A Historical Analysis of Cove Fort, Utah
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1966 A Historical Analysis of Cove Fort, Utah Larry C. Porter Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, History Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Porter, Larry C., "A Historical Analysis of Cove Fort, Utah" (1966). Theses and Dissertations. 5048. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5048 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. j 0joda00aoom q3qa A historical ANALYSIS OF COVE FORT UTAH A thesis submitted to the faculty of the department of graduate studies in religious instruction brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts by larry C porter may 1966 PREFACE the writer has had a long term interest in the examination of the history surrounding cove fortsports existence 186719661867 1966 for him this study has been much more than a requirement in his educational pursuits A great deal of personal interest has prompted its writing stories con- cerning life and conditions at that place have been an integral part of his growing up the authors great grandfather arza E hinckley was a brother to the superintendent of construction on the fort ira nathaniel hinckley and later managed the operation of the fortification 187718821877 1882 one of arzasaczas daughters ella hinckley hoopes was the writerwritersIs grand- mother ella was 15 years of age at the time her parents left cove fort and she carried away a very clear recollection of occurrences dur- ing that period of her life for many years the writer has desired to piece together the mu- t4tatiplicltiplicityplicityplecityity of information which has huretofor remained uncollected the motivation to accomplish this end has been prompted by the realization that many of the key sources of information concerning the fort are grad- ually being obscured with the passage of time the author is highly indebted to the memory of ella hinckley hoopes and that of his mother blondel porter smith for the veritable fund of information which they transcribed during their lifetime in order that certain of the happenings in cove forts unique past might not be iii lost to future generations my wife ladawn receives my deepest appreciation not only for her encouragement and great interest in this thesis but also for her very material assistance in preparing the actual manuscript she has made the accomplishment of this work possible dr russell R rich and dr daniel H ludlow have given many thoughtful suggestions in their evaluation of the study I1 amwn grateful for their careful consideration of the manuscript and friendly interest throughout the course of the project the author wishes to express his sincere appreciation to members of the kesler family otto mary joe and calvin for their personalized assistance in interviews pointing out physical features in the cove creek vicinity and allowing unlimited access to the fort facility itself A william lund and members of the church historianhistoriansis library staff have contributed much through their timely assistance in securing source materials the writer is similarly grateful to members of the library staffs at brigham young university huntington library university of utah utah state university and the utah state historical society many individuals have graciously supplied the writer with in- valuable information for inclusion in this work I1 would like to extend a particular note of thanks to albert E smith parnell hinckley vida cardon adamadansadams kate B carter minnie hinckley bowen helen hinckley jones vera mayhue earl S paul elizabeth S hinckley joe willden earl will- den ruth willden harriett martin edna B black claron griffin and mrs iv glen hutchings my special thanks is also given to N earl deschamps for his close scrutiny of the manuscript for grmagrammaticaltical correctness v TABLE OF CONTENTS page PREFACE iii LIST OF illustrations ix introduction 1 PART I1 background chapter I1 background OF COVE CREEK AND VICINITY 7 general description LDS exploring and settlement expeditions examine the cove creek region brigham young visits cove creek II11 FORT WILLDEN forerunner 19 fort willden charles william willden sr visits cove creek construction of fort willden occupants of fort willden significant occurrences evacuation of fort willden PART II11 THE construction AND functioning OF COVE FORT UTAH TERRITORY iliIII111 THE ERECTION OF COVE FORT 31 the need for a permanent fortification the site of cove fort Is acquired by the LDS church ira nathaniel hinckley supervises construction artisans who assisted in building the facility methods of construction and materials employed IV ADJACENT BUILDINGS AND PHYSICAL FEATURES 61 vi chapter page V COVE FORT PERFORMS ITS PRIMARY FUNCTIONS 70 A haven of protection and rest for the traveler deseret state telegraph station united states mail station stagecoach station freighters refuge maintenance of the church tithing herd VI FAMILIES WHO HAVE OCCUPIED THE FORT 100 ira nathaniel hinckley family 1867771867 77 1882901882 90 arza erastus hinckley family 1877821877 82 ira nathaniel hinckley family 1882901882 90 john black sr family about 189019001890 1900 snow mcdonald family 1901021901 02 william henry kesler Ffamilyly 1903 VII FAMILY LIFE AT THE FORT illlii household facilities and activities religion education entertainment animals insect infestation drouth and earthquake VIII experiences WITH THE INDIANS 139 cove fort never attacked by indians treatment of the indians by the forts inhabitants customs practiced by indians visiting the fort IX SULPHUR MINING IN THE COVE FORT VICINITY 148 sulphur Is discovered in the cove creek area early cove creek sulphur mining the importance of sulphurchurphur mines to economy of cove fort cove creek sulphur mining today X COVE FORT IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 159 present day functioning of cove fort preservation of the structure the state of utah attempts to acquire cove fort as a park site vii chapter page XI conclusions 1 173 appendices 181 SELECTED bibliography 198 viii LIST OF illustrations figure pasepage 1 physical arrangement of fort willdenwiilden 22 2 ira and areaarzaazeaayea hinckley 9 9 e 0 42 3 cove fort as it appeared 1868091868691868 6909 47 4 physical arrangement of cove fort P a e 50 5 covcowcove fort buildings and adjacent physical features 62 6 ligationutilizationuliullUti of cove fort rooms 18718776218778218777827 6282 1 4 1 115 7 drawing of cove fort by charles alexander sealer 154 ix introduction statement of the problem with the arrival of the first mormon pioneer company in the great basin during july of 1847 immediate de- signs were made to examine the expanses of their new inland domain ex- ploration parties made forays to various points in salt lake and thoeletooele valleys the month of august found president brigham young sending small groups into cache and utah valleys to investigate their potential for settlement in november of 1847 jefferson hunt with a company of eighteen was dispatched to california via the southern route to procure seed and livestock the route traveled by these scouts and traders opened the vastness of juab padvanpauvan beaver little salt lake and dixie valleys in addition to a pacific corridor the program of land settlement was closely directed by president young he crmissionedcommissioned exploring parties to find the sites that would be most favorable for colonization or identified them himself gradually small crmunitiescommunities were established throughout various valleys of the great basin and beyond san bernardino california genoa in carson valley nevada and fort leahilemhi on the salmon river in idaho came into being under his careful observation with each passing day Brigbrighamsbrigham1shanshamshamb knowledge of the resources and possibilities of the region continued to increase As each of the new armmcrmmcommunitiesitiesaties struggled for existence it became readily apparent that in addition to the extreme difficulties of eking out an existence from the soil the would be settler was faced with 1 2 a dilemma which could be equally menacing the indian inhabitants of the area were a potential and sometimes active threat to the success of colonization it was virtually inevitable that despite an active program of reconciliation inaugurated by the pioneer leadership there would be certain animosities arise between the white and red man in his desire to prevent a clash between these opposites brigham young introduced an indian policy which was responsible for averting a sizeable losslose of life and destruction of property the philosophy be- hind this policy called for the saints to feed the red man when necessary and to assist him in becoming self sustaining it appealed for the educa- tion of the indian the induction of a degree of civilization and main- tained that the tenantsteneutsof christianity should be fostered in his nature although friendly treatment of their indian brethren was admonished and noticeably reciprocated the inherent dangers of surprise attack were also recognized by the Morcormonsmormonsmons As a precautionary measure president young instructed his colonists that the first building