Fort Harmony

John D. Lee built this fort, and history did not let him keep it. Established in 1854 — Brigham Young dug the first corner — Fort Harmony was the county seat until 1859, an adobe square on Ash Creek. It was Lee's home in September 1857, when he led the militia at the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the slaughter of some 120 California-bound emigrants; he was the only man ever executed for it. In 1862 a month of rain melted the walls; the collapse killed two of Lee's children, and the survivors left to found New Harmony and Kanarraville.

What the plaque says

Established May 9, 1854, by John D. Lee, Richard Woolsey, William R. Davis and others who had founded Harmony in 1852. County seat of Washington County until 1859. Headquarters of Mormon Mission to Lamanites 1853-1854. The fort was finally abandoned in February 1862, following heavy storms that caused the walls to crumble and fall, the settlers founding New Harmony and Kanarraville. The wall was 300 feet square. Houses on east side were one story and wall 10 feet high; on west side two stories and wall 16 feet high. Kanarra and Harmony Creeks supplied water for irrigation.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Kolob Canyons — 4.6 mi
  The quiet, uncrowded back door to Zion National Park
• Zion National Park — 17 mi
  Towering sandstone cliffs that glow like fire at sunset
• Hurricane Canal Trail — 21 mi
  The hand-dug canal that built Hurricane, now a walking trail blasted into the Virgin River gorge
• Grafton Ghost Town — 24 mi
  A photogenic ghost town used in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

More markers nearby

• Southern Indian Mission — steps away
• Military Training Camp Site — 3.1 mi
• New Harmony — 3.6 mi
• Fort Kanarra — 5.1 mi