Camp Floyd
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Camp Floyd was a short-lived U.S. Army post near Fairfield, Utah. The site is now a Utah state park.
Established in July of 1858 by a US Army detachment under the command of Brig. Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston, Camp Floyd was named for then Secretary of War John B. Floyd. The army consisted of more than 3,500 military and civilian employees - cavalry, artillery, infantry, and support units. This army, the largest single troop concentration then in the United States, was sent by President Buchannan to stop a perceived Mormon rebellion.
From Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the army marched to Fort Bridger, Wyoming where it spent the winter of 1857. Troops arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah in June of 1858. Soon after their arrival, troops settled in the Cedar Valley area and eventually Fairfield, where 400 buildings were constructed by November 1858. Enough civilians coon followed to increase the town size to almost half that of Salt Lake City. The rebellion never took place, leaving the army with routine garrison duty that included 1) protecting the overland stage and pony express routes, 2) preventing Indian maruading and 3) mapping and surveying responsibilities.
Supplying the large garrison, 1,100 miles from Fort Leavenworth, was costly. It was rumored to be an attempt by Secretary of War Floyd (a known southern sympathizer) to drain the federal treasury. A contract with the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell for delivery of 16 million pounds of freight required 3,500 wagons, 40,000 oxen, 1,000 mules and more than 4,000 men. This same company formed the pony express, which had a station in Fairfield.
After Secretary of War Floyd resigned, Camp Floyd was renamed Fort Crittenden. It was abandoned in July of 1861 with the military being called east for the Civil War emergency. Equipment and buildings were sold, destroyed or transported. All that remain today are the military cemetery and one commissary building. Two months after the army's departure, only 18 families remained in Fairfield.
Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park is located 25 miles southwest of Lehi, Utah on State Route 73. The park is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm. It is closed Sundays October 15 through March 31. Fees are charged for Stagecoach Inn and museum. This heritage park reflects the settlement of Utah and its resolution of ongoing conflicts with the federal government.
