Grafton, Utah

Grafton is a ghost town, just south of Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States. Said to be the most photographed ghost town in the West, it has been featured as a location in several films, including 1929's "In Old Arizona"—the first talkie filmed outdoors—and the classic "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".cite book | last = Thompson | first = George A. | title = Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures | year = 1982 | month = November | publisher = Dream Garden Press | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | isbn = 0-942688-01-5 | pages = pp.28–29 ] The nearest inhabited town is Rockville.

History

The site was first settled in December 1859 as part of a southern Utah cotton-growing project ordered by Brigham Young (see Utah's Dixie). A group from Virgin led by Nathan Tenney established a new settlement they called Wheeler. Wheeler didn't last long; it was largely destroyed on the night of January 8 1862 by a weeks-long flood of the Virgin River. [cite book | last = Reid | first = H. Lorenzo | title = Dixie of the Desert | year = 1964 | publisher = Zion Natural History Association | location = Zion National Park | pages = pp.107–108 | id = ASIN|B000Q7IG9Y ] The rebuilt town, about a mile upriver, was named New Grafton, after Grafton, Massachusetts.

The town grew quickly in its first few years. There were some 28 families by 1864, each farming about an acre (0.4 hectare) of land.cite book | last = Carr | first = Stephen L. | title = The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns | edition = 3rd edition | origyear = 1972 | origmonth = June | year = 1986 | publisher = Western Epics | location = Salt Lake City, Utah | pages = pp.133–134 | isbn = 0-914740-30-X ] The community also dug irrigation canals and planted orchards, some of which still exist. Grafton was briefly the county seat of Kane County, from January 1866 to January 12 1867, [cite book | last = Bradley | first = Martha Sonntag | title = A History of Kane County | series = Utah Centennial County History Series | year = 1999 | month = January | publisher = Utah State Historical Society | location = Salt Lake City | isbn = 0-913738-40-9 | pages = p.59 ] but changes to county boundaries in 1882 placed it in Washington County. [Bradley, p.100.]

Flooding was not the only major problem. One particular challenge to farming was the large amounts of silt in Grafton's section of the Virgin River. Residents had to dredge out clogged irrigation ditches at least weekly, much more often than in most other settlements. Grafton was also relatively isolated from neighboring towns, being the only community in the area located on the south bank of the river. In 1866, when the outbreak of the Black Hawk War caused widespread fear of Indian attacks, the town was completely evacuated to Rockville.

Continued severe flooding discouraged resettlement, and most of the population moved permanently to more accessible locations on the other side of the river. By 1890 only four families remained. The end of the town is usually traced to 1921, when the local branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was discontinued. [cite book | last = Alder | first = Douglas D. | coauthors = Brooks, Karl F. | title = A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Destination | series = Utah Centennial County History Series | year = 1996 | publisher = Utah State Historical Society | location = Salt Lake City | isbn = 0-913738-13-1 | pages = p.81 ] The last residents left Grafton in 1944.

References

External links

* [http://www.graftonheritage.org/ Grafton Heritage Partnership Project] a group dedicated to the restoration and preservation of Grafton
* [http://www.lofthouse.com/USA/Utah/washington/grafton.html Grafton, Washington County, Utah] at the Washington County UTGenWeb site