Fort Deseret was erected as a defense against Pahvant Indians in the Black Hawk War and was completed in 18 days by 98 men, with Wm. S. Hawley and Isaac W. Pierce as foremen and John W. Radford as superintendent. Its opening celebration was held July 25, 1865. The fort was 550 feet square, with bastions at the northeast and southwest corners and gates in the middle of each wall. It was made of adobe, mud, and straw mixed by the feet of oxen, and when completed its walls were 10 feet high, 3 feet wide at the base, and 1 1/2 feet at the top, resting only on a stone foundation.