25 Facts About Porter Rockwell

Orrin Porter Rockwell was a figure of the Wild West period of American history.

Porter Rockwell was born in what was known as the "Dark Corner" section of Belchertown, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, to Orin and Sarah Witt Porter Rockwell, on June 25,1813.

Orin Porter Rockwell came from Tolland, Connecticut, arriving in Belchertown by 1809, where he married Sarah Witt who was born here.

At age 4, in about 1817, Porter Rockwell moved with his family to western New York's Burned-over district, to Manchester and Palmyra.

In 1830, at 16 years old, Porter Rockwell was baptized into Smith's Church of Christ in Fayette, New York.

Porter Rockwell was the youngest member of the first group to be baptized into the church.

On February 2,1832, Porter Rockwell married Luana Beebe in Jackson County, Missouri, and was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple on January 5,1846.

Porter Rockwell killed many men as a gunfighter, a religious enforcer, and Deputy United States Marshal.

Porter Rockwell was apprehended in St Louis on March 6,1843.

The morning of September 16,1845, Lieutenant Frank Worrell of the nearby Carthage militia was shot and killed by Porter Rockwell after refusing an order to stop by non-Mormon Sherriff William Backenstos.

In 1849, Porter Rockwell was appointed as deputy marshal of Great Salt Lake City, and remained a peace officer until his death.

Porter Rockwell was well known for his endurance, loyalty, and relentlessness.

General Daniel H Wells sent a posse led by Rockwell to pursue the Goshute.

Porter Rockwell operated the Hot Springs Hotel and Brewery at the southern end of the Salt Lake Valley, in an area known as "Point of the Mountain".

Porter Rockwell stayed with Lysander Dayton in a village near the city, and Dayton invited Rockwell to dinner.

Porter Rockwell sent for a bottle of Valley Tan Whiskey, and he and Burton drank shot-for-shot into the night, with Porter Rockwell outlining steps Burton should take for safety during his passage to Sacramento.

Porter Rockwell advised Burton to carry a loaded double-barreled shotgun, sleep in a "dark camp", to never trust appearances, and to avoid the main trail, where "White Indians" preyed on travelers.

Porter Rockwell died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, of natural causes on June 9,1878.

Porter Rockwell was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

At the time of his death, Porter Rockwell had been a baptized Latter-day Saint longer than anyone living.

Porter Rockwell was yesterday afternoon ushered into Heaven clothed with immortality and eternal life, and crowned with all glory which belongs to a departed saint.

Porter Rockwell has his little faults, but Porter's life on earth, taken altogether, was one worthy of example, and reflected honor upon the church.

Porter Rockwell had the distinction of being the subject of a direct prophecy by Smith.

Two statues of Porter Rockwell exist: one near the old site of his Hot Springs Hotel and Brewery near the Utah State Penitentiary, the other in Lehi, Utah, off of Main Street behind.

In 1971, the restaurant "Porter Rockwell's Place" was opened on Lehi Main Street but later in 2018, it moved to Eureka, Utah, and eventually closed permanently.