Wednesday, January 6, 2010

On our way home from Vegas we stopped at Cove Fort and did a tour. During a free guided tour of Cove Fort, you can travel back to the days when travel was by horseback and covered wagon, and discover what sort of accommodations a traveler could have expected.


(the trees behind us are 152 years old)

A safe haven built in 1867, Cove Fort was constructed at the halfway point between Fillmore and Beaver, Utah. In the 1860s the 60-mile trip between these two towns required two days of travel. Cove Fort was the perfect place to stop for the night to find safety, shelter, fresh water, and plenty of feed for livestock.

Built primarily of volcanic rock and limestone from a nearby quarry, the perimeter walls of the fort are 100 feet square and 18 feet high. The fort's 12 rooms, 6 on the north side and 6 on the south, have been restored to reflect the 1867 to 1877 period, complete with authentic period furnishings and artifacts.