Fort Cameron

The U.S. Army established this post east of Beaver in 1872, one of the federal garrisons keeping an eye on Mormon Utah. Two years later it was renamed for Colonel James Cameron, killed leading his regiment at Bull Run in 1861. The garrison lasted barely a decade — abandoned in 1883, its buildings sold off — but the stone campus found a second life: from 1898 to 1922 it housed the Beaver Branch of Brigham Young Academy, turning a frontier fort into a school. The marker stands near the site just east of town.

What the plaque says

Established as the post of Beaver, May 15, 1872, by the 8th U.S. Infantry, Major John D. Wilkins, commanding. The military reservation, declared May 12, 1873, comprised two and two-thirds square miles. The name was changed July 1, 1874, to Fort Cameron, in honor of Colonel James Cameron who fell at Bull Run, July 21, 1861. The post was abandoned May 1, 1883, and the improvements sold to John R. Murdock and Philo T. Farnsworth. The L.D.S. Church conducted there the Beaver Branch of the Brigham Young Academy (later University) from 1898 to 1922.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Beaver — steps away
  A charming main street town with surprisingly good food
• Butch Cassidy Boyhood Home — 22 mi
  The restored Circleville cabin where the West's most famous outlaw spent his teens
• Cove Fort — 22 mi
  A beautifully restored 1867 pioneer fort at the crossroads of two interstates
• Fremont Indian State Park — 27 mi
  The largest known Fremont Indian village ever discovered

More markers nearby

• Relief Society Hall — steps away
• Beaver Opera House — steps away
• Beaver County Courthouse — 0.2 mi
• Philo T. Farnsworth — 0.2 mi