Time is constantly passing by. It's one of the few things that can't control despite our best efforts to do so. Little by little as time passes we forget things that at one time may or may not have been important to us. Memories stolen from us in our sleep like deleted files from an outdated computer. History has a way of being treated the same way. Buildings that have strong historical significance are remembered and cared for by people that know the importance of the location. Other places are left to fade away or are even torn down to make way for the future. These fading relics are to me some of the most interesting. Here in the West there are places just like this in remote and forgotten places. One such place is Fort Deseret near Delta, Utah.
Built in 1865 by Mormon settlers to protect themselves from Indian attacks, Fort Deseret consisted of ten foot adobe walls. Throughout the walls they placed gun ports with just enough room to see through while a rifle was occupying the opening. Just under 100 men built the 550 lineal feet of wall in just eighteen days. The funny thing about it is that the fort was never used as it was intended. Instead of fending off enemy attacks they placed livestock in it instead.
Today it is one of Utah's state parks and while nature has melted the adobe walls down to a more modest five or 6 feet tall the fort still stands as a testament to our pioneer's drive to survive in the harsh climate. We spent only about thirty minutes at the fort, let's face it, it's not that big and it's surrounded by sage brush but I'm glad we got to see it. There is something surreal about walking inside these old structures, as if you can almost picture yourself there during it's peak of existence. If you want to learn more about Fort Deseret you can check it out here. See you next week. Brandan
