Lee's Ferry

Early inhabitants and explorers

During the 19th century, Lees Ferry served as a gateway for the expansion of settlement from Utah south into Arizona. Most of the settlers were Mormons, who had been long established in the Utah Valley near present-day Salt Lake City, and were looking for additional land. Although the river at Lee's Ferry is too deep to ford for most of the year, its relatively calm current presented an attractive site for crossing by boat. Jacob Hamblin successfully crossed the river here in 1864, and during the next few years the Mormon presence swelled to the scale of a small military outpost (Lee's Ferry Fort) in order to defend against Navajo raids. However, these works eventually fell into disrepair as a result of not being able to sustain themselves in the valley.