Young quickly realized that the fastest way to an independent Mormon state was to make the new colony self-sufficient.

Problems plagued the early furnace at Cedar City, and only about 25 short tons (23 t) of pig iron was produced over a three-year period.

An attempt was made to revive mining from Iron Mountain, but the church was struggling with litigation over the Edmunds–Tucker Act, which banned the plural marriage practiced by some Mormons, and the nationwide economic effects of the Panic of 1873.

Today, the ruins feature a preserved beehive style charcoal oven and a furnace known as an "Arastra", which prepared sands for molds.

The Frontier Homestead State Park Museum in Cedar City provides information about and artifacts from the site.