Erected in 1855-56, this fort was 150 feet long north and south by 75 feet wide. Two rows of adobe houses faced each other and stood 30 feet apart, with gateways in the north and south walls. Richard Johnson and William Stevens, Sr. and their families were the pioneers in the spring of 1855, and five other families from Fillmore followed in the autumn and assisted in constructing the fort, which was completed in the spring of 1856. The townsite was surveyed in 1867 by Edwin King, and the name Holden was adopted in 1869.