Porter Rocks Virtual Cache
Hook Dawn Cache: This site was razed. No longer available.
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(virtual)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Rockwell Station was located at the point of the Mountain in Bluffdale. There is nothing left but a marker made out of rocks from the Saloon wall.
(A geocacher informed me that apparently, the marker was originally placed in a different location back in the 1920's. It has since been moved, so the number of feet and the exact direction are wrong!) The correct spot has been found and is being excavated.
Rockwell Station was first known as Utah Brewery because of a brewery built near the Point of the Mountain, Which separates Great Salt Lake and Utah Valley. After the business failed, the property was taken over by Orrin Porter Rockwell "the Destroying Angel" and became a station for the overland stage. Travelers look forward to Rockwell’s station because he was a fine host, jovial and good-natured, whose tales of early Mormon-day adventures kept his listeners spellbound for hours. Perhaps the fact that he operated and sold “Valley Tan” whisky had some bearing in its popularity. He was always loyal to Brigham Young, and whiskeyed-up patrons were a great source of information on what was going on in the area. Sir Richard Burton, the famed British author, visited Rockwell’s Station on his way west, and was warned by Rockwell to “watch out for white Indians,” which he said “were the very worst kind.” The Indians feared him, saying that it was impossible to kill the man. And while they had no problem killing any other white travelers, when Rockwell rode through they kept their distance.
Orrin Porter Rockwell was appointed Deputy Marshal of the State of Deseret (Utah) in 1849. He became a legend as a rough-and-ready frontiersman, a scout, a marksman, a man of iron nerve and a man of unswerving loyalty. Almost all who met him personally described Orrin Porter Rockwell as a humble, yet very noble man, who served his fellow man unceasingly. A lover of God and a lover of truth, his legend lives on and he is remembered as a just lawman and a loyal friend. He died of natural causes on 9 June 1878 in Salt Lake City, while awaiting trial on the John and William Aiken murder charges. It is ironic that that Rockwell’s monument is outside the fence of the prison where the law would have wanted to imprison him if he were still alive today. (A geocacher informed me that the prison at the time of Rockwell was located where Sugar House Park is today).
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gnxr Oyhssqnyr rkvg jrfg bss V-15, ghea evtug ba gur sebagntr ebnq (Cbal Rkcerff Ebnq). Ybbx jrfg.