History is full of many interesting facts, and perhaps one of the most interesting is when a building can be identified as the oldest in a certain area. In Utah, the oldest structures no doubt were constructed by the Indigenous peoples of Utah, with their buildings dating back hundreds to thousands of years (it is also possible their oldest structures remain undiscovered and unexcavated).
This post will focus on the oldest buildings constructed by Euro-Americans in what is today Utah, specially the three oldest. The Miles Goodyear Cabin (the oldest), which, within a year or two was followed by the Osmyn & Mary Deuel Cabin and Levi & Rebecca Riter Cabin.
Miles Goodyear Cabin
The first group of Euro-Americans to build in Utah would have been the so-called mountain men. Generally, their structures were small “forts,” containing cabins where they lived and worked, and could trade with the native peoples, other mountain men, and passing migrants. Most of these forts are long gone, but one cabin from Fort Buenaventura remains.
This cabin, known as the Miles Goodyear Cabin, is believed to be the oldest extant building in Utah. It was built in 1845 or 1846 (a year or two before the Mormon Pioneers arrived) along the Weber River, in what is today Ogden, Utah. The cabin and Fort Buenaventura were sold to Mormon settlers soon after their arrival, and while the original fort is gone (an accurate replica stands in Weber County’s Fort Buenaventura Park), this cabin survives. It’s been moved around Ogden many times, and sat on the grounds of the Ogden Utah Temple for many years. It was moved to the corner of Lincoln Avenue and 21st Street in the early 2010s, where it sits outside the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum. The museum and cabin are often open during the summers and it’s worth a visit to set foot in Utah’s oldest building!
 |
| Miles Goodyear Cabin |
Great Salt Lake Fort - Cabins
The first structure the Mormon Pioneers built after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847 was the Great Salt Lake Fort. Today Salt Lake City’s “Pioneer Park” sits at the former location of the fort, which is just west of the main downtown area.
Two cabins from the fort survive and are in locations that can be easily visited. These two buildings are the:
Osmyn & Mary Deuel Cabin
The Duel Cabin has been preserved by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for nearly 60 years sat on Temple Square. It was later moved, and today sits just across the street to the west, between FamilySearch’s Family History Library and the Church History Museum. It is usually open during the same hours as the Church History Museum and is free to visit.
 |
| Osmyn & Mary Deuel Cabin |
Levi & Rebecca Riter Cabin
This cabin has been preserved by the State of Utah and can be visited (admission required) at the Heritage Village in This Is The Place Heritage Park in the foothills to the east of downtown Salt Lake City.
 |
| Levi & Rebecca Riter Cabin |
Cemetery
An interesting tidbit, when the settlers built the Great Salt Lake Fort, they established a nearby cemetery. The exact location of the cemetery was lost until July 1986 when human remains were discovered during a construction project on Block 49. The long-lost cemetery was excavated and the remains were reinterred at a cemetery developed at Pioneer Trail State Park (currently called This Is The Place Heritage Park).
 |
| The Pioneer Cemetery at its new location, overlooking the Salt Lake Valley |
