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Show The group settled the area on February II, 1858. A dam was constructed across the river and a log house, 16 by 27 feet, was constructed. The Horne group began to plant cotton on May 6, 1858. Thr name Heberville wa~ chosen in honor of Heber C. Kimball, one of the Mormon leaders who most strongly supported the cotton raising efforts. Although the Horne group experienced a flood that carried away their first dam and incurred continual illness due to a lack of drinking water, by November, 1858, the group left Hebervil Ie for Salt Lake City with 575 pounds of cotton and 160 gal Ions of molasses, the rewards of nine hard months of toil. (The cost of this Heberville cotton was estimated to be $3.40 per pound, but included the cost to build both the dams and the canals to irrigate the crops.) Horne returned again in 1859, and despite heavy rains, floods and maleria, the group returned to Salt Lake City with another healthy crop of cotton and molasses. The cotton1s cost this year totalled $1.90 per pound. While this cost was sti II too high to practically sustain a large cotton raising operation, the Norman leaders felt the Heberville experiment, along with the efforts of Santa Clara and Washington, were sufficiently successful to enable them to begin planning for a large scale permanent settlement of the area. At this point, the Heberville farm was temporari ly abandoned, although when St. George, Utah, was settled in 1861, the settlers returned to the Hebervi lIe site and found the log cabin intact and unpicked cotton still growing on some of the land. Before reaching a final decision to embark on a large scale colonization of the area, Brigham Young personally visited Dixie in 1861 to survey the area. The Civil War had already begun which added to the urgency of establishing a secure cotton supply. The Mormon leader also hoped that enough cotton could be grown to sustain a steady export to the Eastern States as the territory was badly in need of cash crops. Young was deeply touched by his visit to the area that a variety of his aides had described so enthusiastically. He traveled as far South as the village of Tonaquint. (There were twelve famil ies I iving there at the time.) A.K. Larson describes Brigham Young1s reaction to Dixie as he stood in the area that is now Bloomington: Just beyond the Tonaquint he stopped ... His gaze dwelt upon the snow-capped cloud-touched Pine Valley Mountain raising its head majestically in the North, and then upon its foothi lIs of vermillion set in a foil of black lava runs; his eyes took in the panorama of color stretching in all directions. He stood and measured the earth and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow... Brigham Young looked He saw trees and fields and homes softening the harsh in silence. contours of the grand reI ief map that stretched from his feet to the wide horizon; and then with a sweep of his arm, he spoke impressively to his attentive listeners: "There wi II yet be bui It, between the volcanic ridges, a city, with spires, towers and steeples, with homes containing many inhabitants II A.J. Larson III was called to Dixie ll quoting James G. Blake, annuals of the Southern Utah mission, Book A, page 75. |
