Lees Ferry, named for Mormon pioneer John D. Lee, was a key location along the major transportation route for Mormon immigrants traveling to to Arizona, as well as for travelers returning to Utah to solemnize their unions at the LDS Temple at St. George.
Lower ferry site, used in times of low water, 1897. (Photo source: Reilly 1999, 159, in Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Cultural Landscape Inventory report).
Four days before Christmas in 1871, Lee and his families arrived at the Paria Crossing. They soon began to establish a permanent residence that came to be called “Lonely Dell Ranch,” an apt name given the harsh surroundings of sand, scrub brush, and vertical sandstone walls.
Lee developed the property into an agricultural landscape of cultivated fields, orchards, irrigation features, bees, chickens, and more. The ranch allowed the families to sustain a life in this isolated environment, as Lee operated the ferry for missionaries and travelers crossing the Colorado River.
Above: Agricultural and ranching equipment between the Main and Middle Ranches at Lonely Dell (NPS/M. Curran, 2006). Below: Orchard at the Lonely Dell Ranch (NPS/M. Curran, 2007).
In June of 1874, about 15 men arrived at the site to build Lees Ferry Fort on the banks of the Colorado River. Earlier that year, tensions escalated between the Mormon settlers and the Navajo, and officials of the LDS Church decided to build the fort. Mormon missionary Jacob Hamblin suggested it be built at this site in order to protect the valued river crossing. Intended to serve as both protection and a trading post, the fort had thick walls and narrow windows,
Lee’s Ferry Fort and main ferry site on September 13, 1927 (NPS Photo).
Before long, the conflict was resolved and Lees Ferry Fort was primarily used as a trading post. As the uses of this landscape changed, the function of the fort was modified. It was used as a residence, lodging for travelers, a mess hall for miners in the early 20th century, and a building for USGS operations during river monitoring work.
Since 1965, the NPS has taken steps to document and preserve Lees Fort.
Lees Ferry Fort, Drawings from HABS Survey AZ-58-A (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, full item information).
While it is important to note that this is only one of many contributing features of the cultural landscape, it is one of the few historic buildings still intact at Lees Ferry. It continues to stand as a reminder of the significant history of transportation, settlement, and development associated with this place.
