The Kington, or Kingston, Fort on this site was built in 1853 as a 645-foot by 645-foot enclosure to protect early settlers from possible Indian attacks, but because there were no Indian problems in South Weber, it was deserted in 1858. In early 1862, Joseph Morris, an excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints who had founded a church commonly known as the Morrisites, took over the fort, and at one time its population exceeded 200 men, women, and children. In June 1862, three men who no longer believed in Morris's teachings tried to leave, but a Morrisite posse captured them and forcefully returned them to the fort. After observers reported this action, the sheriff and a small posse approached the fort intending to take the men for a formal hearing on the charges against them, but the request was denied and further attempts were blocked. Acting governor Frank Fuller then ordered a militia under Robert T. Burton to proceed to the fort, yet even this large, heavily armed force failed to free the imprisoned men. During the three-day battle on June 13, 14, and 15, 1862, a cannon ball fired at the fort killed two women and seriously wounded a teenage girl; as the militia assaulted the fort and breached the gates, two militiamen were killed, and in the ensuing confusion Morris, his second in command John Banks, and two more women were killed. In all, eleven people died. After the deaths of their leaders, the Morrisites scattered, with most going to Soda Springs, Idaho, others settling in Carson City, Nevada, and Deer Lodge, Montana, and a few being rebaptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and remaining in South Weber.