The old fort stood 300 feet south west of here on the old Emigrant Trail, a route also used by the Overland Stage and by part of Johnston's Army traveling east in 1861 to participate in the Civil War. Built during the Black Hawk War in 1866 on the advice of Pres. Brigham Young to Bishop Winters, the fort drew 25 families who moved their log cabins there. Because it was centrally located, it protected families, livestock, and the grist mill. The grist mill, built in 1862 by Samuel P. Hoyt, was the first in this county.