Modena (Iron) is on U-56, 9.4 miles east of the Nevada border and fifty miles west of Cedar City. The exact source of the name is hard to pin down. One source states that an Italian laborer named the railroad camp after Modena, Italy. Another source relates that a Chinese cook during the serving of dinner would call out periodically, "Mo'dinna, mo'dinna". An earlier name was Deseret Springs.

With the advent of the railroad in Iron County and its arrival in the Modena area in December 1899, Brigham J. Lund, along with two partners, E. M. Brown and Jose Price, started a small business venture here. In time they were freighting to St. George, Utah; Pioche, Nevada and Delamar. Lund soon bought out his partners and in 1903 incorporated under the name of B. J. Lund & Company. The name "Lund" is still found on several buildings in town including the General Merchandise & Hotel building. By 1903, a U.S. Weather Bureau office had also been established in Modena. The Last Chance Saloon now closed and boarded up is a reminder of a distant era.