Old Meeting House - Draper Fort

Before he built a university, John R. Park taught school in a fort. From 1861 to 1869 the young educator held classes in Draper's old adobe meetinghouse, inside the walls of a frontier fort — acres enclosed by a rampart fourteen feet high and three feet thick. Park's little school turned out a remarkable number of the state's future leaders and left Draper with a lasting appetite for education. He went on to become the first president of the University of Utah. The meetinghouse is long gone; its south doorstep is set into this monument.

What the plaque says

The north wall of the "Old Meeting House" stood near this monument. Here (1861-1869) Dr. John R. Park began his career as an educator in Utah. This school produced many of the state’s leaders and left an indelible love for education in Draper. The granite block in this monument was the south step of the old church. This spot was within the enclosure of the old adobe fort 184 yds. x 113 yds. The wall was 14 Ft. high and 3 Ft. thick.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lehi Roller Mills — 9.1 mi
  The flour mill from the movie Footloose
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument — 9.9 mi
  Three spectacularly decorated caves connected by hand-carved tunnels
• Snowbird — 12 mi
  The aerial-tram resort of Little Cottonwood Canyon, with steep terrain, deep snow, and one of the longest seasons in the country.
• Alta Ski Area — 13 mi
  One of America's oldest and snowiest ski areas — ski-only, fiercely independent, and built on an old silver camp.

More markers nearby

• Rockwell Station — 3.1 mi
• Neff's Station — 3.1 mi
• Early Riverton — 3.5 mi
• The Magnificent Dome Church — 3.5 mi