Hildale, Utah

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Hildale, Utah
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Approaching Hildale from the north on State Route 59


image_

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Hildale, Utah


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Utah
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Washington

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title
mayor_name = David Zitting
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 7.6
area_land_km2 = 7.6
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 2.9
area_land_sq_mi = 2.9
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 1895
population_density_km2 = 248.7
population_density_sq_mi = 644.2

timezone = Mountain (MST)
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = MDT
utc_offset_DST = -6
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 1539
elevation_ft = 5049
latd = 37 |latm = 0 |lats = 10 |latNS = N
longd = 112 |longm = 59 |longs = 14 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 84784
area_code = 435
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 49-35300GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1450387GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,895 at the 2000 census.

Hildale is a twin city to the more well-known Colorado City, Arizona, both of which straddle the border between the states of Utah and Arizona. Hildale is the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Many adults in the community practice plural marriage. Since most government officials — including the police force — are FLDS members, some critics have likened the community's atmosphere to that of a prison, which is the result of attempts to discourage any of the town's women from attempting to leave the polygamous lifestyle. [ [http://www.childbrides.org theHOPEorg.org ] ]

In January 2004, the current FLDS leader and "prophet", Warren Jeffs, expelled a group of twenty men, including the mayor, and "gave" their wives and children to other men. Jeffs said he was acting on the orders of God, but the men he expelled claimed they were penalized for disagreeing with Jeffs. Observers say this is the most severe split to date within the community. Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and was eventually apprehended on August 28 2006 in Las Vegas. On September 25, 2007, Jeffs was convicted of being an accomplice to rape for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old first cousin.

The United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the FLDS owns most of the property in the town.

The Colorado City/Hildale, Utah area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes severe mental retardation. Geneticists attribute this to the prevalence of cousin marriage between descendants of two of the town's founders, Joseph Smith Jessop and John Yates Barlow. At least half of the double community's roughly eight-thousand inhabitants are descended from one or both men. [ [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2005-12-29/news/feature.html "Forbidden Fruit"] by John Dougherty, "Phoenix New Times", December 29, 2005.]

Geography

Hildale is located at coor dms|37|0|10|N|112|59|14|W|city (37.002845, -112.987315)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,895 people, 232 households, and 215 families residing in the city. The population density was 644.2/mi² (248.9/km²). There were 243 housing units at an average density of 31.9/km² (82.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.41% White, 0.21% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.63% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population. At 66.9% English, Hildale is the most English city in the United States.

There were 232 households out of which 76.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 6.9% were non-families. 6.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 8.17 and the average family size was 8.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 63.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 18.4% from 25 to 44, 6.3% from 45 to 64, and 2.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 13 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,679, and the median income for a family was $31,750. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $16,071 for females. The per capita income for the city was $4,782. About 37.0% of families and 41.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.0% of those under age 18 and 31.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Hildale has a history of polygamy. Mormon Church leaders reportedly sent John D. Lee to the area in 1871 to hide him away from federal authorities. The FBI raided neighboring Colorado City in 1944 to break up a local polygamy ring, arresting fifteen men. In 1953, law enforcement officials again raided Colorado City, arresting twenty-three men. Hildale resident Warren Jeffs was charged by the FBI with arranging marriages of underage girls and was captured in August 2006. On September 25, 2007, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape. According to the Associated Press, Jeffs is rumored to have numerous wives and children.

In 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that welfare fraud is widespread in both Hildale and its sister city Colorado City AZ. As many as 50% of plural wives are on government assistance. The fraud arises from the women's claims that they do not know the whereabouts of the children's fathers. Former State Senator Ron Allen remarked "The social costs of polygamy are quite high. The things I'm most worried about in polygamy are physical and sexual abuse of children, forced marriages among minors, welfare and tax fraud, and the diminished educational opportunities, especially among girls. None of this is acceptable."

Education

Hildale is within the Washington County School District.

Students are zoned to:
* Three Falls Elementary School
* Hurricane Intermediate School
* Hurricane Middle School
* Hurricane High School

Around 1998, the city's elementary-age students attended the Phelps School in Hilldale while many older students attended school in Colorado City Unified School District in Arizona [http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy7.html] .

References

External links