In April of 1867, LDS Church President Brigham Young wrote a letter to Ira Hinckley asking him to supervise and take charge of the building of a fort on Cove Creek. The fort is located between the towns of Fillmore on the north and Beaver on the south, a full day's journey — in the old days — either way. A fort was built instead of a town due to the scarcity of water. The fort was to serve as a way station for pioneers traveling along what was known as the "Mormon Corridor" — made up of settlements located between Idaho and Nevada that were connected by roads, telegraph lines and postal routes.

Ira left his home in Coalville, Utah, on April 17 to begin his assignment on Cove Creek. His family didn't join him until later. It took only seven months with the help of quarrymen, stonemasons and carpenters from settlements around Utah to construct the fort, which was 100 feet square. Black volcanic rock and limestone, quarried nearby, made up the walls, which are 100 feet long and 18 feet high. The rest of the fort, the 12 interior rooms, the roof and the doors on the east and west ends of the fort were made of lumber, mainly cedar and pine.

In the fort was a telegraph office and a post office. There were also two stagecoaches daily that brought travelers for an overnight stay.

The second-largest structure at the fort was the barn, 60 feet square and 30 feet high, built with heavy timber. Its main purpose was to house and care for the stock and equipment belonging to those living and working at the fort as well as travelers staying there while passing through. Because of its height, the barn was also used as a lookout post.

Also on site was a blacksmith shop, run by Hinckley himself. He provided shoeing services for the Pony Express horses as well as the stagecoach horses, and also provided services for wagon and equipment repairs.

The fort was heavily used, housing and feeding up to 70 people at a time for 20 years before times changed enough that the fort was no longer used in the same way. By 1890, the church leased out the fort and after 1900 it was sold to the William Kessler family. In 1988, almost 100 years later, the Hinckley family bought the fort back from the Kesslers and donated it to the LDS Church as a historic site. It was restored to its original condition and dedicated in 1994 as the Historic Cove Fort Complex.

Today, there are free, guided tours daily operating year-round. It is open from 8 a.m. to sunset daily from April through September and 9 a.m. to sunset daily from October through March. There are restrooms and picnic areas available to use as well.


If You Go:
Cove Fort is located 24 miles north of Beaver, one mile north of Exit 1 off I-70 and two miles south of Exit 135 off I-15. There is food and lodging located in Fillmore and Beaver, about 25 miles north or south of Cove Fort.

Jenn Fox visted with her family. Click here to read about her experience.