First Pioneer Fort in Valley PTLA #23

When the first Mormon company reached this valley in July 1847—Ute and Shoshone country—they didn't scatter onto homesteads. They threw up a fort. Within weeks, log and adobe cabins stood shoulder to shoulder around a ten-acre square, their back walls pierced with gun ports, and the whole settlement lived inside while the city was surveyed beyond. By the next year there were some 450 cabins here. Then the people moved out to their lots, the walls came down, and the block eventually became Pioneer Park—the valley's first address, hiding in plain sight downtown.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Temple Square — 0.8 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City — 0.8 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Liberty Park — 1.8 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• Ensign Peak — 2.1 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Square — steps away
• The Flag of the United States of America in Old Fort — steps away
• Utah's First Fort/Pioneer Women/Children (3) — steps away
• Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church — steps away