JamesFariello
Jr. Member
- May 25, 2008
- 62
- 45
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett AT Gold, Whites 808, Eagle Spectrum, Cibola & more
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Old Stone 1800's Rock Saloon and Military Post found in Brown's Park Utah on the Old Military Trail
by James Fariello
Last month I went to the cabin I have in Brown's Park to do some work on it and to get away from the Denver area for a week. I like giving my wife of almost fifty years a time to herself. Winter hasn't set in at Brown's Park but the area was very cold with little snow on the ground. The deer, elk, moose, and other animals had moved into the valley just like the Indians did a hundred years ago to escape the deep snow of the Uinta mountains. Only a handful of people live in the area year round, there are no stores here and to be up there was so relaxing and I don't miss them. I have for the past fifty plus years been coming into the Brown's Park and three corner's area of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah to fish, hunt, treasure hunt and enjoy the remote area this is.
The history of the area has been written about in several books. The Spanish explorers came into the area in the 1700/1800's and there is told that an old Spanish Fort was constructed out of rock near the Gates of the Lodore on the Colorado side of the valley. Lost gold and silver mines are reported to be all over the area for a hundred miles in the Uinta Mountains. The Hole in the Wall Gang came out this area and reports of thousands of dollars in stolen gold and silver are still waiting to be found.
Over the years I have located some real nice finds in history and I am researching and going to find even more as Brown's Park is like stepping back in time. I have several books on Brown's Park and I keep them at the cabin for people that come up to visit. There is zero television reception, and radio from Craig, Colorado, over a hundred miles away is weak in reception. I do have my ham radio license and bring my rig to the cabin and work shortwave when I am there. One of the books at the cabin is "The Romantic and Notorious History of Brown's Park", by written by Diana Allen Kouris. Diana was a pioneer family member that settled the valley in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Diana lived a hard but beautiful life as a ranch girl and through her mother keep the history of the area from being lost in time.
My son Juston, now an archeologist and, I always enjoyed coming to Brown's Park when he was a young man. I have always had a love for the old 1830's fur trading forts of Colorado and Juston and I would hike the area near the Vermillion Creek looking for signs of the Old Fort. I was at the Denver Historical Society museum years later an saw a display from Brown's Park area and it was labeled Fort Davy Crockett. The artifacts are from the time period and would have been found at the old fort. I purchased a microfiche of the report and the conclusion of the report was they didn't have enough to positively identify the site as Fort Davy Crockett.
Diana in her book gives real positive information from people living in the area on the Forts location. One example, John Jarvie, and he indicated that the Fort Davy Crockett was across the river from his ranch with an old military rock building near it. John would take people to the old fort and rock saloon and stated that the Forts rocks had been salvaged and used the divert the water of the Green River to a canal used for farming. Diana refers to the military road in three places in her book and on page 65 she states, "Up the river a ways from the John Jarvie store, beside the military road which crossed the river at Indian Crossing, went along the rocky hillside, then up Jackson Draw and on to Ashley Valley, stood two or three old cabins and a rock house." The military road is well known and you can hike it today with medium hardship. Continuing she writes, "There were no windows in the rock building. It had slits in the rocks about six inches wide and two or three feet in length, just the right size for a couple of rifle barrels to fit through. Though the folks around called it the old saloon, it apparently once served as a military outpost." Diana also tells about a murder at the rock saloon and some other stories relating to it. If you get a chance to go to the library, ask for it. It may need to come to you on an interlibrary loan but it will be worth it.
Let me give you some information on how I located, confirmed the site. I got a plat map of the area from the 1899 and the rock house was shown. The Old Fort was not shown but that fort ended 60 years before the plat was made. In 1844, John C. Fremont saw the Fort near Red Creek as he entered Brown's Park by boat on the Green River. He stated that the Fort was in ruins and little remained. My thoughts on Fort Crockett changed to make me believe it is across the river from the John Jarvie Store. I have a feeling the Vermillion Creek, and Red Creek got mixed up in history and that was a critical error in the loss of the Fort in time. Vermillion in spanish means, ” Define vermilion: a vivid reddish orange; a bright red pigment consisting of mercuric sulfide; broadly : any of various red pigments." Without Jarvie and others that saw the remains of the Fort it may have been lost. I would like to see the State of Utah start working on finding the true location of the Fort Davy Crockett in Daggett County. The Rock Building is in total ruins and I took a photo of it. Diana also tells a story on a young man killed an buried at the Rck House. I have some maps, links so you can look at how I came to find the old rock saloon, aka military post.
Area across from the John Jarvie Ranch and this is part of the old military trail to Jackson Draw.
The 1899 Plat Map. plat https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/...3233&sid=j3x4oy35.ch3#surveyDetailsTabIndex=1
The Rock House location N 40.88983 W 109.20333
Map of the military trail: https://www.scribd.com/document/237430902/Brown-s-Park-Colorado-Map
Part of the Old Rock Saloon/Military Post on the Military Trail in Brown's Park.
What is left of the Rock House.
Diana's book, love it.
by James Fariello
Last month I went to the cabin I have in Brown's Park to do some work on it and to get away from the Denver area for a week. I like giving my wife of almost fifty years a time to herself. Winter hasn't set in at Brown's Park but the area was very cold with little snow on the ground. The deer, elk, moose, and other animals had moved into the valley just like the Indians did a hundred years ago to escape the deep snow of the Uinta mountains. Only a handful of people live in the area year round, there are no stores here and to be up there was so relaxing and I don't miss them. I have for the past fifty plus years been coming into the Brown's Park and three corner's area of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah to fish, hunt, treasure hunt and enjoy the remote area this is.
The history of the area has been written about in several books. The Spanish explorers came into the area in the 1700/1800's and there is told that an old Spanish Fort was constructed out of rock near the Gates of the Lodore on the Colorado side of the valley. Lost gold and silver mines are reported to be all over the area for a hundred miles in the Uinta Mountains. The Hole in the Wall Gang came out this area and reports of thousands of dollars in stolen gold and silver are still waiting to be found.
Over the years I have located some real nice finds in history and I am researching and going to find even more as Brown's Park is like stepping back in time. I have several books on Brown's Park and I keep them at the cabin for people that come up to visit. There is zero television reception, and radio from Craig, Colorado, over a hundred miles away is weak in reception. I do have my ham radio license and bring my rig to the cabin and work shortwave when I am there. One of the books at the cabin is "The Romantic and Notorious History of Brown's Park", by written by Diana Allen Kouris. Diana was a pioneer family member that settled the valley in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Diana lived a hard but beautiful life as a ranch girl and through her mother keep the history of the area from being lost in time.
My son Juston, now an archeologist and, I always enjoyed coming to Brown's Park when he was a young man. I have always had a love for the old 1830's fur trading forts of Colorado and Juston and I would hike the area near the Vermillion Creek looking for signs of the Old Fort. I was at the Denver Historical Society museum years later an saw a display from Brown's Park area and it was labeled Fort Davy Crockett. The artifacts are from the time period and would have been found at the old fort. I purchased a microfiche of the report and the conclusion of the report was they didn't have enough to positively identify the site as Fort Davy Crockett.
Diana in her book gives real positive information from people living in the area on the Forts location. One example, John Jarvie, and he indicated that the Fort Davy Crockett was across the river from his ranch with an old military rock building near it. John would take people to the old fort and rock saloon and stated that the Forts rocks had been salvaged and used the divert the water of the Green River to a canal used for farming. Diana refers to the military road in three places in her book and on page 65 she states, "Up the river a ways from the John Jarvie store, beside the military road which crossed the river at Indian Crossing, went along the rocky hillside, then up Jackson Draw and on to Ashley Valley, stood two or three old cabins and a rock house." The military road is well known and you can hike it today with medium hardship. Continuing she writes, "There were no windows in the rock building. It had slits in the rocks about six inches wide and two or three feet in length, just the right size for a couple of rifle barrels to fit through. Though the folks around called it the old saloon, it apparently once served as a military outpost." Diana also tells about a murder at the rock saloon and some other stories relating to it. If you get a chance to go to the library, ask for it. It may need to come to you on an interlibrary loan but it will be worth it.
Let me give you some information on how I located, confirmed the site. I got a plat map of the area from the 1899 and the rock house was shown. The Old Fort was not shown but that fort ended 60 years before the plat was made. In 1844, John C. Fremont saw the Fort near Red Creek as he entered Brown's Park by boat on the Green River. He stated that the Fort was in ruins and little remained. My thoughts on Fort Crockett changed to make me believe it is across the river from the John Jarvie Store. I have a feeling the Vermillion Creek, and Red Creek got mixed up in history and that was a critical error in the loss of the Fort in time. Vermillion in spanish means, ” Define vermilion: a vivid reddish orange; a bright red pigment consisting of mercuric sulfide; broadly : any of various red pigments." Without Jarvie and others that saw the remains of the Fort it may have been lost. I would like to see the State of Utah start working on finding the true location of the Fort Davy Crockett in Daggett County. The Rock Building is in total ruins and I took a photo of it. Diana also tells a story on a young man killed an buried at the Rck House. I have some maps, links so you can look at how I came to find the old rock saloon, aka military post.
Area across from the John Jarvie Ranch and this is part of the old military trail to Jackson Draw.
The 1899 Plat Map. plat https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/...3233&sid=j3x4oy35.ch3#surveyDetailsTabIndex=1
The Rock House location N 40.88983 W 109.20333
Map of the military trail: https://www.scribd.com/document/237430902/Brown-s-Park-Colorado-Map
Part of the Old Rock Saloon/Military Post on the Military Trail in Brown's Park.
What is left of the Rock House.
