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Show NPS Form 10-g00-a Mi.crosoft Word 2.0 Format OMB No. 10024-0018 United States Department of the Interior Noai Park Service National Register of Continuation Sheet Section No. -1L Historic Page JL Places Grafton Historic District. Grafton. Washington County. UT of The Cotton Mission played a key role in the drive for self-sufficiency, for it was down in the more temperate climate of "Dixie" (southern Utah) that commodities such as cotton, flax, hemp, sugar cane, wine grapes and ?ASl,JC ~ ssfully. Exploration parties set out for the Santa Clara and Virgin River basins in the figs could early 1850s . 1857 and 1858 small parties were sent to settle the region. By the spring of 1859, the population irn City had reached critical mass, and that fall six families led by Nathan Cram Tenney were called from Virgin City to settle Grafton, named after a town in Massachusetts. 5 f\.. Old Grafton / /O ifo-k{ 0f~~ The families of Nathan C. Tenney, Benjamin Platt, Don Carlos Shirts, William R. Davies, Hyrum Barney and James McFate were listed at the beginning of the 1860 Virgin City Census 6 although they lived at Grafton. 7 They chose a site on the south side of the "Rio Virgen" approximately six miles upstream of Virgin City.8 They promptly began building a dam, laying out a system of ditches, and clearing the land with the intention of growing cotton. 9 In March, 1860 Grafton was organized as Precinct no. 8 of Washington County, and the following appointments were made: James McFate as justice of the peace, Darius Shirts as constable, Benjamin pas pound keeper, and Nathan Tenney as road supervisor~(L.rS The weather cooperated with the pioneers in 1860, and the cr s were a success. That summer 105 acres had been planted, including twenty-five of wheat, ten of cotton, n of sugar cane, and twenty-five of corn. 11 It was clear, however, that crops alone would not sustain the , and by 1861 the faW')ers had added cattle ranching to their operations. This industry would become increasingly important for--tb:9,e~'(jrvival~ ~, as farming was difficult and unpredictable. The winter of 1860-1 was harsh, and floods in January destroyed the dam and carried much of the settlers' work down the river. After more flooding during the following fall it became clear that this location was not habitable. A new town site was chosen one mile up the river, and preparations were made to establish the new community (see 1861 Grafton Survey Maps). A meeting was held on December 13th, 186~.and Chandler Holbrook was named surveyor with John Nebeker and William Branch assigned to assist him; Chapman Duncan was appointed as foreman of the new water ditch; Nathan Tenney became)he chief herdsman; and Franklin W. Young was elected as both the first;3ishop of the newly organized Grafton ~q)md the first post master for a new ~~ ~~ \AJ<~ 'b -.X..see continuation sheet 5Ronald C. Ballard. "On the Banks of the Rio 6see Appendix. 7The first U.S. Census taken at Grafton was in 1870. Families settled there in 1860 were listed at the ing of the Virgin City census. / 8 ew Jenson. Encyclopedic lIistory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, )l-P 293-4. 9Deseret News, May 23, 1860,qi93. 10Andrew Jenson. History of the Grafton Ward, 1860. 11 Church Historian's Office. Journal History of the Church, July 22, 1860,j p2. bO° |
