old cannon stolen

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toleary34:
Fort Douglas is an old military camp that was established in 1876 Colonel Connor and his troops to watch over the overland mail and stagecoach routes.  he positioned it on 2,500 acres overlooking the young states capitol to watch over the Mormon's and their dealings.  i was told by an old man that worked at the military museum there, that there is a story of an old cannon that sat a the edge of the parade field, that was used solely for decoration and ceremonial purposes.  He told me that one night some Mormon teenagers had snuck into the area of the camp and snuck past the guards and rolled this cannon away a couple of hundred feet to an old water well that from the stories told, sounds natural and not man made.  they tossed it in and it was lost.

     i don't know the size of the cannon or what pound it fired, but the well apparently did exist at one  point and time, and has since been collapsed purposely or naturally, and i have heard the story of numerous individuals since then.  the validity to this story to me, is the fact that the well was not that far from the back side of Fort Douglas.  if one were to go up there, it is said that the well is directly behind the old military cemetery somewhere kind of by where Red Butte Gardens now is.

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BitburgAggie_7377:
The well should show up in old schematics of the fort.   I was about to say "I don't think that would do you much good, though, given the historic nature of the place"....but then I remembered who was posting this lead.   If things work out well on you other historical research project, you might actually be able to talk the people who run the Ft Douglas Museum into attempting a recovery and letting you participate---especially if you can narrow the search area down using plans of the Fort that they probably have in their archives.

BA

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toleary34:
outstanding suggestion and thank you for your encouragement, I'm going to call the history department of the university of Utah where the fort now is part of the campus.  i bet you money that would be the best route to go, because anyone that loves history and teaches there might know of the actually history of the cannon as and the well.  thanks again for the encouragement

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gimp55:
i grew up in kearns ut.s.w.of downtown salt lake city.kearns was camp kearns(military camp)ft.douglas being farther s.s.e.by the point of the mountain by the state prison, the beginning of the movie devils brigade was filmed there late 60"s.this past summer they had a big wildfire there caused by the national gaurd doing live fire! gimp55

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toleary34:
i am out there at campw williams almost everyday for my job with the army, it's funny you mention Camp Kearns...as far as i knbow it used to be there wher Airport #2 now is....my grandpa was stationed out there in the Army Air Corps before he fought in thge Pacific.  His hangar where he work burnt to the ground and took all of his tools with it....When I got out of the Marines I worked at that airport, and used to go eat my lunch on in what was left of my grandpas hangar that had burnt to the ground.  I didn't help start that fire by the way  ;) I was off....

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gimp55:
the airport was abandoned after war.through the 50"-60"s it was used drag&stock car racing, kearns was 3-5mi. away we lived on the last st.(5780 so.?)at the time.in the late 70"s the airport was improved and designated #2 my dad kept his cessna there.the only thing at the airstrip was a tower we"d  climb as kids there was some foundations 1/4 mile away.sunflowers grew through cracks,seems great dove(36day) pheasant(3day) hunting..but..there was some abandoned farm,homesteads around look for clumps of fruit trees and you"ll be standing in an old yard..also i found a lot of arrowheads in the area,oldtimer told me to dig ant piles,something about charcoal from firepit attracked ants,well thats how i found the arrowheads! just gotta be fast!!gimp55......yeah i got the forts mixed up its been 40yrs+ when the army got me

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toleary34:
  that airport is ont he brink of death right now, with the city closing in on it....I too have used ants for finding fossilized sharks teeth in souther utah.....I don't reccomend kicking the piles though..lol... ;D using the stick is a better way to do it..... :)

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