Richmond Fort

Sixteen families settled this Cache Valley in July 1859, led in by the guide John Bair, and wintered in log cabins and dugouts between City Creek and Brower Springs. This was Northwestern Shoshone — Newe — land, and the following spring the settlers walled themselves in against the people they were crowding out. Their fort was two rows of houses, corrals and sheds behind them, running three thousand feet east to west. The peace it distrusted did not hold: the Bear River Massacre came three years later, just up the valley. The monument marks its southwest corner.

What the plaque says

In July 1859 under the leadership of John Bair, (interpreter and guide) sixteen families settled here, built log cabins and dugouts between City Creek and Brower Springs. The following Spring other families arrived and a permanent fort was built for protection against Indians. The fort consisted of two rows of houses running east and west facing each other, with corrals and sheds for livestock back of the homes. This monument, built in honor of the pioneers of 1859 and 1860, marks the southwest corner of the fort which ran 3000 feet east by 465 feet north,

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• American West Heritage Center — 8.8 mi
  A living history farm spanning 160 acres of Cache Valley
• Tony Grove Lake — 9.1 mi
  A glacial alpine lake at 8,100 feet surrounded by wildflower meadows
• Jardine Juniper — 12 mi
  One of the oldest living trees in the world at over 1,500 years old
• Logan — 13 mi
  A vibrant college town tucked into a stunning mountain valley

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Home and Granary — 5.7 mi
• Smithfield Veterans Memorial — 5.9 mi
• Ira Merrill — 6.0 mi
• Newton Reservoir — 10.0 mi