Military Training Camp Site

Fort Harmony had a second life as a parade ground. Best known as John D. Lee's melting-walled fort, it served as the muster and training site for southern Utah's militia. When the territory divided its Nauvoo Legion into thirteen districts in 1857, everything south of Beaver fell to the Iron County division, and its companies drilled here. In 1867, during the Black Hawk War, the southern companies trained on this ground under Brigadier General Erastus Snow and Captain James Andrews — farmers turned part-time soldiers, learning to march and shoot in a conflict born of the settlement they represented.

What the plaque says

Fort Harmony was designated as the training site of the Iron County division of the Utah Militia. In 1857 the Militia was divided into 13 districts. The southern group consisted of all counties south of Beaver and was known as the Iron County division. In 1867, during the period of the Blackhawk War, these companies trained at this place under the command of Brigadier General Erastus Snow and Captain James Andrews.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Kolob Canyons — 7.5 mi
  The quiet, uncrowded back door to Zion National Park
• Zion National Park — 20 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 — 25 mi
  A photogenic ghost town used in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

More markers nearby

• New Harmony — 0.6 mi
• Fort Harmony — 3.1 mi
• Southern Indian Mission — 3.1 mi
• Fort Kanarra — 7.4 mi