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Lees Ferry Fort

Mormon pioneer Jacob Hamblin lead his men in building a raft at the mouth of the Paria River, this successful crossing in 1864 at the Colorado led to the development of what would become Lees Ferry.

This area at that time was viewed as unsettled territory with Mormon expansion occuring based on the precept of Manifest Destiny. Hamblins mission was to tell the Navajo Indians of the area to stop making raids on the Mormon settlers and threatening this Mormon expansion. A Fort was built at the crossing in 1869-1870 and named Fort Meeks.

John D. Lee then built homes for his his multiple wives and family at the site. The Mormon church provided the resources to Lee to build a ferry to allow for Mormon settlers to be ferried across the Colorado river to build settlements in Arizona.

Tensions among the Navajo and the settlers mounted and in 1874 a defensive Fort was built of stone. The Lees Ferry Fort is one of the last intact and remaining buildings remaining at the site of Lees Ferry.

No conflict arose at the ferry, so the fort became a trading post, then a residence.

In 1877 Lee was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Lee became the sole Mormon scapegoat for the murder of 120 eastern emigrants.

Lees Ferry was the only crossing of the Colorado River by ferry between Moab, Utah and Needles, California; it was heavily used by travelers between Utah and Arizona. In 1879 Emma Lee sold the ferry, for 100 milk cows, to the LDS church, which continued to operate it until about 1910. Coconino County, Arizona subsequently managed the ferry.

The ferry was closed in 1928 when the Navajo Bridge over Marble Canyon was built nearby to the south.

Lees Ferry is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River in over 700 miles of Canyon Country.

Lees Ferry is the official beginning of Grand Canyon National Park on the Colorado River. It is now famous as a river rafting site into the Canyon as well as a prime fishing area.

For me I found it to be a great place to photograph the historic Lees Ferry Fort on a sunny afternoon during a beautiful spring day.