DESCRIPTION OF THE MT. PLEASANT FORT

July 1859


The following statement is made in Andrew Madsen's Journal:


"During the month of June, we were kept very busy in attending to our crops and the building of the large fort wall." July 10th, Apostle George A. Smith and Amasa Lyman visited the settlement, after giving much good instruction and advice to the people, proceeded to organize the Saints on Pleasant Creek into an ecclesiastical ward. William Stuart Seeley was chosen and ordained Bishop with Harvey Tidwell as first counselor and Peter Yorgen Jensen as second counselor. The office of president was thereby vacated, and Brother James R. Ivie felt very much pleased when released from the responsibility that had been placed upon him, in the establishment of the colony for which he had worked so hard. As it was a very pleasant place in which to live, the name Mount Pleasant Branch was adopted for the colony, giving credit to its pleasant location, beautiful mountains, fields and surroundings.






Work continued on the fort wall until July 18th, when it was completed, and had the distinction of being the finest fort in Sanpete County. Following is the summary of descriptions of the fort, given by Andrew Madsen, Peter Monsen, R. N. Bennett, and Peter Gottfredson. "It enclosed the block later known as the Tithing Yard. 26 rods by 26 rods, enclosing about five and one-half acres of ground, between Main Street and First North, and State Street and First East." "It was made according to instructions and was built of native rock, taken from the surface or dug out of the ground." "It was laid with mud mortar." "The wall was 12 feet high, four feet wide at the bottom, tapering to about two feet at the top.






This wall, in order that the maneuvers of the Indians could be watched from the inside, was built with port holes every 16 feet. about seven feet from the ground. The holes were about two feet wide on the inside, and about four inches on the outside, and about 18 inches high." "Later the inside of the wall was utilized for one wall in the erection of houses, 16 feet square, with one port hole in the middle of the one wall of each house." "There was a flat roofed house in the northwest corner of the fort upon which guards could stand and view the country."






"There were two large gates, one in the center of the north wall, and one in the center of the south wall, with a small gate adjoining it, giving a thoroughfare in passing. These openings had heavy wooden gates. Small entrances were in the east and in the west walls, which made it convenient, as they were not always obliged to use the same entrance." "The water supply was obtained from Pleasant Creek, which passed almost parallel east and west through the center of the fort. A large bridge was erected over the stream." "All corrals for the cattle were built to the north, just outside the fort, leaving a road-way between." At this time Mount Pleasant was a thriving community of about eight hundred inhabitants, with about 1200 acres of ground under cultivation.