Bluff Fort, Pioneer Village Historic Site in Utah
This is the rebuilt original Bluff Fort, restored through the effort of the Hole in the Rock Foundation. The community in southeast Utah, settled in April 1880 by Mormon pioneers.
Pioneers were seeking a route from south-central Utah to their proposed colony in the far southeastern corner of the state. In the autumn of 1879, some 250 men, women, and children left with enough supplies for a 6- to 8-week trip, and undertook one of the most challenging and dramatic pioneering expeditions in American history.
Rejecting two longer routes, they chose a more direct path and expected the 125-mile trek would take 6 weeks. Instead, the journey extended 260 miles over 6 months via the longest shortcut, Hole-in-the-Rock Trail during the winter.
Many sections of the trail were almost impassable. To allow wagon passage, the men spent 6 weeks blasting and chiseling a path through a narrow, 1200-foot (400 m) drop in the sandstone cliffs known as the Hole-in-the-Rock. Brothers had experience using explosives as miners in Wales, were put in charge of drilling and blasting to make a path for wagon passage.
On January 26, 1880 the expedition (250 people, 83 full-sized wagons, and over 1000 head of livestock) began their descent to the river. Wagons were heavily roped, and teams of men and oxen used to lower them through the upper crevice, which has slopes approaching 45°. Further down, a wooden track had been constructed along a slickrock sandstone slope. Posts in drilled holes supported horizontal beams to allow passage of the wagons.
By April 1880, the pioneers were too exhausted to continue to their intended destination 20 miles upriver and chose to settle along flat area in the river valley. Calling the new location Bluff City, they began dividing the land, building log cabins, and digging a ditch from the river for crop irrigation.
The Bluff Fort grew into an open square surrounded by cottonwood log cabins with all cabin doors and windows facing inward. The exact number of cabins in the Fort is unknown, but ranged from 38 – 63 cabins. Inside the Fort, the Bluff City Meetinghouse was completed in the fall of 1880 and served for 14 years as a church, school, dance hall, and public meeting place.
The Meetinghouse is opened to the visitors showing a film and providing brochures. The Fort was a fascinating place to learn amazing history of high spirit.
Bluff Fort, Pioneer Village Historic Site in Utah
This is the rebuilt original Bluff Fort, restored through the effort of the Hole in the Rock Foundation. The community in southeast Utah, settled in April 1880 by Mormon pioneers.
Pioneers were seeking a route from south-central Utah to their proposed colony in the far southeastern corner of the state. In the autumn of 1879, some 250 men, women, and children left with enough supplies for a 6- to 8-week trip, and undertook one of the most challenging and dramatic pioneering expeditions in American history.
Rejecting two longer routes, they chose a more direct path and expected the 125-mile trek would take 6 weeks. Instead, the journey extended 260 miles over 6 months via the longest shortcut, Hole-in-the-Rock Trail during the winter.
Many sections of the trail were almost impassable. To allow wagon passage, the men spent 6 weeks blasting and chiseling a path through a narrow, 1200-foot (400 m) drop in the sandstone cliffs known as the Hole-in-the-Rock. Brothers had experience using explosives as miners in Wales, were put in charge of drilling and blasting to make a path for wagon passage.
On January 26, 1880 the expedition (250 people, 83 full-sized wagons, and over 1000 head of livestock) began their descent to the river. Wagons were heavily roped, and teams of men and oxen used to lower them through the upper crevice, which has slopes approaching 45°. Further down, a wooden track had been constructed along a slickrock sandstone slope. Posts in drilled holes supported horizontal beams to allow passage of the wagons.
By April 1880, the pioneers were too exhausted to continue to their intended destination 20 miles upriver and chose to settle along flat area in the river valley. Calling the new location Bluff City, they began dividing the land, building log cabins, and digging a ditch from the river for crop irrigation.
The Bluff Fort grew into an open square surrounded by cottonwood log cabins with all cabin doors and windows facing inward. The exact number of cabins in the Fort is unknown, but ranged from 38 – 63 cabins. Inside the Fort, the Bluff City Meetinghouse was completed in the fall of 1880 and served for 14 years as a church, school, dance hall, and public meeting place.
The Meetinghouse is opened to the visitors showing a film and providing brochures. The Fort was a fascinating place to learn amazing history of high spirit.