Utah's First Fort/Pioneer Women/Children (3)

By the winter of 1847 this ten-acre square held a crowded little world. The pioneers had thrown up log and adobe houses wall to wall, their backs forming a barrier closed by a nine-foot mud wall, and by December more than two thousand people were living inside the fort. Life organized quickly: the valley's first school met here that October, and a bowery in the center served for meetings. Here, too, in December 1848, the settlers signed the first petition for self-government in the Rocky Mountain West. In 1898 the old fort ground became a public park.

What the plaque says

On this ten acre square during the years 1847-1849 stood the first fort, historic Mormon bastion, sometimes called the "Plymouth Rock of the West." Homes were erected of logs or adobe, side by side, with the rear walls forming a protective barrier; enclosed by a nine foot mud wall. By December 1847, over two thousand people were living in the fort which was extended one block north and one block south. The first school convened here in October 1847. A bowery, built in the center, served as a meeting place. Within its walls Anglo Saxon civilization was first brought to the Great Basin and the ensign of our Republic raised over this domain, then Mexican territory. Here, on December 9, 1848, the first petition to establish self government in the Rocky Mountain West was signed. It became a public park July 24, 1898. [Second plaque mounted on monument:] Pioneer Women Three women came in the first company of pioneers: Harriet Page Wheeler, wife of Lorenzo D. Young; Clara Decker, wife of Brigham Young; Ellen Saunders, wife of Heber C. Kimball. During the rugged journey the services performed by these heroic women were of incalculable value. [Third plaque mounted on the monument:] Pioneer Children The children who journeyed with the first company of pioneers were: Lorenzo Sobieski Young, age six years, Son of Lorenzo D. and Persis Goodall Young, and Isaac Perry Decker, age seven, son of Harriet Page Wheeler Decker Young. Both boys proved themselves courageous and helpful during the historic trek across the plains.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Temple Square — 0.8 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City — 0.8 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Liberty Park — 1.7 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 2.1 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood

More markers nearby

• The Flag of the United States of America in Old Fort — steps away
• Pioneer Square — steps away
• First Pioneer Fort in Valley PTLA #23 — steps away
• Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church — steps away