Monuments and Markers - Fort Kanarra

Fort Harmony foundation from north east corner. Photo by Joseph Buchanan

Fort Kanarra

FORT KANARRA Old Kanarra, as it was called by early inhabitants, was founded in the spring of 1881 by settlers who moved from Fort Harmony. The town was situated on Kanarra Creek about one mile east of the present location. Later a group from Toquerville built on the present site in the springtown fashion shown. This settlement became known as Fort Kanarra. In 1866 the present town site of Kanarraville was surveyed by settlers from Kanab. During the same year this aggregate of settlements became one when the original group also moved to the new town site bringing with them a log meeting house. This building served for many years as a church, school and social hall. To build their homes, logs were hauled out of Shirts Canyon to the east. The first child born in Kanarraville James Wallace Pollock, son of Samuel Pollock, arrived on November 17, 1866 in his father's blacksmith shop. On September 29, 1867 Apostle Erastus Snow set apart Lorenzo W. Roundy as the first Bishop of this Mormon community. The town may have acquired its name from either of two sources. The popular belief is that the name came from an Indian Chief, Kaunar, who resided along the creek. Another origin may have been from the kind of willows that grow along the creek, Kanarra willows.

Site Information
Location: 40 S Main Street
KANARRAVILLE
IRON County

Marker Information
Placed By: Not Available Marker Condition: Excellent Marker Description: Diagram of homes in fort

Monument Information
Description: Boulder Constructed By: Not Available Materials: Native stone Dimensions (base): 5'W 4'3"H 3'D Condition: Excellent

Additional Information
Surveyor's Name: B. Bryant/A. Topham Surveyor's Organization: DUP Iron County Date Surveyed: 1995-05-15

[Among the pioneers of Kanarraville are uncle and first Bishop Lorenzo Wesley ROUNDY, grandfather and mother John Davis PARKER and Grandfathers and mothers from Old Fort Harmony - Almeda Sophia ROUNDY. William Reese DAVIES and Rachel MORRIS, James George DAVIS and Polly WILLIAMS and their daughter Elizabeth Ann DAVIS, Marcy Jane LUCAS WILLIAMS BARNEY.]

7 DAVIES / Morris
7 (Barney) / Lucas
6 DAVIS / Williams
6 PARKER / Roundy
5 PARKER / Davis

At Home In Kanarraville 1902

Polly WILLIAMS (1838-1914) and James George DAVIS (DAVIES) (1832-1909)
with youngest of their 11 DAVIS children - Alice May DAVIS POLLOCK (1883-1963) holding her oldest of 9 POLLOCK children - Lila Vaughn POLLOCK ISOM (1902-1999)

"The family records of Viola Pearce, a descendant of James, show that James, 'was the first member of his family to come to America. He worked in the mines in Wales and earned his fare to come to America. His hardships were many. As a pioneer he walked across the continent. Later he earned money enough for the rest of his people to come to Southern Utah. Pipe Springs, Arizona was named from an Indian shooting a pipe out of his mouth with an arrow.'...James may have come as far as Council Bluffs with his older brother, John Rees DAVIES." (Life and Family of William Reese Davies, Murland R. Packer, May 1990)

James' parents William Reese DAVIE and Rachel MORRIS and his sister Elizabeth with her husband Rees Jones WILLIAMS and their one year old son traveled form Wales in 1849.