Cove Fort Courtyard II

MORE OF THE COVE FORT COURTYARD

There's so much peace and beauty in this old courtyard, I couldn't resist posting all the
pictures we took of this magnificent structure.

Brigham Young instructed Ira N. Hinckley to build the fort shortly after the Johnson family abandoned it in the fall of 1865 due to severe Winters and the outbreak of the Blackhawk Indian War. This is a longer view of the inner courtyard. Above the entrance you can see part of the lookout walk for the fort. The walk was no doubt very important as a defense against attack. Ira N. Hinckley constructed the entire fort in just 8 months.

You're looking down into the courtyard from the vantage point of the walk. It's amazing how vulnerable you feel when you stand at the top of this walk and look out over the surrounding countryside and the mountains. A lookout must have hoped not to see any threatening approaches and it would have required a lot of courage to stand your ground. This would have made a person an outstanding target during a battle if they failed to crouch down. As it happens, no battles occurred after the fort was built.

This is a close up view of the left side of the courtyard. Each room has it's own private doorway, almost a pattern for our modern day motels. However, the rooms on each side have connecting doorways, so it is possible to walk the length of the side using these. The windows are partially the original glass, but the ones that have been replaced are done with a replication that appears very authentic. The panes have the wavy appearance that we see before the advent of mass production.

Grass appears now throughout the courtyard as you see in this view of the right side of the courtyard. However, in the original fort, it was a dirt surface, since wagons pulled through the gates and were parked within the courtyard. There is a stable just outside this wall for the housing of animals. Note the benches along the walls where travelers no doubt congregated for conversation and socializing. In the Winter, it was treacherous for anyone crossing to the kitchen since the surface became a sheet of ice.

This is a view of the rear of the fort. Through the center of the wall, you are viewing a hole that is actually a gunport. There are numerous openings like this all around the walls of the fort and of course were placed there to allow a rifle to be aimed through the hole to get a good angle on an approaching enemy. Through the door in the rear wall, you exit to a well tended garden, even as it was during the active days of the fort. The vegetables were just about ready to sprout from the vines when we visited and all the volounteers are eagerly awaiting the chance to sample the produce.

JUST CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICTURES OF THE KITCHEN

RETURN TO WOODWORKERS AUCTION HOME PAGE

CONTACT US AT sawdustone@woodworkersauction.com