Donner-Reed Memorial Museum & Early Bldgs.

The relics in this museum came off the salt. The building stands on the site of Grantsville's Willow Creek Fort, its main hall raised in 1852; the statesman J. Reuben Clark bought and restored it later, and it passed to the town as a museum. It takes its name from the Donner-Reed Party, who rested their animals at the wells here in 1846 before starting across the Great Salt Lake Desert. On those mud flats they abandoned wagons and goods — some later recovered from the salt — in the delay that would doom them in the Sierra.

What the plaque says

This property was within the walls of the Willow Creek Fort, (Grantsville), which was built shortly after the first white settlers arrived. The main building was erected in 1852. J. Reuben Clark II purchased the property in later years and restored the building. The site was eventually donated to Grantsville City for use as a museum. The log cabin and blacksmith shop were placed here in later years. This museum is named for the Donner-Reed Party. In 1846 they stopped at nearby Twenty Wells to let their animals rest and gain strength before continuing their ill fated trip. While crossing the Salt Desert they lost many wagons and other belongings on the mud flats east of Pilot Mountain. The hardships suffered in Utah delayed their journey. Winter overtook them in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, resulting in their well known catastrophe. Some of the articles left by the Donner-Reed Party are displayed in this museum, along with other pioneer and Indian relics. This monument contains cornerstones and markers from early Grantsville Buildings, Refurbishment of the area began July 1975 and was completed July 1976. Funds were from Utah American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and Grantsville City Corporation.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Great Salt Lake — 10 mi
  The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere
• Bingham Canyon Mine — 18 mi
  The largest man-made excavation on Earth
• Saltair — 22 mi
  A haunting lakeside resort with a storied past
• Antelope Island State Park — 28 mi
  A rugged island in the Great Salt Lake with free-roaming bison

More markers nearby

• Grantsville Fort — steps away
• Lincoln Highway — 0.4 mi
• Hilda Anderson Erickson — 1.4 mi
• E.T. Benson Grist Mill — 9.9 mi