Founding Fort Utah: Provo's Native Inhabitants, Early Explorers, and First Year of Settlement by D. Robert Carter
Founding Fort Utah: Provo’s Native Inhabitants, Early Explorers, and First Year of Settlement by D. Robert Carter (2003) examines the establishment of Fort Utah in 1849 with particular attention to the Timpanogos Indians, the Native people of Utah Valley, whose homeland the settlers entered. Drawing heavily on primary sources such as journals, letters, and contemporary accounts, the book reconstructs the valley’s history prior to settlement and the fraught first year of coexistence, conflict, and survival between Mormon pioneers and the Timpanogos, a band of the Ute people.
Carter places the Timpanogos at the center of the narrative, describing their social structure, seasonal movements, subsistence practices, and long-standing ties to Utah Lake and the surrounding valley. The book explores how earlier encounters with Spanish and American explorers—such as Escalante and Jedediah Smith—shaped Native expectations of newcomers, and how misunderstandings over land use, food resources, and authority quickly escalated after the founding of Fort Utah. Particular attention is given to the breakdown of relations, the outbreak of violence, and the lasting consequences for the Timpanogos people during and after the fort’s first year.
Rather than presenting settlement as inevitable or uncomplicated, the book highlights the competing worldviews of Native inhabitants and settlers, documenting both moments of cooperation and episodes of extreme violence. By grounding the story in firsthand accounts from both sides where possible, Carter provides a detailed and sobering portrait of early Utah Valley history.