View source for Fort Supply (Utah Territory)

{{Short description|Former fort and settlement in Bridger Valley, Wyoming}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                    = Fort Supply
|settlement_type         = [[Ghost town]]
|image_skyline           = Fort Supply, by Merritt D. Houghton - Google Arts & Culture.jpg
|imagesize               =
|image_alt               = Sketch of Fort Supply, showing wooden stockade and buildings
|image_caption           = A conjectural sketch of Fort Supply
|image_map               =
|pushpin_map             = USA Wyoming#USA
|pushpin_map_alt         = Map of Wyoming showing the location of the former fort.
|pushpin_map_caption     = Location within the state of Wyoming
|pushpin_label_position  =
|coordinates             = {{coord|41.16697|-110.43778|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|coor_pinpoint           =
|coordinates_footnotes   =
|subdivision_type        = Country
|subdivision_name        = United States
|subdivision_type1       = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1       = [[Wyoming]]
|subdivision_type2       = [[List of counties in Wyoming|County]]
|subdivision_name2       = [[Uinta County, Wyoming|Uinta]]
|subdivision_type3       =
|subdivision_name3       =
|established_title       = Settled
|established_date        = 1853
|elevation_footnotes     =
|elevation_ft            = 7420
|footnotes               =
}}
'''Fort Supply''' was a [[Mormon pioneers|Mormon pioneer-era]] fort in Green River County, [[Utah Territory]], [[United States]]. Established in 1853 and abandoned during the [[Utah War]] of 1857, the fort served to solidify [[Mormons|Mormon]] influence and control in the area, as a base for local missionary efforts, and to supply food and other provisions for pioneers headed to [[Salt Lake City]]. The site of the former fort is located near the modern-day community of [[Robertson, Wyoming|Robertson]], [[Uinta County, Wyoming|Uinta County]], [[Wyoming]], and a monument commemorating the settlement is maintained as a satellite site of Wyoming's [[Fort Bridger|Fort Bridger State Historic Site]].
==History==
===Bridger Valley before Fort Supply===
What is presently known as the [[Bridger Valley, Wyoming|Bridger Valley]] (also called the Green River Valley) had become a popular gathering place for [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and [[Mountain man|mountain men]] in the first half of the nineteenth century. Two of these mountain men, [[Jim Bridger]] and his business partner [[Louis Vasquez]], established [[Fort Bridger]] as a trading post in the valley during the early 1840s. Several years later, [[Mormon pioneers]] (members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], or LDS Church) established [[Salt Lake City]] approximately {{convert|100|mi|km}}  to the south-west of Fort Bridger, and this new city became the principal settlement in the [[Utah Territory]] following the territory's establishment by the [[United States Congress|US Congress]] in 1850.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976">{{cite book |last1=Gowans |first1=Fred R. |author-link1=Fred R. Gowans |last2=Campbell |first2=Eugene E. |author-link2=Eugene E. Campbell |date=1976 |title=Fort Supply: Brigham Young's Green River Experiment |location=Provo, Utah |publisher=Brigham Young University Publications}}</ref>{{rp|9}}
An act passed by the [[Utah Territorial Assembly|Utah Territorial legislature]] gave themselves the right to control the operation of [[Ferry|ferries]] on the [[Green River (Colorado River tributary)|Green River]], near the Bridger Valley.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|9}} These ferries had been operated by mountain men, who opposed giving up control to the Mormon men authorized by the legislature to run them. Fort Bridger also saw its trading business decline as Salt Lake City grew. Both of these things led to contention between the groups, with Mormons claiming that the mountain men were trying to incite the local natives against them.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|10–11}}
Elsewhere in the Utah Territory, relations with the natives deteriorated, and by the summer of 1853 the [[Wakara's War|Walker War]] had begun. Trade with all natives in the Utah Territory was then outlawed, including in the Bridger Valley.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|14}} At Fort Bridger the now illegal trade continued, and in August 1853, 150 men under the command of Sheriff James Ferguson were sent to stop it. When the group arrived at Fort Bridger, James Bridger had fled, but they discovered his whiskey and rum and destroyed it. Afterwards they continued to the Green River, where they engaged the mountain men who had been unlawfully running ferries, killing some and seizing their livestock. Afterwards they returned to Fort Bridger, which they temporarily occupied.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|14–15}} To help maintain the control that had been established during these skirmishes, the decision was made by church leaders to establish a permanent presence in the area.
===Green River Mission===
[[File:Fort Supply, Utah Territory (Wyoming) map - vector image.svg|300px|thumb|Approximate locations of Fort Supply, Salt Lake City, and [[Fillmore, Utah|Fillmore]] (the territorial capital 1851–1856). The Utah Territory is shown in blue, with modern state boundaries shown for reference.]]
====First Attempt====
Church leadership in Salt Lake City called [[Orson Hyde]] to organize the effort to establish the “Green River Mission” and build a fort in the Bridger Valley.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|17}} The goal of this [[Mission (LDS Church)|mission]] would not only be to convert and “civilize” the local [[Shoshone]], but to help maintain Mormon control in the area, and supply provisions to pioneers who still had a nearly 100-mile journey across the [[Wasatch Range]] to the [[Salt Lake Valley]].<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|3}}
During the church's [[General Conference (LDS Church)|general conference]] in October 1853, 39 young men were called to the mission.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|17}} The first company of men, led by John Nebeker, left Salt Lake City for the Bridger Valley on November 2, 1853.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|20}} The remaining men left Salt Lake City on November 25 in a second company led by Isaac Bullock. By the time the second company arrived in the valley, the first company had already chosen a site for the fort (approximately {{convert|11|mi|km}} miles from Fort Bridger), and construction on a [[blockhouse]] was quickly started.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|25}} After about two weeks the blockhouse was finished, but little else could be done until the following spring, as winter had already set in. Many of the missionaries’ efforts were spent that first winter surviving off supplies from Salt Lake City and learning the [[Shoshoni language]] from Elijah B. Ward (a mountain man who had recently converted to Mormonism) and his native wife Sally.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|29–30}}
When spring arrived, a group of missionaries made contact with the local Shoshone, including [[Washakie|Chief Washakie's]] band, although little was accomplished and none of the Shoshone were baptized into the church.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|30}} Also in the spring, missionaries planted crops and continued work on the fort. As the year progressed, some missionaries became discontent and began to leave for Salt Lake City without permission. By July 1854 the fort and mission had largely been abandoned, save for a small group who stayed behind to harvest the crops.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|33–34}}
====Second Attempt====
During the church's general conference in April 1855, new missionaries were called to reoccupy the fort and continue the mission.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|37}} This group, led by James S. Brown, arrived at the fort in May 1855 and got to work repairing the fort and planting crops.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|38}} They also restarted the mission to the Shoshone, and had some success converting natives.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|40}} Also during 1855 the church purchased Fort Bridger, and Lewis Robinson was given charge over it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Van Leer |first=Twila |date=July 19, 1997 |title=Portion of wall at Fort Bridger reminder of era |url=https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/1997-07-19/portion-of-wall-at-fort-bridger-reminder-of-era-130089 |work=[[Church News]] |location=Salt Lake City |access-date=June 11, 2022 |archive-date=June 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611210842/https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/1997-07-19/portion-of-wall-at-fort-bridger-reminder-of-era-130089 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The 1855 crop did well, until an early frost in September destroyed most of what had not yet been harvested, and food had to be carefully budgeted that winter.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|46–47}} In 1856, church leadership called 43 families from other settlements in the territory to join with the missionaries currently at Fort Supply and strengthen that community.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|51}} Around this time leaders at Fort Supply had received permission to establish a city. A site for what would become “Supply City” was chosen approximately {{convert|3|mi|km}} north of the fort and the city plot was surveyed in June 1857; 15 or 16 homes in the new city had been constructed by the end of that summer.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|58}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jenson |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Jenson |date=January 1913 |title=History of Fort Bridger and Fort Supply |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=36 |url=https://archive.org/details/utahgenealogical04gene/page/n95/mode/2up |magazine=The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine |location=Salt Lake City |publisher=The Genealogical Society of Utah |access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref>
===Utah War and abandonment===
During 1857, in an event known as the [[Utah War]], President [[James Buchanan]] had [[Brigham Young]] replaced as governor of the territory. Buchanan also ordered 2,500 troops to accompany [[Alfred Cumming (governor)|Alfred Cumming]], the new governor, to Utah.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|61}} As this federal force approached the territory, Young declared [[martial law]] and instructed that no federal troops were to pass any closer than Fort Bridger and Fort Supply. By fall 1857, the families and most missionaries at Fort Supply and Supply City were recalled back. The [[Nauvoo Legion|Utah militia]], on the other hand, headed in the opposite direction towards the Bridger Valley.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|62–63}} The militia, and a few remaining men from the settlements, were instructed to implement a [[Scorched earth|scorched-earth policy]] and burn anything the approaching army could use. Fort Supply was burned around midnight on October 3, 1857, after which the group moved on to Supply City and burnt it.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|64–65}}
As the Utah War ended, some settlers desired to return to the sites of Fort Supply and Supply City, but the land had been made part of the military reserve when Fort Bridger became an official US military post. They requested help from Governor Cumming, who was sympathetic, but [[John B. Floyd]], the US Secretary of War, would not allow it.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|67–68}} Mormons did not return to the valley until the 1890s, when the military reserve was dissolved and the land opened for homesteading.<ref name="Twitchell_1959">{{cite thesis |last=Twitchell |first=Jerry F. |date=1959 |title=History of Latter-day Saints in Bridger Valley, Wyoming |type=Thesis |publisher=Brigham Young University |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5180/ |access-date=June 11, 2022 |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920084028/https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5180/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|26}} This new group of Mormons largely settled in what is today [[Lyman, Wyoming]].<ref name="Twitchell_1959" />{{rp|57–58}}
==Description of the fort==
The first building constructed at the fort was the blockhouse,<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|25}} which included four log wings, attached at the corners. This created a center room that was built two stories high, so that a guard could be placed on the second level.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|28}} By April 1856, the fort included a [[stockade]] that enclosed {{convert|10|acre|ha}}, 25 homes, and a two-story building used as a courthouse and for other public functions. Also included were numerous corrals, stockyards, and fenced fields.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|51}} At the time the fort was burnt, Jesse W. Crosby (present at the burning) indicated that 100 or more log houses, a [[sawmill]], [[gristmill]], and [[Threshing machine|thrashing machine]] were located at the settlements.<ref name="Gowans and Campbell_1976" />{{rp|65}}
==Site preservation==
[[File:Fort Supply Monument - Uinta County, Wyoming - 14 May 2021.jpg|thumb|Monument at the former site of Fort Supply]]
The former site of Fort Supply was homestead by John C. Bond, who received the [[land patent]] in 1902. Assistant Church Historian, [[Andrew Jenson]], positively identified the fort site in August 1920.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jenson |first=Andrew |date=July 1921 |title=Fort Supply |volume=24 |issue=9 |page=803 |url=https://archive.org/details/improvementera2409unse/page/800/mode/2up |magazine=[[Improvement Era]] |location=Salt Lake City |publisher=General Board Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association |access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=August 10, 1920 |title=Church Historian Locates Site Old Uinta Settlement |work=Cheyenne State Leader |location=Cheyenne, Wyoming |page=3}}</ref>
As part of Wyoming's golden anniversary of statehood, the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming dedicated a monument—dated 1937—at the site on July 3, 1940.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=June 27, 1940 |title=Many Events Are Scheduled Commemorating Golden Anniversary |work=Big Piney Examiner |location=Big Piney, Wyoming |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=July 4, 1940 |title=Monument at Site of Old Fort Supply Dedicated |work=The Casper Tribune-Herald |location=Casper, Wyoming |page=3}}</ref> The monument is maintained as a satellite site of Fort Bridger State Historic Site,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wyoparks.wyo.gov/index.php/activities-amenities-fort-bridger/fort-supply-fort-bridger-state-historic-site |title=Fort Supply |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Fort Bridger State Historic Site |publisher=Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites, & Trails. |access-date=June 11, 2022 |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302083129/https://wyoparks.wyo.gov/index.php/activities-amenities-fort-bridger/fort-supply-fort-bridger-state-historic-site |url-status=live }}</ref> and can be visited during the summer months when roads are passable.
==See also==
*[[Fort Lemhi]]
*[[Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park|Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort]] - another Mormon fort with a similar purpose
*[[Mormon corridor]]
*[[History of Wyoming]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
* [https://wyoparks.wyo.gov/index.php/activities-amenities-fort-bridger/fort-supply-fort-bridger-state-historic-site Fort Supply] - Fort Bridger State Historic Site website
* [https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/fort-supply/ Fort Supply] - Ensign Peak Foundation
{{Uinta County, Wyoming}}
[[Category:Forts in Wyoming|Supply]]
[[Category:Wyoming state historic sites]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in Wyoming]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Wyoming]]
[[Category:Geography of Uinta County, Wyoming]]
[[Category:Mormon Trail]]
[[Category:1853 establishments in Utah Territory]]
[[Category:1850s disestablishments in Utah Territory]]