Show '7f VW i V - '' " V ' " ' v'" nmW"i4 "' " - t "i"WiS- r l'W(i-- ( ' fc V'-- W-- 2501 11 " - ’' iy-- rr j- v "' i ? yfzyr Old Cove Fort guarding the road to Sevier Valley was onee a symbol of safety to colonizers of the Fort then and now is situated on a road between northern and and southern Utah and at the juncture of a road which leads into Sevier Valley to the east Located on Cove Creek the site of the fort had long served as a camping spot for travelers moving south into Utah’s Dixie and farther on across the deserts into southern California In spite of its long use as a camping place for travelers it was not until 1860 that Charles Willden and his son Elliot came to the location with a view of making homes The following year Willden brought his COVE Cove Fort serves to remind us of the hardships of pioneer life by A R Mortensen Director t’Uh Hiktorieal Society THE early days of the West the pioneer settlers had two basic problems— subduing the very land itself and control of the aboriginal Both factors teamed inhabitants the Indians " for the environment harsh create a to very up settlers In the solution of the Indian problem Brigham Young very early decided on a policy of feeding rather than fighting the red men Nevertheless as settlement spread from the Great Salt Lake Valley it was deemed desirable to build forts for protection in many of the outlying colonies Before the pioneer period was over literally dozens of forts were constructed Some were built of stone logs sod or adobe and most of them have disappeared from the landscape Utah is extremely fortunate In having a original fort still standing and In an excellent state of preservation Equally important this structure stands foursquare alongside an important interstate highway IN long-sinc- e well-preserve- d Salt Lak City Sunday March 3 1957 family there and in the spring constructed two houses one dugout and a corral for the accommodation of stock Also that year nine acres of grain were sown The place was known thereafter as Willdens Fort and President Brigham Young and his parties as vyell as other travelers found it a convenient resting place when traveling between Salt Lake City and southern Utah In 1867 the LDS Church bought the property and Ira N Hinckley was sent by President Young to erect a fort there as protection against Indians and also in the Interest of the mail route and general travel Although in a rather isolated and lonely stretch of country even more then than now Hinckley took his family there to live and under his supervision the new fort was completed in the spring of 1867 For the following 10 years Hinckley maintained the establishment as a fort and resting place for travelers as well as a home for his family YEARS after' its completion Wilford TWO visited the fort in company with His description of the new estabYoung Brigham lishment as he saw it then is still a good one: “This fort is a very substantial building I think it is the best in the territory It is built of volcanic rock laid in with mortar Each of the four walls is 100 feet long on the outside and 18 feet high from the foundation On the east side is a gateway 14 feet wide with a substantial arch 6 feet deep and 3 inches thick set inside Above this preparations are being made for a lookout and a telegraph office On the west side is a gateway 8x4 feet with projections inside 10'i feet wide and 10 feet high The fort contains A2 rooms six on the north and six on the south side 10 of which are 16x14 feet and two are 16x17 feet and 9 Jeet and 4 inches high There is a chimney to each room 3 feet wide and 2 feet thick The chimneys are 6 feet above the top of the wall The rooms are well lighted and have five paneled doors The roof Is covered with good shaved pine shingles The entire building contains 2250 perch of rock and 1975 bushels of lime and has cost up to the present time (April 1869) $22690” the long years Cove Fort was a welcome travelers In the place winter of 1872 the distinguished gentleman and long time friend of the Mormons Col Thomas L Kane his wife and family traveled south with Brigham Young to spend the winter in Utah's Dixie Mrs Kane was Impressed by her overnight stay at Cove Fort and has left an excellent description of the buildings the hospitality enjoyed and the surrounding country To her it was a veritable oasis in the wilderness: “The sun was sinking when we reached Cove Creek Fort and drove in under its arch T soon called nie outside to look at the landscape and see a place we were in The fort lay in a volcanic basin all around it were oddly peaked ragged looking mountains glowing in purple and gold looking no more substantial than the cloud mountains of sunset with which they mingled Entering the large paved courtyard we found it filled with our vehicles Six doors opened to the noith and as many to the south giving admission to large and lofty rooms I was not sorry to see a magnificent pitch-pinfire blazing on the hearth in mine for the fort is— 60007 - I forget how many ungenial feet above tide and the night was very cold “We supped in the telegraph office where the ticking of the instrument insisted on being heard as we all knelt down for prayers— Prayei s after the patriarchal Hebrew manner a shot proof fort an electric battery clicking the latest New Yoik news armed men unarmed women with little children a meal served with dainty precision in a ” stone refactory walled with rough-hewOld Cove Fort served a later generation for a time as a motelToday this monument to the courage and fortitude of the pioneers who settled the great West still stands Surely it is- worthy of preservation for travelers and tourists to see as they journey through our state to visit our attractions natural and OVER how-Hin- s ely e n - man-mad- e f |