Fort Buenaventura facts for kids
Fort Buenaventura was a very important place in Utah history. It was the first lasting settlement built by people from Europe in the Great Basin area. This fort was located in west Ogden, Utah, United States.
A man named Miles Goodyear built the fort in 1846. It was right next to the Weber River. Later, in 1847, Mormon settlers bought the fort and the land around it. They first called it Brownsville, and then later, Ogden.
Sadly, the fort was left empty in 1850 because of floods from the river. Today, you can visit a park that has a copy of the original fort. This park, called Fort Buenaventura State Park, opened in 1980. In 2002, Weber County took over the park. They now manage the fort and fun activities there.
Fort Buenaventura was the first permanent home for people of European descent in the large Great Basin region. A fur trapper named Miles Goodyear and his business partner, Captain Wells, started it in 1846.
The fort was built on the east side of the Weber River. It was a busy place where trappers and travelers could trade goods. This settlement was about a mile west-southwest of where the Ogden city building stands today.
In November 1847, Mormon settlers arrived and bought Fort Buenaventura. They paid $1,950 for the fort and its land. This amount would be worth about $73,000 today. The settlers changed the name of the place to Brownsville. Later, they renamed it Ogden. This new name honored Peter Skene Ogden, another trapper who worked in the Weber Valley.
The fort was abandoned in 1850 because of heavy flooding. The settlers then built a new fort, called Brown's Fort, a short distance away. One cabin from the original Fort Buenaventura was saved. You can still see this cabin today at the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum. It is known as the "Miles Goodyear Cabin."
The area where the first Fort Buenaventura stood is now a park. This park covers about 84 acres (340,000 square meters). It includes a replica, or copy, of the original fort. The park officially opened as a Utah State Park in October 1980.
Before building the replica, experts studied the site. In 1979, an archaeologist named Dr. Evan DeBloois dug up parts of the old fort. This helped them discover the exact size and shape of the original fort's walls.
The replica fort was built using old-fashioned methods. Workers used special joints called mortise and tenon joints, just like the first builders. They tried to make it as accurate as possible. However, the original fort was made from cottonwood trees. The replica uses quaking aspen and lodgepole pine wood instead. After a big windstorm damaged parts of the fort in 2000, some sections had to be rebuilt with stronger materials.
Due to budget changes, the state gave ownership of the park to Weber County in 2002. It was no longer a "state park." The county now runs the park, which is located at 2450 "A" Avenue in Ogden. During the summer, visitors can enjoy camping, canoeing, and meeting facilities at the park.
See also
- Fort Robidoux, another early trading post in present-day Utah
