There have been several forts built in Manti, Utah. This page is to organize my documentation of them.
Little Stone Fort – Erected 1852
This was the first fort built in Manti. It was in the northwest quarter of block 64, the foundation was 3 feet wide and made of stone and the walls were 12 feet high and 2 feet wide. The fort provided protection from hostile Ute Indians.
Log Fort – Erected 1853
This was the second fort built in Manti, it encompassed Little Fort and covered about 1 block. The walls of cabins formed part of the fort walls and the fort had four guard towers.
Big Fort or Fort Manti – Erected 1854
This was the third fort built in Manti, it was 9 blocks in the center of town build to replace the Little Stone Fort and the Log Fort. It was built of rock, adobe and mud-filled wood frames with walls that were 12 feet high, 3 feet wide at the base and 2 feet wide at the top. It was built for protection of settlers and their livestock from Indian menace in the Walker Indian War (1853-54)
Tabernacle Fort – Erected 1866
This was the fourth fort built in Manti. Built for protection in the Black Hawk War.
Thank you for these pictures! My ancestor, Phineas Wolcott Cook documented his involvement in building the first Manti fort in his memoirs. “The spring of 1851, I was called upon by the council to make a draft of a fort and send a copy to Brigham Young. We located the fort on the creek, about 1/3 of a mile from our houses. It was to be built of rock, 10 rods on each side. I labored on it 11 days which was an average for all. We held the 4th of July in our new fort and had a picnic dinner. I was appointed reader of the day and discharged my duty as well as I could.”