Lees Ferry Fort

Settlers built this squat stone fort in the summer of 1874, bracing for a conflict with the Diné that never came to the crossing. It was never attacked. Instead the building found quieter uses: a short-lived trading post, then a mess hall when Charles Spencer's mining crews arrived in 1911, then a home for ferry families and government surveyors through the 1930s. The plaque calls it a fort, but its real history is one of commerce and shelter, not the siege it was raised to withstand.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Antelope Canyon — 12 mi
  Tsé bighánílíní — where the water runs through the rock

More markers nearby

• Historic District River Trail — steps away
• Lees Ferry — steps away
• Upper Ferry Site — 0.5 mi
• Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness — 0.5 mi