Fort Sage Bottom

When the Black Hawk War came to the upper Weber, the settlers of Kamas and Peoa gathered behind one wall. A fort first raised in 1861 was moved in 1866 to Sage Bottom — a spot also called Woodenshoe — a mile south of Peoa, where houses of split logs and clay stood shoulder to shoulder around a central church, drawing their water from a single well. Families from both towns waited out the danger there together. The bell that crowns this monument outlived the fort by decades, ringing in the valley's schoolhouses from 1881 until 1940.

What the plaque says

In 1861 a fort was built on a nearby creek, moved in 1866 to Sage Bottom, sometimes called Woodenshoe, one mile south of Peoa. Houses of split logs and clay were placed close together with a church in the center. Drinking water was obtained from a well. Settlers from both Kamas and Peoa lived here during the Black Hawk War. The bell atop this monument was used for nearly 60 years, in the white school house built in 1881 and in the brick school building until 1940.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Kamas — 6.6 mi
  A ranching town and gateway to the Uinta Mountains
• Samak Smokehouse — 8.0 mi
  A rustic roadside smokehouse serving legendary smoked meats
• Jordanelle State Park — 9.6 mi
  A sapphire reservoir nestled between the Wasatch and Uinta mountains
• Park City — 9.8 mi
  Silver built it. Snow saved it.

More markers nearby

• Indian Trail — 2.4 mi
• Rhoades Valley Fort, on Relic Hall — 6.5 mi
• First Settler of Kamas — 6.8 mi
• Park City Pioneers — 9.7 mi