BYRON, Wyo. — Among the last colonization efforts of the Church was north-central Wyoming's Big Horn Basin. And Byron Sessions played a big part in the effort.
In honor of the pioneer colonizer, more than 600 members of his family and the community — a number roughly equivalent to the entire population of the small town that bears his name — gathered for the unveiling of a statue on July 7th. Located in the new Bryon Memorial Park, the statue is an 8-foot-tall image of Byron Sessions on a 2-foot base, also featuring four scenes of early pioneer life. The statue was designed by Steve Wirth, a great-great-grandson of Byron and Ida Sessions.
During the unveiling ceremony, Ed Sessions recounted some of the history of his great-great grandfather who was called by President Lorenzo Snow to lead a group of colonists to the Big Horn Basin in 1900. He and his family settled and established what is now Byron. On May 26, 1901, Brother Sessions was called as the first president of the Big Horn Stake. He also served in the Wyoming State Legislature.
Brother Sessions was born in Salt Lake City on Nov. 7, 1851, to Perrigrine and Mary Call Sessions. His family had earlier established Sessions Settlement, what is now Bountiful, Utah. He took his family to Woodruff, Utah, before joining the colonization in Wyoming.
Ed Sessions said state leaders in Wyoming encouraged President Snow to send families to settle in the Big Horn Basin and establish an irrigation system. He said that Buffalo Bill Cody gave his Shoshone River water rights to the Mormon colonizers.
The statue unveiling was part of a Byron Sessions family reunion. It included a flag ceremony, singing and a dedicatory prayer by Vernon Sessions.
