Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission (for which I am very grateful for) at no extra cost to you.

Southwestern Utah is known for its scenery, especially the towering monoliths and narrow canyons of Zion National Park and the red rock splendor of Snow Canyon State Park. There is more to it than its beauty. Southwestern Utah has a fascinating history to match. Much of the history shows the determination of early settlers to thrive in what was once considered a barren wasteland not worthy of settlement. These 15 Utah historical sites are the perfect addition to your Utah road trip in between your exploration of the impressive landscape in this corner of the Beehive State.

1. Brigham Young Winter home and Jacob Hamblin home

The first two Southwestern Utah historical sites are homes of important members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The Brigham Young Winter Home in downtown St. George, Utah and the Jacob Hamblin Home in Santa Clara, Utah are the perfect places to learn more about early pioneer efforts in Southern Utah. Brigham Young spent the last few winters of his life in this home and helped spur on the construction of the St. George Temple while there. Jacob Hamblin was an important early LDS settler because of his work as a missionary to the Native Americans.

Each house reflects the personality of its most famous inhabitant. The Brigham Young home is more refined and the Jacob Hamblin home is more rugged. These Utah historical sites provide a fascinating view into the story of the early settlement of Utah’s Dixie with period artifacts and knowledgeable and friendly senior missionaries as guides.

2. Butch Cassidy Boyhood Home

Born of LDS pioneer stock in Beaver, Utah on April 13, 1866, Robert LeRoy Parker, who became the infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy, spent his teenage years in this cabin just south of the Garfield-Piute county line. It is from this home that he left and started his outlaw career, which included bank and train robberies on two continents.

This Utah historical site was restored thanks to a partnership between the two counties, Utah State Parks, the Paiute ATV Trail Committee, the landowner, and others. The two-room cabin is not just a run-of-the-mill pioneer home. Instead, it is something special rich with history making it a wonderful stop while traveling Utah’s scenic stretch of U.S. Highway 89.

Check out this post to learn more about the best scenic drives in Utah.

In addition to the cabin, the site includes interpretive signs about the outlaw as well as a picnic area and pit toilets. After visiting the site, visitors can decide for themselves whether Butch Cassidy was a dastardly bandit or a loveable folk hero.

3. Frontier Homestead State Park Museum

Formerly known as Iron Mission State Park, Frontier Homestead State Park Museum presents the early pioneer and industrial history of Iron County. The museum contains a Native American heritage exhibit, restored historic buildings, a sawmill, a replica blast furnace and an extensive horse-drawn wagon collection. It is a wonderful stop for children with numerous hands-on activities and special events throughout the year.

If you want to explore more of the Utah State Parks, check out the Best State Parks in Utah.

4. Grafton

Grafton is easily the most famous ghost town in Utah. Located four miles west of Rockville via a mostly-paved road, Grafton could be a picturesque historic stop on the way to Zion National Park. Grafton became a town of the ghost variety because its settlers fought a losing battle with the Virgin River, which frequently flooded.

In addition to its breathtaking surroundings, Grafton gained its fame as a once-popular Western movie filming location, including the likes of In Old Arizona (1929), the first Western movie with sound, to the academy-award-winning Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Its two most notable historic gems are the restored Alonzo Russell home and the former schoolhouse. Both were recently restored thanks to the Grafton Heritage Partnership, Washington County, the Grand Canyon Trust and some other wealthy benefactors. There are no services in Grafton as it is preserved as a ghost town with no additional infrastructure — nothing that was not there before.

Check out this post for other fun things to do near Zion National Park.

5. Hurricane Canal

The Hurricane Canal is the story of the establishment of Hurricane itself. The thought of building a canal in the area was first entertained in the mid 1860s, but engineers at that time said it couldn’t be done. In 1893, however, two local leaders strongly felt that a canal was a possibility. They formed the Hurricane Canal Company to start the task. Using rudimentary instruments, including picks, shovels and dynamite, the canal slowly came to fruition. Workers basically paid for the canal with their work with the promise of 20 acres to farm on the Hurricane Bench upon the canal’s completion.

The canal took 11 years to finish. This was partly because the company ran into financial troubles. The LDS church solved this by purchasing $5,000 worth of stock in the company. Upon completion in 1904, settlement began. From day one “ditch riders” rode the canal route on horseback to ensure it was flowing properly and to check for leaks. In the 1980s, the installment of pressurized irrigation and the construction of nearby Quail Creek Reservoir rendered the canal obsolete. Visitors can see remnants of the canal at two access points in town: the very eastern end of 200 North (Canal Trail) and the very southern end of 60 East (Three Falls Trail).

6. LaVerkin Hydroelectric Plant

Located in the gorge below and just west of the Hurricane-LaVerkin Bridge, the old LaVerkin Hydroelectric Plant was part of the Dixie Power system and operated from 1929 to 1983. It was not water from the river directly below it that powered its turbine, but river water farther upstream that made its way through the LaVerkin Canal and a penstock.

At first, the plant’s caretaker and his family inhabited the living quarters on the building’s top floor, but that didn’t last long because the power-generating equipment was too loud.

The plant is located in Washington County’s Confluence Park, near where Ash and LaVerkin creeks feed into the Virgin River. It is accessed via the Confluence Trail. Washington County is currently working on restoring the building as it has fallen into disrepair and become the unfortunate target of vandalism.

7. Leeds CCC Camp

The Leeds Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp holds the distinction of being the only former CCC camp location in Utah with buildings still standing. Most camps were erected with the thought that they would be only temporary, but in Leeds the buildings were built from repurposed stone from the nearby Silver Reef ghost town.

At the site, visitors can see buildings such as the dispensary, where CCC enrollees received their paychecks, and an infirmary, among others. In Washington County, the CCC did a lot of flood and erosion control projects that are not as noticeable, but they were also responsible for structures with a prominent place in the landscape, including Zion National Park’s south entrance sign. The former Leeds CCC camp is located at the very north end of Mulberry Lane in the west side of town.

8. Little Hollywood Museum

Buffalo Bill Cody, Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok, the Lone Ranger, George Custer, Daniel Boone, Black Bart, and Calamity Jane have all graced the area in and around Kanab — at least actors playing them have. That’s because the Kanab area was once “Utah’s Hollywood” for its role as the backdrop for many movies of the Western genre.

Well-known movies such as Buffalo Bill, Pony Express,  Sergeants 3 and The Outlaw Josey Wales were all filmed in the area as well as TV shows such as “Death Valley Days” and “Gunsmoke.” The production companies regularly used locals as extras.

The Little Hollywood Museum is a wonderful place to catch a glimpse of and learn about that Western movie lore with set pieces from The Outlaw Josey Wales. Other places to see relics of the town’s movie-making past are the Parry Lodge, where many stars stayed while filming, and Denny’s Wigwam.

Kanab is also the perfect spot for an adventure hub. Check out this post for 11 things to do in Kanab.

• 

• 

9. Mountain Meadows Massacre Site

While much less “fun” than any other Utah historical sites on this list, the Mountain Meadows Massacre is a must-see. Here you will learn about what many consider the blackest day in the history of the LDS Church. The massacre was fueled by rising tensions toward the LDS nationwide and by the members of an overland wagon train from Arkansas whose members allegedly boasted of being in the mob that killed church founder Joseph Smith. Local settlers gunned down 120 members of that travelling party, leaving only 17 children under the age of 7 alive.

It is beyond reason why a group of law-abiding, God-fearing citizens could commit such a heinous act and have done nothing even similar before or after for the rest of their lives. In the last few decades, healing in the aftermath has begun as church leaders have met with descendants of the party. Both the church and a descendant group formed a coalition to erect a monument and interpretive panels at the site.

The site, designated a national historic landmark in 2011, includes four places to visit. These include a hill overlooking the meadow with several interpretive panels, a monument at the site where the massacre happened and the victims were buried in a mass grave, as well as two separate victim memorials, one for the men and one for the women, a little farther north.

10. Old Irontown

Old Irontown holds the distinction of allegedly becoming “Utah’s first ghost town” as its short life spanned less than two decades. As the name suggests, the town was a failed pioneer-era attempt at iron production. For the most part, it only produced small items such as boot jacks and hand irons. However, it did produce the iron ore used to sculpt the oxen underneath the St. George LDS Temple’s baptismal font.

The two main things that led to the town’s demise were lack of capital to keep it going and transportation hurdles due to its isolated location. The most prominent remnant of iron production is an intact kiln preserved by sheer luck as well as a chimney of the old molding house and the ruins of a few private residences. Old Irontown is located approximately 30 minutes west of Cedar City on State Highway 56.

11. Parowan Gap

The Parowan Gap north of Cedar City and west of Parowan is a petroglyph paradise. It is one of the largest concentrated collections of petroglyphs in the American West. Left by the Fremont people starting in about 500 A.D., the most unique rock art at the Gap is what is known as the “zipper glyph”. This is a prime example of the differences in interpretation of the Gap petroglyphs.

In the astroarchaeological perspective, the zipper is a map of the site, showing how the solstices and equinoxes align with it. However, according to the Paiute tribe, the descendants of the Fremont people responsible for the rock art, the glyph is about a man’s journey and a few other events, such as people starving.

One of the fun things each visitor gets to do is interpret the petroglyphs for him or herself, but probably no one will ever know what they truly mean.

About two miles east of the Gap is another fun site, the Dinosaur Tracks Trail, which features dinosaur tracks. It also looks like mother nature fashioned a rock garden on a grand scale as large rocks of varying shapes and sizes sit evenly spaced on the spot. 

12. Pine Valley Chapel

The Pine Valley Chapel, finished in 1868, is one of the more quirky Southwestern Utah historical sites. Allegedly, the church could float if overturned because construction was spearheaded by shipbuilder Ebenezer Bryce (the namesake of Bryce Canyon). It also holds the distinction of being the chapel in longest continuous use in the LDS Church. The tour is worth it. Visitors can admire its pioneer craftsmanship, including wooden pegs bound with green hides which became as strong as steel when dried. A striking structure itself, it stands in a picturesque little town surrounded by mountains only 45 minutes north of St. George.

13. Silver Reef

Silver Reef, located just north of Leeds, is Southern Utah’s version of a mining boomtown and is the only place in the United States where silver was found in sandstone. In fact, the disbelief that silver could be found in sandstone delayed its development, which started in earnest in the 1870s on lots that were first known as “Rockpile” but its eventual moniker was adopted by silver chloride deposits in the nearby white sandstone reef.

The Silver Reef Museum is housed in the former Wells Fargo office, which is the best-preserved building in the town, spared from a devastating fire during the town’s heyday. The museum preserves relics from the town’s past and tells the stories of some of its most prominent residents. It also boasts a mine shaft exhibit in its basement. Two other preserved buildings, a re-creation of a former restaurant, as well as numerous ruins stand nearby.

14. St. George Tabernacle and Temple

These two stately edifices stand as testaments to pioneer resolve and determination to make the desert “blossom as a rose.” The tabernacle, finished in 1871, and the temple, finished in 1877, were a way second LDS Church President Brigham Young saw to keep the community engaged in a good cause. Along with viewing the buildings, visitors can hike two short quarry trails associated with these buildings’ construction.

The Temple Quarry Trail leads to the spot where volcanic rock was extracted to use as part of the temple’s foundation and the Sandstone Quarry Trail next to Dixie Red Hills Golf Course leads to the spot where pioneers quarried the sandstone used in the construction of both buildings. The recently renovated Tabernacle is open for tours, but the temple, open only to LDS members in good standing, is currently under renovation. All visitors can learn more about its construction and history at the Temple Visitor Center.

• 

• 

15. Zion Tunnel

In today’s political and environmental climate, there is no way this tunnel could be built. But back in the 1930s the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel through Zion National park was considered both an engineering marvel and a much-needed transportation link.

The 1.1 mile tunnel has stood as a monument to engineering resolve and interagency cooperation since its completion in 1930. Not only was it a boon to the local economy by bringing in more tourists, but it also provided a vital thoroughfare between Washington and Kane counties. The tunnel literally opened up a whole new world by offering access to east Zion with its different formations and wildlife than found in Zion Canyon via the park’s south entrance.

Requiring three years to build using dynamite and shovels powered by air compression, the tunnel and connecting highway reduced the travel time to Bryce Canyon by half. Even though it only cut the distance to the North Rim of Grand Canyon by 16 miles, it cut travel time by a third because of the better roads along the new route. Visitors can turn their car lights on, honk their horns and enjoy this piece of history, albeit without the six original galleries cars could pull into to get an expansive view.

To explore more of the east side of Zion National Park, check out this Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort Review.

Southwestern Utah Historical Sites

This guest post about the amazing Southwestern Utah Historical Sites was written by Reuben Wadsworth. You can find him @rangerreub on both Instagram and Facebook. He is the author of the St. George News “Days Series,” which covers the fascinating history of Southern Utah, Northern Arizona and Southern Nevada.

He has compiled many of those feature stories into the Red Rock Recollections book series. Volume I covers interesting historical places in Utah’s Washington County (the southwestern corner of the state). Volume II covers other compelling places in the region outside of Utah’s Dixie.

Have you visited any of these Utah historical sites? Which was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Sharing is caring!