Fort Cameron was a

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

installation, located east of

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and was active from 1872 to 1883. It was demolished in the early 20th century.

History

The fort was established on May 25, 1872 by the 8th Infantry, commanded by Major John D. Wilkins. Located on the north side of the Beaver River, many of the buildings were constructed with a distinctive black rock sourced from the nearby mountains. The new fort included four company

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

, a

guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house Security guard, personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have histori ...

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

, hospital, and officers’ quarters. Originally called the Post of Beaver, it was renamed Fort Cameron on July 1, 1874 in honor of Colonel James Cameron, who was killed at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

in 1861. The fort was active for 11 years until May, 1883. It was originally established to protect settlers of central Utah from local American Indians and to keep an eye on possible

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

rebellions. The fort had the only hospital within a 150-mile (240 km) radius. Though primarily meant to treat soldiers, it also provided medical care to local

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

s. Cyrus M. Hawley, an

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the Utah Territorial Supreme Court, believed the fort's establishment would lead to the 1857

Mountain Meadows Massacre A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

case being brought to trial, as it would allow witnesses to testify under the protection of the US government. Only one man, John D. Lee, was convicted. After the fort was decommissioned, the remaining military personnel were reassigned to

Fort Douglas Fort Douglas (initially called Camp Douglas) was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. Its purpose was to protect the overland mail route and te ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, and the Fort Cameron buildings were sold to two locals: John R. Murdock and Philo T. Farnsworth. The men helped organize Murdock Academy, which was the Beaver branch of the Brigham Young Academy in Provo (now

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

). The academy lasted from 1898 to 1922. After the

Utah State Legislature The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term ...

passed a law requiring counties to offer tuition-free schools, the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...

closed the school and sold the property. All but one of the fort's buildings were razed, and most of the property is now a golf course. Plan of Fort Cameron

References

External links

Buildings and structures in Beaver County, Utah Formerly Used Defense Sites in Utah Utah Territory 1872 establishments in Utah Territory Cameron National Register of Historic Places in Beaver County, Utah {{Utah-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links