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United States Gotoarrow.png Utah Gotoarrow.png Washington Gotoarrow.png Grafton

Contents

History

Old Grafton Schoolhouse

Grafton is a class 2 agricultural ghost town in Washington County on the South side of the Virgin River. Originally called Wheeler, it was settled in 1859. Forty days of straight rain flooded washed away much of the original farm lands and town was reestablished on Jan 1862. Residents of Virgin saw the houses of Grafton go floating by. [1] Grafton was resettled but suffered from floods, difficult irrigation and Indian attacks. By 1920 it was down to 3 families. [2]

Grafton is famous as the site where part of the movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was filmed.

Wikipedia
 Wikipedia has more about this subject: Grafton, Utah

Location

Grafton is located across the Virgin River from present day Rockville, which is at the South entrance to Zion's National Park.

  • GPS Location: 37°10′02″N 113°04′48″W
  • Wiki Map

Time Line

  • 1859, December: First Settled, assigned to plant cotton [3]
  • 1862, January 8: Settlement completely flooded after 40 days of rain [4]
  • 1862: Rebuilt 1.5 miles north from original site and renamed Grafton after Grafton Massachusetts [5]
  • 1866 to 1867: County seat of Kane County
  • 1866: Removed to Rockville, Indian concerns
  • 1882: Boundary realignment put Grafton in Washington County
  • 1890: Resettlement was sparse due to flooding and irrigation problems; 20 families remained
  • 1921: Town was nearly abandoned; LDS church branch discontinued [6]
  • 1944: No known residents

Neighboring Communities

Rockville | Springdale | Virgin | Dalton | Duncan's Retreat, Utah

Biography and Genealogies

Cemeteries

Grafton Cemetery.jpg

Indian attacks were evidence of the Old West in Grafton. Multiple pioneer men died in these attacks as did the attackers. The South East corner of the cemetery holds the nameless graves of the Native Americans killed in the same battles buried by the dutiful pioneers.

Check cemeteries in neighboring communities

Church Records

LDS

  • Record of members, [1877]-1907 [10]

Historical Newspapers

Museums, Societies and Libraries

Vital Records

Birth

Marriages

Death

  • Utah Department of Archives 1903 to 50 years ago
    Choices of search types - name, date of death (year, month, day, or any combination) and county.
    Images of actual death certificates.
  • Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed on the Family Search Historical Records.  Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed. A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence. For information on death prior to 1904 you can search the Utah State Burial Index.

Suggested Reading

  • The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns. [11]
  • Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures [12]
  • Brigham Young's Dixie of the desert; exploration and settlement [13]
  • A history of Washington County : from isolation to destination [14]
  • Grafton ghost town on the Rio Virgin [15]

Websites

Sources and Footnotes

  1. ↑ Carr, Stephen L. The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns. Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1972. Film: FHL 78162 Book: FHL 979.2 H2cr WorldCat 595478.
  2. ↑ Carr, Stephen L. The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns. Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1972. Film: FHL 78162 Book: FHL 979.2 H2cr WorldCat 595478.
  3. ↑ Reid, Hyrum Lorenzo; Brigham Young's Dixie of the desert; exploration and settlement WorldCat 899527 FHL 979.248 H2r
  4. ↑ Carr, Stephen L. The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns. Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1972. Film: FHL 78162 Book: FHL 979.2 H2cr WorldCat 595478.
  5. ↑ Thompson, George A; Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures WorldCat 9202286 FHL 979.2 H2tg
  6. ↑ Douglas D Alder; Karl F Brooks; A history of Washington County: from isolation to destination WorldCat 35394589 FHL 979.248 H2a
  7. ↑ Bonnett, Elaine F. ; Grafton (ghost town) [cemetery], Washington County, Utah Book: FHL 979.248/G1 V3b Film: FHL 1697360 Item 25
  8. ↑ Tombstones in Grafton, Utah FHL 979.248/G1 V3g
  9. ↑ Springdale, Rockville, Grafton and Shonesburg cemetery card file; Washington County, Utah Film: FHL 1597756 Item 12
  10. ↑ Record of members, [1877]-1907 Film: FHL 25966
  11. ↑ Carr, Stephen L. The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns. Salt Lake City, Utah: Western Epics, 1972. Film: FHL 78162 Book: FHL 979.2 H2cr WorldCat 595478.
  12. ↑ Thompson, George A; Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures WorldCat 9202286 FHL 979.2 H2tg
  13. ↑ Reid, Hyrum Lorenzo; Brigham Young's Dixie of the desert; exploration and settlement WorldCat 899527 FHL 979.248 H2r
  14. ↑ Douglas D Alder; Karl F Brooks; A history of Washington County: from isolation to destination WorldCat 35394589 FHL 979.248 H2a
  15. ↑ Lyman D. Platt ; L. Karen Platt Grafton ghost town on the Rio Virgin Book: FHL 979.248 H2p
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  • This page was last modified on 22 July 2011, at 23:23.
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