Place · United States
The history of Fillmore
Assembled from 2 dug tiles · 19 sourced records · 1851–now · last reviewed 2 October 2026
Fillmore, Utah, grew up on Pahvant hunting ground beside Corn Creek, serving briefly as territorial capital in the 1850s and as a stop on U. S. Highway 91 for nearly fifty years, while the nearby Mormon settlement of Hatton rose in 1851 and vanished to little but its cemetery.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Fillmore — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Fillmore
The road that got erasedA federal highway ran past this exact ground for almost fifty years, then was wiped off the map.
1851–now The town that moved to a creek and vanished
A Mormon settlement called Hatton rose on this ground in 1851, and its cemetery is almost all that is left of it.
1851–now
Fillmore in layers
1851
In 1851 Mormon settlers built Fillmore in the Pahvant Valley, on land the Pahvant people had long used for hunting. OnlineUtah.us; Utah History to Go; Intermountain Histories
October 28, 1851
Brigham Young's settlers founded Fillmore on October 28, 1851, on land that had been the Pahvant Utes' hunting grounds. OnlineUtah.us, Fillmore History; Intermountain Histories
1851 onwards
Ute resistance to Mormon settlers moving into the Pahvant Valley held back Fillmore's early expansion, even as Chief Kanosh tried to keep peace with the newcomers. Intermountain Histories; A History of Utah's American Indians, Chapter 4
founded 1851
Hatton, a Millard County settlement founded in 1851, lies about 2 kilometers from this spot and kept its own cemetery. FamilySearch
October 1853
In October 1853 Captain John W. Gunnison and seven of his men, surveying a route for a transcontinental railroad, were killed by Pahvant warriors west of Fillmore. Utah Division of State History; Familypedia
1853-1854
During the Walker War of 1853-1854, Utes killed and mutilated settlers caught outside Fillmore's defenses, and the town required everyone to shelter inside its fort during raids. Utah History to Go; OnlineUtah.us
1853-1854
Fillmore's settlers built a stone and adobe fort in 1853-54 and were required to stay inside its walls whenever conflict with the Utes flared up. OnlineUtah.us
October 26, 1853
On October 26, 1853, Pahvant Utes killed U.S. Army survey leader Captain John W. Gunnison and eight of his men near Fillmore; Gunnison's body was later buried in Fillmore City Cemetery. OnlineUtah.us, Fillmore History; Fillmore City Cemetery, Wikipedia
December 1855
Fillmore briefly served as the territorial capital, and the Legislative Assembly of Utah Territory passed its acts here in December 1855, with Brigham Young delivering his governor's message in the capitol that same month. Archive.org (Acts passed by the Legislative Assembly of Utah)
December 31, 1855
On December 31, 1855, Thomas Bullock read Parley P. Pratt's address on "Marriage and Morals in Utah" to a joint session of the legislature meeting in Fillmore's Representatives' Hall. Archive.org
December 1855
The Utah Territorial Legislature met at Fillmore in December 1855, passing acts and resolutions in the Statehouse built for that purpose, with Brigham Young delivering his governor's message there. Governor's message to the legislative assembly of the Territory of Utah
December 31, 1855
On December 31, 1855, an address on marriage and morals in Utah by Parley P. Pratt was read aloud in the Representatives' Hall in Fillmore City by the legislature's chief clerk. Marriage and morals in Utah
1857
Proctor Robison, 14, died in Fillmore in 1857, and a false rumor that poisoned water from the Fancher wagon train had killed him spread and was later cited as a factor behind the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Fillmore City Cemetery, Wikipedia; Library of Congress HALS survey
1865-1872
Between 1865 and 1872, Ute raids during the Black Hawk War were severe enough that Mormon settlers abandoned many nearby communities, with Fillmore among the towns under threat. Utah History to Go; historical genealogy sources
June 11, 1866
On June 11, 1866, Black Hawk's warriors drove off livestock near Holden, and within thirty minutes forty to fifty mounted men rode out from Fillmore under Captain James C. Owen to give chase. Issuu (Robert S. Bliss journal)
1909
The U.S. Forest Service published a Fillmore folio in its 1909 Forest Atlas of the national forests, documenting the land around the town. Forest atlas of the national forests of the United States
July 25, 2021
A severe dust storm on July 25, 2021, caused a 22-vehicle pileup on Interstate 15 between Fillmore and Kanosh that killed eight people, including four children. Deseret News; KUTV
August 2026
The Widemouth 2 Fire grew past 68,000 acres in August 2026 and triggered mandatory evacuation orders for southern parts of Fillmore. Gephardt Daily
April 19, 2026
More than 30 earthquakes, including one of magnitude 3.6, struck south of Fillmore starting at 5:45 a.m. on April 19, 2026. ABC4
Questions about Fillmore
What is Fillmore known for historically?
Fillmore was built in 1851 on Pahvant Ute hunting grounds and served briefly as Utah's territorial capital, with the legislature meeting there in December 1855. It later sat astride U. S. Highway 91, a federal highway carrying Utah's car and freight traffic from 1926 until 1974.
What happened at Fillmore during the Walker War?
Between 1853 and 1854 the Walker War forced settlers behind the walls of a stone and adobe fort that once enclosed the townsite. In October 1853 the Gunnison Massacre killed Captain Gunnison and eight soldiers from a federal survey party west of town.
What happened to Hatton, the town near Fillmore?
Hatton was a Mormon farming town platted in 1851 along Corn Creek in the Pahvant Valley. Its houses, fields and irrigation ditches faded away over time while the territorial capital Fillmore, two miles off, grew in its place, leaving almost nothing behind but Hatton's cemetery.
What happened to U.S. Highway 91 at Fillmore?
U. S. Highway 91 ran through Fillmore from 1926 until Interstate 15 replaced it in 1974, after which the old route was decommissioned and absorbed into local streets.
Did Fillmore face conflict with the Black Hawk War?
Yes. Between 1865 and 1872 Fillmore emptied out as the Black Hawk War dragged on, and on 11 June 1866 Black Hawk's warriors raided livestock fourteen miles north of town.
What legislative event took place at Fillmore in 1855?
In December 1855, while Fillmore served as Utah's territorial capital, a controversial address by Parley Pratt on marriage and polygamy was read to the legislature in the Representatives' Hall on 31 December 1855.