Fort Cameron - Misplaced Pages

United States historic place


Fort Cameron
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Site

The fort as seen from the nearby hills
Show map of UtahShow map of the United States
Location	Utah State Route 153
Nearest city	Beaver, Utah
Coordinates	38°16′44″N 112°36′2″W / 38.27889°N 112.60056°W / 38.27889; -112.60056
Area	less than one acre
Built	1872
Built by	United States Army
NRHP reference No.	74001932
Added to NRHP	September 9, 1974

Fort Cameron was a United States Military installation, located east of Beaver, Utah, and was active from 1872 to 1883. It was demolished in the early 20th century.

History

The fort was established on May 25, 1872 by the 8th Infantry, commanded by Major John D. Wilkins. Located on the north side of the Beaver River, many of the buildings were constructed with a distinctive black rock sourced from the nearby mountains. The new fort included four company barracks, a guardhouse, commissary, hospital, and officers’ quarters. Originally called the Post of Beaver, it was renamed Fort Cameron on July 1, 1874 in honor of Colonel James Cameron, who was killed at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861.

The fort was active for 11 years until May, 1883. It was originally established to protect settlers of central Utah from local American Indians and to keep an eye on possible Mormon rebellions. The fort had the only hospital within a 150-mile (240 km) radius. Though primarily meant to treat soldiers, it also provided medical care to local civilians.

Cyrus M. Hawley, an associate justice of the Utah Territorial Supreme Court, believed the fort's establishment would lead to the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre case being brought to trial, as it would allow witnesses to testify under the protection of the US government. Only one man, John D. Lee, was convicted.

After the fort was decommissioned, the remaining military personnel were reassigned to Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, and the Fort Cameron buildings were sold to two locals: John R. Murdock and Philo T. Farnsworth. The men helped organize Murdock Academy, which was the Beaver branch of the Brigham Young Academy in Provo (now Brigham Young University). The academy lasted from 1898 to 1922. After the Utah State Legislature passed a law requiring counties to offer tuition-free schools, the LDS Church closed the school and sold the property. All but one of the fort's buildings were razed, and most of the property is now a golf course.

References

^ "National Register of Historic Places: Fort Cameron". npgallery.nps.gov. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. 9 Sep 1974. Retrieved 13 Oct 2023.
^ Bonar, Linda L. (1994), "Fort Cameron", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the original on March 21, 2024, retrieved April 24, 2024
^ Syd Whittle (July 30, 2022). "Fort Cameron". hmdb.org. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 13 Oct 2023.
^ Martha Sonntag Bradley (17 May 2016) . "Beaver". historytogo.utah.gov. Utah History To Go. Retrieved 13 Oct 2023.

External links

Media related to Fort Cameron, Utah Territory at Wikimedia Commons

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

v t e Municipalities and communities of Beaver County, Utah, United States
County seat: Beaver
Cities	Beaver Milford	Map of Utah highlighting Beaver County
Town	Minersville
Unincorporated communities	Adamsville Greenville Manderfield
Ghost towns	Cunningham Hill Frisco Newhouse Sulphurdale
Utah portal United States portal

This article about a property in Utah on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

This article about a building or structure in Utah is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories:

History

See also

References

External links