Numerous fortifications were erected in Central and Southern Utah in 1865 and 1866 during the Black Hawk Indian War to protect small settlements against attack by bands of Ute, Paiute, and Navajo Indians. Most were built around the towns themselves and generally by local citizens, but Fort Sanford was unique in design, construction, and purpose. By orders from the commanding officers of the Territorial Militia and the Iron Military District, Major Silas Sanford Smith was directed to raise a force of fifty well-armed men to help protect the settlements of Circleville and Panguitch and to construct a fortification near the confluence of Bear Creek and the Sevier River. This strategic location commanded the Ute Indian Trail as well as the north-south route taken by pioneer settlers traveling through the area and along the Old Spanish Trail, each providing access to the western regions. Although Fort Sanford operated for a relatively short period, it represented a unique chapter in the history of this area.