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Show NFS Form 10-900-a Utah WordPerfect 5.1 Format (Revised Feb. 1993) 0MB No 10024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section NO. 8 Page 7 Hurricane Historic District, Hurricane, Washington County, UT Hurricane residents received confirmation of their newfound permanent status in 1913, when Dr. H.H. Wilkinson and his wife moved to town. Prior to this, all medical services were rendered by Myra H. Lemmon, a nurse and midwife. 16 The H.H. Wilkinson House is located at the south end of the district, at 20 East 400 South. Public Improvement Projects Public improvement projects accompanied residential and commercial growth in Hurricane, especially after its incorporation in 1914. In 1907, Hurricane hired two teachers. 17 The first local post office was established (c. 1907) by J.L. and Mary Workman, and a social hall (demolished) was built in 1908. The Hurricane Canal Company announced plans for an electric generating plant in October of 1915, hoping to have the town "lit up for Christmas." 18 Gravel street improvements also occurred in 1915. Hurricane residents installed a drinking water system in 1918, 19 the same year a new school building (demolished) was completed for $32,000, enthusiastically financed through a town bond issue. Public sewers were first introduced in 1930. New Deal projects of the 1930's brought about a second wave of public building activity. A new twelve-room schoolhouse was completed in 1935, and a city hall/library was built in 1938. 20 Characterized by a single road leading into and out of town, Hurricane was known as the "dead end street town" by residents of surrounding communities for many years.21 Hurricane residents, however, saw the potential economic value they could generate through tourism if a strategic highway was built that placed Hurricane on the major thoroughfare between the city of St. George, Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon. For many years, town residents fervently petitioned the Utah State Legislature to build such a road. This request was finally honored as a Utah Works Progress Administration project in 1937, when a road was completed that linked Hurricane to the surrounding area.22 Since the 16Bradshaw, 409. 17Jacob T. Workman was the first teacher in Hurricane. In 1907, George Cole and Sarah Miles were both hired to educate the town's children. Demand for teachers grew steadily; by 1912, Hurricane employed four teachers and one administrator. "Washington County News. 12 October 1915. Hurricane resident Wilhelmina Hinton states, however, that electricity did not arrive until September 1917, when town officials granted a 50 year franchise to the Southern Utah Power Company (Bradshaw, 408). 19Bradshaw, 407. Prior to this, residents hauled water in buckets from nearby irrigation ditches. ^Washington County News. 1908 - 1920. Both the City Hall/Library and the schoolhouse are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 21Bradshaw, 418. 22Varley, 5. A segment of this transportation link, the Virgin River Bridge, was listed on the National Register in 1995 (Utah State Historic Preservation Office Files). X See continuation sheet |
