St. George, Utah

St. George is the largest of all the towns established during the Latter-day Saints (LDS) Church's Cotton Mission of 1861. It is the county seat of Washington County. It is 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 degrees. Summer temperatures range into the one hundreds and the average maximum winter temperature is approximately 55 degrees. The average annual rainfall is eight inches. These are just some of the factors that made the area a suitable location for the early settlement.

Earlier Native Americans were the first to inhabit the area of St. George. The Anasazi Indians were the first known inhabitants of southwestern Utah. They entered the area in roughly 200 BCE and left in approximately 1200 CE. They left evidence of their being at St. George in the rock art and archaeological sites that exist today. The Paiute Indians entered the region between 1100 and 1200 CE. They were a small tribe, made up of smaller bands of a few hundred Indians in each band. The Paiutes hunted mountain sheep, deer, rabbits, and other small animals. Eventually, they raised crops along the rivers, utilizing irrigation. The first recorded Euro-Americans to visit the area were the members of the Dominguez-Escalante Party in 1776; they were followed by fur trappers, including Jedediah Smith, and still later by government survey parties.

The LDS Church had established an Indian mission at Santa Clara in 1854. This was located two miles north of the St. George Valley. In 1857 and 1858, the church established experimental farms east and west of [Page 606]where St. George was to be built. Brigham Young predicted the settling of the area while touring the experimental desert farms in 1861. Church authorities called 309 families to the Cotton Mission in October, 1861. Most of those sent had abilities that were considered necessary to establishing a successful community.

Brigham Young thought it would be necessary to raise cotton and wine grapes and to harvest silk when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Young wanted to export these items to the northern states. Many of the early settlers of St. George originally came from the southern states. They came to the Cotton Mission to grow cotton. They brought with them a phrase for the area, which has become widely adopted; they called the St. George area “Utah's Dixie.” The reason for the title is that the warm climate, the southern location, and the products the area was capable of producing reminded them of the other Dixie in the South.

Jacob Hamblin was a key player in the settlement of St. George. He was assigned to be a missionary to the Indians in southern Utah by Young. The Indians considered him a great friend because of his indisputable integrity. He was profoundly involved in keeping the peace between the early settlers and the Paiute Indians.

St. George was named in honor of George A. Smith. George had personally selected most of the company of the pioneers of 1861, but did not participate in the town's settlement. The first years in the new outpost were strenuous. Great rainstorms almost destroyed the farmlands, and intense summer heat and lack of fresh water for household use made life extremely unpleasant.

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