|
 St.
George, the county seat of Washington County,
is the largest of all the towns founded during
the LDS Church's Cotton Mission of 1861. Located
in the southwest section of Utah at an elevation
of 2,880 feet above sea level, St. George has
an average annual temperature of 59.9° F with
summer temperatures well into the 100s and the
average maximum winter temperature around 55°
F. The average annual rainfall is 8.30 inches,
and the normal growing season is 196 days. All
these factors made the area a suitable location
for the early settlement.
Earlier Native American inhabitants of the St.
George area included the Virgin River Anasazi,
who left evidence of their presence in the rock
art and archaeological sites that remain. The
first recorded Euro-Americans to visit the area
were the Dominguez-Escalante Party in 1776;
they were followed by fur trappers, including
Jedediah Smith, and still later by government
survey parties.
By 1854 the LDS Church had established an Indian
mission at Santa Clara, two miles north of the
St. George Valley. In 1857 and 1858 experimental
farms were set up to the east and west of where
St. George was to be built. While touring the
experimental desert farms in May 1861, Brigham
Young predicted the settling of the area. Five
months later, in October 1861, 309 families
were called by church authorities to the what
was called the Cotton Mission. Most of those
sent had abilities that were deemed essential
to establishing a successful community.
 When
the Civil War broke out in 1861, Brigham Young
thought it would be necessary to raise cotton,
if possible. Many of the early settlers of St.
George originally came from the southern states.
They came to the "Cotton Mission"
to grow cotton, but they also brought with them
a phrase for the area which has become widely
adopted--they called the St. George area "Utah's
Dixie."
St. George itself was named in honor of George
A. Smith, who, although he did not participate
in the town's settlement, had personally selected
most of the company of the pioneers of 1861.
The first years in the new outpost were difficult.
Great rainstorms almost destroyed the farmlands,
and intense summer heat and lack of culinary
water made life far from pleasant.
 ...In
1863 St. George became the county seat for Washington
County. That same year the construction of the
St. George LDS Tabernacle began. It was completed
in 1875. Before the tabernacle was completed,
on 9 November 1871 work commenced on the St.
George LDS Temple. Construction of the temple
was a cooperative effort of many communities
in southern Utah. The area was suffering from
a monetary depression, and a work project was
needed in which employment would mean food for
families. The building cost $800,000 and was
dedicated on 6 April 1877. Other important area
buildings from the pioneer era include the historic
courthouse (1870) and the social hall and opera
house (1875).
Silk was produced in the area as early as 1874
but did not add to the material prosperity of
the city. Nevertheless, the mulberry trees,
which were planted to feed the worms, have continued
to provide shade to the city's residents. Other
early pioneer endeavors included producing molasses,
dried fruit, and wine.
 To
mark the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement
of St. George, the Dixie Academy Building was
constructed in 1911. The academy was operated
by the LDS Church until 1933, at which time
it became a two-year college within the state
higher education system. In the 1960s the new
Dixie College campus was opened in the southeast
corner of the city. Today enrollment at the
college is approximately 2,500 students; however,
the college reaches most of the community with
its programs and activities.
Since the 1960s, St. George has continued to
grow as a retirement location and as a haven
for "snowbirds" seeking to escape
from the colder winters in the rest of the state.
Tourism and recreation have become primary industries
for St. George. The population of the city has
grown at a rapid pace during the last quarter
of the twentieth century. In 1950 the population
stood at 4,562; it nudged up to 5,130 in 1960,
moved up to 7,097 in 1970, climbed to 13,300
in 1980, and exploded to 28,500 in 1990.
While most of the residents are members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
other denominations in St. George include the
Catholic Church, Dixie Assembly of God, Community
Baptist Church, Christian Science Church, Episcopal
Church, Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church,
New Covenant Christian Center, St. George Christian
Fellowship, and First Church of Religious Science.
The community is served by six local radio stations,
a local daily newspaper, The Daily Spectrum,
and an airport with commercial connections to
Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
- Bart C. Anderson
Brigham Young Home:
The fast growing community and popular tourist destination that St. George is today, is a long way from where it started back in 1861. The original settlers of St. George were members of the LDS church who were sent by their church leaders to grow cotton in the redrock cliffs and desert of southwestern Utah. Brigham Young thought it would be necessary to raise cotton after the Civil War broke out and sent many settlers to St. George who originally came from the southern states. The Mormon settlers found the hot, dry region practically unlivable, but Brigham Young desired St. George to progress and instigated public work projects to help residents. Within thirteen years the settlers had constructed a tabernacle, courthouse and Temple. In 1869 Brigham Young bought the James Chesney house and made St. George his winter home.
Brigham Young suffered from arthritis and found relief from the harsh Salt Lake winters in St. George’s warm desert climate. The Brigham Young home was made from rock, adobe and plaster the two-story home is indicative of homebuilding in Utah at the time. The home has a large wrap-around front porch, thick insulating walls, a vegetable storage room in the basement, and several bedrooms. Young’s home also had a detached office with telegraph station, and a large master suite upstairs. Orchards and gardens surrounded the home on three sides.
The home is now owned by the LDS church and is open to the public as a museum with free guided tours. The home has on display some of Brigham Young’s original possessions. Hours are 9 am - 5 pm in winter, 9 am - 7 pm in spring, and 9 am -8 pm in summer. For more information call 435-673-5181. The Brigham Young home, located on the southwest corner of 200 North and 100 West, is part of the St. George Historic District and is surrounded by several beautifully restored pioneer homes. The Brigham Young Home is also part of a delightful downtown walking tour that begins at the Chamber of Commerce Office (the restored Pioneer Courthouse) on St. George Blvd. and 100 East. The tour includes other beautiful buildings such as the St. George Temple, the Tabernacle, and the Opera House.
St. George Tabernacle:
While you are in St. George you don’t want to miss visiting the St. George historic district. While there, you can visit the St. George Tabernacle, which stands as a symbol of the town's pioneer beginnings. If you take the free tour, you will hear interesting stories about the tabernacle's glass windows and about why the balcony had to be moved.
Before St. George became the thriving community that it is today, the St. George Tabernacle was the town center. It seats 1,200, so large community gatherings could be held there. The tabernacle also had a clock that was brought from England and made by the oldest clockmakers in the world, Thwaites and Reed. It took the Mormon Pioneers 13 years to build the Tabernacle. This may seem like a lot until you consider that the limestone used in the three-foot-thick basement walls had to be hand-quarried from the foothills north of the city while the red sandstone boulders for the two-and-one-half foot walls were hand-quarried from a site different site near the Red Hills Golf Course. The 56-foot trusses were cut 32 miles distant and hand-hewn with a broad axe. The spiral staircase and banister also had to be handcarved. Built under difficult circumstances, the St. George Tabernacle stands as a symbol of pioneer heritage. In 1993 much of the tabernacle was restored to resemble as closely as possible its original state. Today, the tabernacle is home to church services, daily music recitals, and the weekly Dixie History and Music Series. |
