Struggles, Isolation, and Growth

Horses and wagon near Grafton, Utah, undated. From the J.L. Crawford Collection, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.

In their efforts to create Dixie, early settlers were faced with a variety of environmental, physical, and emotional difficulties.

Illness was a prevalent problem in early Washington County communities. Most severely, the Indigenous Southern Paiute peoples were devastated by illnesses brought by European and Euro-American contact.[1] Early settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington City experienced malaria in the settlement’s first few years.[2] The fear of this illness caused some of the 1861 settlers “called” to St. George to follow the upper Virgin River towards Toquerville, Virgin, and other communities, instead.[3]  

Alkali in the soil quickly started corroding early buildings, including the Tabernacle.[4] Wind-blown sands caused many problems with ophthalmia, inflammation of the eye.[5] Heat and a “plague of flies” also afflicted the early settlers.[6] Several groups did not stay amidst the struggles.[7] Many, however, accepted their trials and strived to do their best “cheerfully" in the place they had been “called.”[8] The early struggles and frustration of cotton mission settlers is reflected in the contemporary song “Once I Lived in Cottonwood,” by George Armstrong Hicks.[9]

Flooding Under the Virgin River Bridge, 1938. From the Afton Peters Collection, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.

In the dry lands of Southern Utah, there were numerous conflicts over water. An early example of this occurred in 1856 when settlers began using the water in Pine Valley. The Tonaquint people feared starvation because exceptionally low water levels in the Santa Clara River were insufficient to grow their corn. They blamed the new Pine Valley Settlement, which they had been told was only to run a lumber mill and would not take the water. Jacob Hamblin tried to mediate, but only succeeded in angering the Pine Valley settlers. A sudden rainstorm restored the water levels and averted potential disaster, which Hamblin viewed as an act of God. Nevertheless, nothing was done at the time to protect the water rights of the Tonaquint people from those upstream.[10]

Flooding also caused trial and heartache. Flooding in the winter of 1861-1862 was especially infamous and destroyed homes, schools, churches, farms, and the Santa Clara Fort.[11] Trying to dam and farm beside the temperamental river was difficult and sometimes entire communities became ghost towns.[12] Persistent efforts to control the river represent the stubborn grit and zeal of the early settlers that eventually became known as the Dixie Spirit.

Washington Fields Dam and Canal provided for many farms in the region, including this sugar beet field in 1934. From the Douglas Quayle's Utah-Idaho Sugar Company Collection, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.

Within two years of Washington City’s 1857 founding, the dam washed away five times.[13] As the dams broke, it dried up the irrigation ditches. The hot summer temperatures meant that loss of water for even a few days could dramatically affect agricultural production.[14]

After decades of regularly rebuilding the dam for Washington Fields, , the Washington Field Canal Company decided to build in a new location and create a longer canal to the fields.[15] This was a more expensive project but allowed the canal and irrigation ditches to provide water to a wider area and was an easier location to dam.[16] The new dam was completed in 1891 with another two years to construct the canal.[17] The efforts paid off. The new dam held strong and improved farming efforts in Washington Fields.

Hurricane, Utah, approximately 1910. Image shows the Hurricane Canal and the first few homes in the Hurricane Valley. Photograph by William Louis Crawford. Special Collections, Sherratt Library, Southern Utah University. Used by permission.

Communities upriver, such as Virgin, Rockville, and Grafton, were concerned about the destructive floods and the limited land for their growing families. The large and relatively flat Hurricane Bench became an increasingly attractive prospect.[18] Although they recognized that it would be a massive undertaking, local citizens formed the Hurricane Canal Company and began a concentrated effort to build a canal to bring water to the Hurricane Bench.[19] Many workers bought stock in the Hurricane Canal Company through labor. These laborers still had farms to take care of and the punishing summer heat meant that canal construction occurred during the winter months.[20] The river washed away the diversion dam multiple times, the 1890s were rocked by an economic depression, and an outbreak of “La Grippe” stalled the project.[21] Many initial investors gave up and sold their stock in the company. Canal construction was in dire straits until the leaders managed to convince the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to financially back the project.[22] With church funds and reputation, the canal project picked up speed and was completed in 1904, more than eleven years in the making.[23]

Hurricane, Utah, 1929. Image shows the growth and fertility of Hurricane Valley. Photograph by George Alexander Grant. National Archives Catalog.

These are just a few of the major efforts to adapt and utilize the Virgin River. River management was a continual struggle and took grit and determination. Despite advances, problems have not gone away. Repeated periods of drought, the Quail Creek Reservoir dike break in 1988-1989, the destructive floods of 2005, and present heated debates about water use and growth illustrate the continuing importance, but unpredictability, of water management in Southern Utah.[24] Even in more recent floods, some assert that the Dixie Spirit continued through community cooperation and charity.[25]

Arrowhead Trail Near Santa Clara, Utah, 1929. Photograph by George Alexander Grant. National Archives Catalog.

Another venture associated with the Dixie Spirit is the endeavor to connect Southern Utah towns to each other and to the wider world. While the communities sought self-sustainability, they also sought outside news and connection.

From the beginning Washington County was never completely isolated.

• Among the very first orders of business for St. George settlers in 1861 were improving roads and the mail service.[26]
• There was regular communication and travel between Salt Lake City and Southern Utah.[27]
• Silver Reef was a mining boom town in the 1870s and 1880s that brought in new population and trade networks.[28]
• The St. George Temple and Tabernacle attracted Latter-day Saints from various surrounding communities.[29]
• The Federal Government conducted  searches to find and incarcerate polygamists.[30]

Despite this, the population remained relatively low for many decades and the difficult travel in and out of Washington County contributed to a sense of isolation and very few sightseers.[31]

An automobile and a horse in front of the Washington County Courthouse, Utah, undated. Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.

The “Black Ridge” or “Ash Creek” road between Harmony and Toquerville was particularly infamous for travel.[32] It was here where George Armstong Hicks “broke his wagon down.”[33] Mary Minerva Dart Judd, wife of Zadok Knapp Judd and an early Santa Clara resident, recalled her experience attempting to cross the area in the 1850s before a road had been built, “So we traveled on until we came to Fort Harmany, here we stoped [sic] to fixup as we had torn our clothes terrably [sic] while traveling through the brush and rocks with no road of any kind to follow.”[34] On their later return trip, they had a loaded wagon and had to walk down the Black Ridge; “The mountain was so steep that it took sister Mary Ann Hamblin in to help the two men, our husbands to keep the Wagon from upsating [sic], while I carried one of her children and two of my own over the mountain while it still rained a little.”[35]

As settlements grew, it became more important to create a safer and efficient road down the Black Ridge. Previous routes along the Old Spanish Trail required significant backtracking to reach St. George and other Virgin River communities.[36] There were numerous attempts at creating a road, including the infamous Shirts Road, with its “Peter’s Leap.”[37] Eventually, a county road was created, which made the route far more manageable and was used regularly, especially during Silver Reef’s heyday. Still, alternating sand and mud and damage from passing wagons meant that the road was in constant need of upkeep. The county road was eventually replaced by the Arrowhead Trail in 1924, which opened the way for automobile traffic.[38]

Cranes constructing the Virgin River Gorge Bridge as part of Interstate 15. 1972. Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.

Southern Utah residents recognized economic benefits that could be gained from improving automobile access to the region, especially to Zion National Park. Local communities worked to improve roads and beautify towns even before significant federal and state funding could be put toward automobile road improvements.[39] As efforts for Interstate 15 were underway, research and surveys projected increasing traffic and sales in St. George, especially for travelers going to and from Southern California.[40] The construction of Interstate 15 and the difficult and expensive roadway through the Virgin River Gorge made Southern Utah and its scenic attractions more accessible than ever before. In addition, technological improvements like air-conditioning provided an escape from the oppressive heat and made Southwest communities like St. George a more attractive destination to live and vacation.[41] The development of a new St. George Regional Airport south of town further increased access for visitors to Washington County.[42]