Cove Fort, Utah
Encyclopedia
Cove Fort is a fort and historical site located in Millard County, Utah
. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley
(the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley
) at the request of Brigham Young
. One of its distinctive features is the use of volcanic rock in the construction of the walls, rather than the wood used in many mid-19th century western
forts. This difference in construction is the reason it is one of very few period forts still surviving.
Cove Fort is the closest named place to the western terminus of Interstate 70
, resulting in Cove Fort being listed as a control city
on freeway signs, even though the fort is historical and has no permanent population.
, then the capitol of the Utah Territory
, and the nearest city, Beaver
. It provided a way station
for people traveling the Mormon Corridor
. A town would have been constructed at the Cove Fort site, but the water supply was inadequate to support a sizable population. Another key factor in the selection of the site was the prior existence of a wooden-palisade fort, Willden Fort
, which provided shelter and safety for the work crews who constructed Cove Fort.
The fort is a square, 100 feet (30.5 m) on each side. The walls are constructed of black volcanic rock
and dark limestone
, both quarried from the nearby mountains. The walls are eighteen feet high and four feet thick at the base, tapering to two feet thick at the top. The fort has two sets of large wooden doors at the east and west ends, originally filled with sand to stop arrows and bullets, and contains twelve interior rooms.
As a daily stop for two stagecoach
lines as well as many other travelers, Cove Fort was heavily used for many years, often housing and feeding up to 75 people at a time. In addition to providing a place to rest, a blacksmith
/farrier
resided at the fort who shod horses and ox
en, and also repaired wagon wheels. With its telegraph office and as a Pony Express
stop, it also acted as a regional communications hub.
cabin to the site, constructed a visitor center
, and reopened the fort as a historic site. The site provides free guided tours daily, starting from about 8 a.m. until one half-hour before sunset.
. When the U.S. Highway system was formed, this route became became U.S. Route 91
, and is today Interstate 15
. When the Interstate Highway System
was in the planning stages, planners noted that there was no direct connection between the central United States
and southern California
. The result to fill this gap was a new freeway that would be built west from Green River, Utah
towards Cove Fort, along a path that previously was inaccessible via paved roads. Since that time Cove Fort has also served as the western terminus of Interstate 70
.
In 2004, the Federal Highway Administration
was testing a new typeface, Clearview, designed to have improved readability at night with headlight illumination. One test sign was placed at Baltimore, Maryland – the eastern terminus of Interstate 70 – that listed Cove Fort as a control city
with a distance of 2200 miles (3,540.5 km). One employee stated with the number of queries the department received about Cove Fort, the test was a success. The sign prompted a series of stories about Cove Fort to be published in the Baltimore area. Since that time there has been a small effort by people in both states to lobby the Utah Department of Transportation
to reciprocate by placing a sign at Cove Fort listing the distance to Baltimore.
Millard County, Utah
Millard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. In 2010, its population was 12,420. It was named for Millard Fillmore, thirteenth President of the United States. Its county seat is Fillmore and the largest city is Delta.-Geography:...
. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley
Ira Hinckley
Ira Nathaniel Hinckley was an early Latter Day Saint leader who supervised the construction and maintenance of Cove Fort, a strategically placed fortification located about half-way between Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah. He was the father of author Bryant S. Hinckley and LDS apostle Alonzo A...
(the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
) at the request of Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
. One of its distinctive features is the use of volcanic rock in the construction of the walls, rather than the wood used in many mid-19th century western
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
forts. This difference in construction is the reason it is one of very few period forts still surviving.
Cove Fort is the closest named place to the western terminus of Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
, resulting in Cove Fort being listed as a control city
Control city
A control city is a city or locality posted on a traffic sign indicating forward destinations on a certain route. These destinations aid motorists using the highway system to reach destinations along the various routes...
on freeway signs, even though the fort is historical and has no permanent population.
History
The site for Cove Fort was selected by Brigham Young because of its location approximately half way between FillmoreFillmore, Utah
Fillmore is a city in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Millard County. It is named for the thirteenth US President Millard Fillmore....
, then the capitol of the Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, and the nearest city, Beaver
Beaver, Utah
Beaver is a city in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,454 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Beaver County.Settled by Mormon pioneers in 1856, Beaver was one of a string of Mormon settlements extending the length of Utah...
. It provided a way station
Way station
Way station may be:*Way Station a 1963 science fiction novel by Clifford D. Simak*The Way Station - chapter 2 of The Dark Tower I – The Gunslinger by Stephen King.*Waystation Studio-See also:*mansio *Station *stopover...
for people traveling the Mormon Corridor
Mormon Corridor
The Mormon Corridor is a term for the areas of Western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who are commonly known as Mormons....
. A town would have been constructed at the Cove Fort site, but the water supply was inadequate to support a sizable population. Another key factor in the selection of the site was the prior existence of a wooden-palisade fort, Willden Fort
Willden Fort
Willden Fort was a wooden-palisade fort constructed on Cove Creek in Utah in 1860 by Charles William Willden and his son Ellott. It was occupied from 1860 to 1865, abandoned, then occupied briefly in 1867 during the construction of Cove Fort....
, which provided shelter and safety for the work crews who constructed Cove Fort.
The fort is a square, 100 feet (30.5 m) on each side. The walls are constructed of black volcanic rock
Volcanic rock
Volcanic rock is a rock formed from magma erupted from a volcano. In other words, it is an igneous rock of volcanic origin...
and dark limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, both quarried from the nearby mountains. The walls are eighteen feet high and four feet thick at the base, tapering to two feet thick at the top. The fort has two sets of large wooden doors at the east and west ends, originally filled with sand to stop arrows and bullets, and contains twelve interior rooms.
As a daily stop for two stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
lines as well as many other travelers, Cove Fort was heavily used for many years, often housing and feeding up to 75 people at a time. In addition to providing a place to rest, a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
/farrier
Farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves...
resided at the fort who shod horses and ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
en, and also repaired wagon wheels. With its telegraph office and as a Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
stop, it also acted as a regional communications hub.
Restoration
In the early 1890s, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints determined that the fort was no longer required and leased it out, selling it outright after the turn of the 20th century. In 1989 the Hinckley family purchased the fort and donated it back to the church. The church restored the fort, transported Ira Hinckley's Coalville, UtahCoalville, Utah
Coalville is a city in Summit County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Summit County...
cabin to the site, constructed a visitor center
Visitor center
A visitor center or centre , visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to the visitors who tour the place or area locally...
, and reopened the fort as a historic site. The site provides free guided tours daily, starting from about 8 a.m. until one half-hour before sunset.
Transportation
The first highway to traverse Cove Fort was the Arrowhead Trail, which connected Salt Lake City with Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. When the U.S. Highway system was formed, this route became became U.S. Route 91
U.S. Route 91
U.S. Route 91 is a north–south United States highway. The highway currently serves as a connection between the Cache Valley area of Utah and Idaho to the Salt Lake and Idaho Falls population centers. Prior the mid-1970s, U.S. 91 was an international commerce route from Long Beach, California...
, and is today Interstate 15
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...
. When the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
was in the planning stages, planners noted that there was no direct connection between the central United States
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...
and southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The result to fill this gap was a new freeway that would be built west from Green River, Utah
Green River, Utah
Green River is a city in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 973 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Green River is located at , on the banks of the Green River, after which the city is named. The San Rafael Swell region is to the west of Green River, while Canyonlands National Park...
towards Cove Fort, along a path that previously was inaccessible via paved roads. Since that time Cove Fort has also served as the western terminus of Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
.
In 2004, the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
was testing a new typeface, Clearview, designed to have improved readability at night with headlight illumination. One test sign was placed at Baltimore, Maryland – the eastern terminus of Interstate 70 – that listed Cove Fort as a control city
Control city
A control city is a city or locality posted on a traffic sign indicating forward destinations on a certain route. These destinations aid motorists using the highway system to reach destinations along the various routes...
with a distance of 2200 miles (3,540.5 km). One employee stated with the number of queries the department received about Cove Fort, the test was a success. The sign prompted a series of stories about Cove Fort to be published in the Baltimore area. Since that time there has been a small effort by people in both states to lobby the Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Department of Transportation
The Utah Department of Transportation is an agency of the state government for the U.S. state of Utah. The agency is usually referred to by its initials UDOT . UDOT is charged with maintaining the network of state highways in Utah. The agency is headquartered in the Calvin L. Rampton state office...
to reciprocate by placing a sign at Cove Fort listing the distance to Baltimore.
External links
- Official web site of the Cove Fort Historic Site
- Unofficial Cove Fort Historical Site
- Old Cove Fort from Utah.com
- Cove Fort at the Millard County tourism site.
- Utah Forts: Cove Fort at Legends of America historic site.
- Cove Fort at Great Basin National Heritage Route website.