Fort Utah (Provo, Utah)
Provo · Utah · Ute Wars
History & Significance
The settlement was established March 12, 1849 by President John S. Higbee with approximately 150 persons sent from Salt Lake City to Provo by President Brigham Young. Located west of present-day downtown Provo, the fort consisted of several log dwellings, surrounded by a 14-foot (4.3 m) palisade 20 by 40 rods in size (330 by 660 feet [100 by 200 m]), with gates in the east and west ends, and a middle deck, for a cannon.
The fort served as Provo's first permanent settlement, though following flooding, the settlement was moved to the current location of Provo's North Park in 1850. Tensions with the indigenous Timpanogos Utes escalated rapidly.
In late 1849, tensions between the Ute people and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Valley escalated after a Church member killed a Ute known as Old Bishop, whom he accused of stealing his shirt. The Mormon and two associates then hid the victim's body in the Provo River.
In the winter of 1849–1850, a measles epidemic spread from the Mormon settlers to the Ute camps, killing many Indians and heightening tensions. These events precipitated the Provo River Battle, one of the first major armed clashes between settlers and Utes in the Territory. A group of the Indians surrendered and were offered asylum inside Fort Utah; another group went South to Spanish Fork and the remainder fled up the hill towards Rock Canyon where they were pursued and shot down, raising Indian casualties to between 40 and 100.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Log-and-palisade fortification marking the 1849 Mormon settlement of Provo
- Monuments and interpretive exhibits documenting conflict between settlers and Ute people
- Historic park along the Provo River with views of the original settlement location
- Primary site of early 1850 violent confrontations during the Walker War
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Utah
- https://www.provolibrary.gov/historicalplacesfortutah
- https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/465
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=223736
- https://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Utah_(2)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_Wars
- https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/44