acres; it is a popular tourist attraction during winters, providing horse-drawn sleigh rides through the elk herds, eating hay, often numbering 500-600 head of elk
- Location: Located in southern Cache County, 16.9 miles (27 minutes) east of Hyrum on UT-101 E, up Blacksmith Fork Canyon
Sources: History of Blacksmith Fork Canyon and My Life on the C.L. Anderson Ranch by J. Leon Anderson; Wikipedia search for Hardware Ranch, Feb. 16, 2026, Utah Place Names by John W. Van Cott