The Name "Dixie" in Southern Utah
Origin
Though it is possible it may have been used earlier, the nickname "Dixie" for the Southern Utah region has existed since at least January 1862, less than a year after St. George was founded.[1] Brigham Young clearly stated the goal of Southern Utah settlements were to make the territory self-sufficient from the United States.
Why, instead of being merchants, instead of going to St. Louis to buy goods, we can go down to our Dixie land, the southern part of our Territory, and raise cotton, and manufacture goods for ourselves. I have power to call upon the brethren to go south and raise cotton and indigo, the olive, and the grape...When we administer the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, I wish as good wine as can be made in any country, and that too made by ourselves from grapes grown in our own mountain valleys. I want to see the people wear hats, boots, coats, etc., made by ourselves, as good was ever were made in any country.[2]
If self-sufficiency were to be accomplished, leaders deemed it necessary to grow the agricultural products of the South, to create their own “Dixie land.” St. George and many other local settlements were founded on this idea.[3]
Despite embracing a Southern nickname, during and after the Civil War, St. George leaders appeared to favor the Union and disapproved of secession. In early 1862,
Patriotic demonstrations exhibiting love for, and devotion to, the Union, and solemnly protesting against its dissolution, were enthusiastically manifested...sentiments and plaudits of the people were well calculated to strike terror to the hearts of the promoters of disunion and fratricidal war.[4]
In 1878, there was a local newspaper titled The Union with the slogan “United, we stand; divided, we fall,”[5] an open endorsement of unity in the decade following the Civil War.
Embracing Dixie was directly connected with the “Cotton Mission” communities organized under The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Communities removed from Latter-day Saint faith in the area did not embrace the term. Looking through the Silver Reef Miner, it is difficult to find references to Southern Utah as Dixie, except for a remark about Dixie Wine.[6] In early St. George newspapers however, the term is plentiful. One early newspaper was titled Our Dixie Times. As early as 1868, newspapers also show that there was doubt about using Dixie to describe Southern Utah. In that year Our Dixie Times was changed to The Rio Virgin Times. The reason for the name change was:
first to give the casual observers, and the rest of mankind, an idea of our locality, at a glance. Many people at a distance, catch the idea of our paper coming from some of the states late in rebellion. We like to have our locality appear marked and distinct.[7]
Continued Use and Debate
Founded in 1911, St. George Stake Academy was a progenitor of both Dixie High School and Utah Tech University. A Utah Tech University Timeline illustrates historical growth and changes to the school, including the uses of Dixie.[8]
Descendants of the Euro-American settlers and new arrivals continued to use and embrace Dixie. For these individuals, Dixie took on its own meaning that was unique to Southern Utah.[9] Doug Alder, former President of Dixie College and Karl F. Brooks, former Mayor of St. George, explained: “The name was essentially a nick-name, but it came to mean more than that – a term of endearment, of identity. The name stuck and is a point of pride as much now as it was then.”[10] The Dixie College Yearbook of 1945 wrote “Because you touch our hearts and make us shine with the desire to learn, the incentive to create, the eagerness to excell...we humbly dedicate this yearbook to you...‘The Spirit of Dixie’“[11]. For generations of locals and Dixie College and High School graduates, the meanings of Dixie and Dixie Spirit represented a uniquely Southern Utah combination of self-sufficiency, frontier grit, hospitality, school spirit, and local pride.
Even with a local meaning, Dixie is not entirely divorced from the Confederacy and the American South. Dixie College embraced Confederate language and imagery, particularly in the mid-to-late 20th century.
The college adopted the Rebel name in 1951, changed the name of the yearbook from The Dixie to The Confederate in 1966, and later embraced the Rodney the Rebel mascot.[12] Some yearbook covers displayed a Confederate flag.[13] Documented student activities like mock slave auctions,[14] blackface,[15] a “Rebel Flag” dance,[16] and an active KKK club – which performed at least one mock lynching[17] – further tied the college to Confederate iconography. The community also engaged in Confederacy-inspired programs, including "Dixie Secession" fundraising events in 1987 and 1988.[18] The embrace of such iconography coincides with movements in other parts of the country in the 20th century that romanticized a “lost cause” and attempted to resurrect a more positive view of the Confederacy and Antebellum American South.[19] As nationwide perceptions shifted, so did the college‘s use of Confederate symbols and activities. The Confederate flag as a school symbol ended in 1993 and the “Rebels” mascot was replaced with “Red Storm” in 2009 and “Trailblazers” in 2016.[20]
The use of Dixie within the community and businesses has changed over time and varies by individual organization. Both the local hospital and university removed Dixie from their names in 2021 and 2022, respectively.[21] Dixie is still widely used in local businesses and public institutions. Historic landmarks like the “Sugarloaf“ and the “D“ on the Black Ridge retain their status as important community symbols.
Some fear that embracing Dixie may have problematically created an artistic affinity with the Confederacy, perpetuating images of political rebellion and racism.[22] For others, however, the historical and continuing identification of Dixie bring to mind ideas of self-sufficiency, hard work, trailblazing pioneers, and school spirit. Some have argued that Confederate imagery is “part of our past, but not our origin.”[23] They assert that Confederate symbols can be abandoned while still retaining Dixie. Adding to these differing perspectives and the debate, visitors and newcomers come to Washington County with their own ideas about the meaning of Dixie.[24] All of these ideas influence the way Dixie is used and discussed in Southern Utah today.
Citations
[1] G.D. Watt, "Remarks by President Brigham Young, Tabernacle; January 5, 1862," Deseret News, January 15, 1862, Utah Digital Newspapers, 1-2, ark:/87278/s67668qr.
[2] Watt, "Remarks by President Brigham Young," 1-2.
[3] J. V. Long, "Progress of President Young and Company," Deseret News, October 1, 1862, Utah Digital Newspapers, 4, ark:/87278/s6gj0cfr.
[4] James G. Bleak, Annals of the Southern Utah Mission, (Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 55.;
See also James G. Bleak, "Demonstration at St. George," Deseret News (Salt Lake City), January 15, 1862, Utah Digital Newspapers, 8, ark:/87278/s67668qr.
[5] J. W. Carpenter, "Front Page," The Union (St. George, UT), June 14, 1878, Utah Tech University Special Collections.
[6] "A Bishop's Dream is Ended. His Intended Third Wife Elopes with a Wicked Gentile," The Silver Reef Miner (Silver Reef, UT), July 16, 1881, 3, Utah Digital Newspapers, ark:/87278/s6bw3fzn.
[7] J. E. Johnson, "Change of Name," Rio Virgin Times (St. George, UT), May 13, 1868, Microfilm, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.
[8] "Our History," Utah Tech University, accessed January 24, 2024, https://about.utahtech.edu/history/.
[9] Douglas D. Alder and Karl F. Brooks, A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Destination, 2nd ed. (Springdale, UT: Zion Natural History Association, 2007), 9.
[10] Alder and Brooks, A History of Washington County, 9.
[11] Dixie College, The Dixie 1944-1945 (St. George, UT: The Associated Students of Dixie College, 1944-1945), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1096#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
[12] Kaitlyn Bancroft, "Confederate flags, mock slave auctions, minstrel shows: Can Utah's 'Dixie' be separated from past associations?," The Spectrum (St. George, UT), July 17, 2020, https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2020/07/17/dixie-name-racist-history-confederacy-st-george-utah/5370233002/.;
"Our History," Utah Tech University.
[13] Dixie State University Yearbooks, UA-009, collection, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/collections/show/17#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
*Yearbooks covers for 1970, 1972, 1986, and 1988
[14] Dixie College, Dixie College Confederate Behind the Scenes 1991 (St. George, UT: 1991), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, 11, 24-27, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1412#?c=&m=&s=&cv=
*Note: citations 12 through 14 are not comprehensive, but list only one or two specific examples of each.
"Dixie College 1951 School Year Movie #2," Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, Utah Tech Historic Films, accessed March 5, 2024, 11:15-11:20, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1216.
[16]Dixie College, Dixie ‘63 (St. George, UT), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, 98, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1114#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
"Dixie College 1951 School Year Movie #2," Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, Utah Tech Historic Films, accessed March 5, 2024, 23:40-23:58, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1216.
"Ku Klux Klan Split Rule," Dixie Journalists’ Chatter (St. George, UT), April 27, 1951, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers, ark:/87278/s67x1zj4.
[18] Lon Henderson and Carrie Henderson, "Interview with Lon and Carrie Henderson," by Makoto Hunter, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, Audio Recording, October 14, 2021, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1060#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
Dixie Secession and Spirit of Dixie Fundraisers, WASH-076, collection, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/resources/112.
[19] Kevin Thornton, “The Confederate Flag and the Meaning of Southern History,” Southern Cultures 2, no. 2 (1996): 233–45, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26235412.
[20] Aubrey Densley, "Despite Opposition, Rebel Flag to be Retired," The Dixie Sun (St. George, UT), November 18, 1993, 1-2, Utah Digital Newspapers, ark:/87278/s6034c69.;
”Our History,” Utah Tech University.;
Bancroft, "Confederate flags"
[21] "Intermountain Healthcare to Rename Dixie Regional Medical Center to Intermountain St George Hospital," Intermountainhealthcare.org, July 16, 2020, https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news/2020/07/intermountain-healthcare-to-rename-dixie-regional-medical-center-to-intermountain-st-george-hospital/#:~:text=Officials%20announced%20today%20that%20Intermountain,be%20effective%20January%201%2C%202021.;
"Name Change Process to Utah Tech University," Utah Tech University, accessed January 25, 2024, https://utahtech.edu/nameprocess/.
[22] Kaitlyn Bancroft, "Confederate flags";
Makoto Hunter, "The Confederate Connections of Dixie State University," Intermountain Histories, Last modified December 1, 2022, https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/496.
[23] See remarks by Trustees Chairman Steven Caplin in
Kevin Jenkins, "Utah College Votes to Keep 'Dixie' in the Name," USA Today. Originally Published by The St. George Utah Spectrum, Last modified January 19, 2013, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/18/college-votes-to-keep-dixie-in-name/1566472/.
[24] Terry G. Sterling, "How one pocket of Utah is confronting the word ‘Dixie’ and all of its associations," The Washington Post (Washington D.C.), January 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/how-one-pocket-of-utah-is-confronting-the-word-dixie-and-all-of-its-associations/2022/01/06/460ca590-59d5-11ec-929e-95502bf8cdd5_story.html.
Images
"D on the Hill," Dixie (St. George, UT: Dixie Normal College, 1918), digital page 120, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/685#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
"Dixie Grad," The Dixie 1948 (Springville, UT: Art City Publishing Co., 1948), 11, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1099#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
Dixie Secession Memorabilia, items stored in Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, Memorabilia , 1987 - 1988, Dixie Secession and Spirit of Dixie Fundraisers (WASH-076), https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/18289.
"Front and back cover," '70 Confederate (St. George, UT: Dixie Junior College, 1970), Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1121#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
"Seniors by the Sugarloaf," Dixie 1951 (Springville, UT: Art City Publishing Co., 1951), 17, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1102#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.
W.A.B.B, "The Rocks and Hills of Dixie," Our Dixie Times (St. George, UT), February 19, 1868, Microfilm, Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives.
"We start reminiscing of days that are past," Confederate '69 (St. George, UT: Dixie Junior College, 1969), Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1120#?c=&m=&s=&cv=.