The Rognon Family: A History Lesson for you..

Deep down I'm a huge history buff. Sorry if you are asleep by the time you finish this..

For memorial day we spent time with Nate's family at Camp Floyd in Fairfield.

About 1856-1857 there were many rumors about a Mormon uprising that were circulating around Washington D.C. The Mormons had been driven out of the East by the persecution and they went west finally settling in Salt Lake in 1847. Then 10 years later there were rumors of a Mormon uprising in the West. President Buchanan sent an army of 3500 men to put an end to the rebellion. A detachment of that size represented nearly one third of the US Army at that time. When the army arrived in June of 1858 they found no rebellion or anything close and so they went south-west of Salt Lake City to Cedar Valley to set up camp. They found a stream and set up camp on the south side of the stream.

They picked their spot and then proceeded to build a camp and by November of 1858 they had constructed 400 buildings. At that time Camp Floyd, as it was named for Secretary of War John B. Floyd, was the largest single concentration of troops in the United States.

The army left in 1861 when it was recalled to the East because of the outbreak of the Civil War. Secretary of War Floyd resigned in December of 1860 and Camp Floyd was renamed Fort Crittenden. However, Fort Crittenden was abandoned in July of 1861. The buildings and equipment were sold, destroyed, abandoned or used for building materials. Within two months after the Army's leaving only 18 families remained in Fairfield. The street in front of the Stagecoach Inn was once called saloon street and there were 17 Saloons along that street.

The Stagecoach Inn is still there and has been restored. The Pony Express operated from April 1860 to October 1861 and the route went through Fairfield and the Stagecoach Inn was a stop for the riders