Todays date is April 17, 1865 and the officials of the Nephi area have declared an emergency and ask all Juab County families to retreat to the Salt Creek Fort for protection.

Pretend you live on the outskirts of Nephi, Utah in 1865. The Civil War is about over, but not the Blackhawk War which was in Utah from 1865 to 1872. If you think about it, the American Natives of the Ute, Paiute and the Navajo Tribes had a right to be a little upset, as we Mormons invaded their territory in 1847. We plowed through their territory with our cattle, which took away their grasses and such, so if you were one of them, you may know their ire. But we followed what we thought was right and traveled to Juab, Sanpete, Sevier and Fillmore Counties,  believing we were following correct religious leadership. When we first came to Central Utah, we did what Brigham Young directed, and fed the Indians, but they were still mighty angry, so we built the Salt Creek Fort in the area that became Nephi. It was completed three years after we arrived, and it was a three block area. We built a good one-out of gravel, mud and straw, building it to 12 feet high, 6 feet wide at the  bottom. Now if the three bells of the Salt Creek Emergency Warning System were heard, who would you stay with inside. All Forts in Utah had emergency provisions, but some like Cedar Fort had liquor that we could consume and not care if we were killed or not. Down in Cove Fort-they only had food and a prayer book to see if that would get us through one of the 150 scrimmages of the Black Hawk War.Rather than speculate, how about seeing the residents of Salt Creek Fort and you decide who you are going to camp out with. Thomas Wright, Sr. was a very religious man, so if you want to imbibe, don't stay with him. If you know a Sidwell of Nephi, you know they will treat you right and get you good food, as that has been a long standing Nephi thing. Charles Foote was a proper business man, so he would take you in until the battle was over, but he would charge you. How about the Pextons; Vickers, the Boswells or the Booths, as they were and have been great people.  Decisions, decisions! The original map of the Fort was prepared by Ernest Foot in June, 1947, and this copy was obtained from the office wall of Blair Painter, the Nephi City Recorder on April 16, 2012, and it was actually with his permission, which is not normal for this writer.