Hebron, Utah
Encyclopedia
Hebron is a ghost town
located on Shoal Creek in Washington County
in southwestern Utah
, United States
. Hebron was inhabited from 1862 until 1902, when the already-declining town was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake
. The present-day city of Enterprise
, 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east, was settled largely by people leaving Hebron.
area as far north as Mountain Meadows
, then explored much of the land lying south of the Escalante Desert
. They were favorably impressed with the Shoal Creek area and decided it would be a good place to settle with their families. Encouraged by the local Paiute
s, the pioneers brought their families and organized a ranch
ing community called Shoal Creek. The Pulsiphers' father, prominent LDS leader Zera Pulsipher
, moved here in the fall of 1862 and became the local presiding church officer.
A small fort was built here in 1866, when the outbreak of the Black Hawk War
caused widespread fear of Indian
attacks. The larger community of Clover Valley, located in present-day Nevada
, was evacuated and its residents moved to the Shoal Creek fort. Gardens and fodder
grew well, and the settlement began to thrive. It became an important source of supplies for the silver mining
camps of eastern Nevada, particularly Pioche
, and later for nearby Silver Reef, Utah
. In 1867 a schoolhouse was built.
In 1868, LDS Apostle Erastus Snow
came to form a congregation. The population was 75. Snow directed the surveying
of a formal townsite, which John Pulsipher named for the biblical Hebron
. Shoal Creek had been a scattered, loosely-organized settlement, but Hebron became a fast-growing town. Soon it had a hotel, several stores, freight offices, and in 1872 a telegraph office.
of substantial farms. A wooden flume
was built to bring water from a nearby spring to water Hebron's farms, but it collapsed due to excessively wet weather in 1885. One of the former Clover Valley farmers named Orson Huntsman proposed to build a large reservoir
on Shoal Creek, but the plan was controversial and received little support from his neighbors. In 1891, Huntsman had a 320 acres (129.5 ha) townsite surveyed below the proposed reservoir site, then filed a desert land entry on the land, which he called Enterprise
. After some three years of seeking investors, he organized a formal company to construct the reservoir in 1893. Hebron's leaders responded by building a new, longer aqueduct
with additional dams, ditches, and roads. They tried to keep water and residents from flowing from Hebron to Enterprise, but families began to move where the farming prospects were better.
, with an estimated magnitude
of 6 and an intensity
of VIII. Most of the rock homes in Hebron were irreparably ruined, and the exodus to Enterprise accelerated. The rest of Hebron's residents moved, selling their water right
s to the Enterprise Reservoir Company. In 1904, what was left of the town of Hebron sold all remaining water rights. The departing residents tore down the damaged buildings for the materials, leaving only rubble and a small cemetery.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
located on Shoal Creek in Washington County
Washington County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,354 people, 29,939 households, and 23,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 36,478 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
in southwestern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Hebron was inhabited from 1862 until 1902, when the already-declining town was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
. The present-day city of Enterprise
Enterprise, Utah
Enterprise is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,711 at the 2010 census. Enterprise is home to two schools, Enterprise Elementary School and Enterprise High School .-Geography:...
, 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east, was settled largely by people leaving Hebron.
Foundation
This area was explored in 1862 by a group of men led by John and Charles Pulsipher, who were herding livestock owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They drove the cattle from the St. GeorgeSt. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
area as far north as Mountain Meadows
Mountain Meadows, Utah
Mountain Meadows is an area in present-day Washington County Utah. It was a place of rest and grazing used by migrants on the Old Spanish Trail on their way overland to California.On September 11, 1857, the Mountain Meadows massacre happened here....
, then explored much of the land lying south of the Escalante Desert
Escalante Desert
The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin region and arid desert ecoregion, in the Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome, located in southwestern Utah.-Geography:...
. They were favorably impressed with the Shoal Creek area and decided it would be a good place to settle with their families. Encouraged by the local Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
s, the pioneers brought their families and organized a ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ing community called Shoal Creek. The Pulsiphers' father, prominent LDS leader Zera Pulsipher
Zera Pulsipher
Zera Pulsipher a First Seven Presidents of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
, moved here in the fall of 1862 and became the local presiding church officer.
A small fort was built here in 1866, when the outbreak of the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War (Utah)
The Black Hawk War, or Black Hawk's War, from 1865 to 1872, is the name of the estimated 150 military engagement between Mormon settlers in the Four Corners region and members of the Ute, Paiute, Apache and Navajo tribes, led by a local Ute chief, Antonga Black Hawk...
caused widespread fear of Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
attacks. The larger community of Clover Valley, located in present-day Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, was evacuated and its residents moved to the Shoal Creek fort. Gardens and fodder
Fodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
grew well, and the settlement began to thrive. It became an important source of supplies for the silver mining
Silver mining
Silver mining refers to the resource extraction of the precious metal element silver by mining.-History:Silver has been known since ancient times. It is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and slag heaps found in Asia Minor and on the islands of the Aegean Sea indicate that silver was being separated...
camps of eastern Nevada, particularly Pioche
Pioche, Nevada
-External links:*...
, and later for nearby Silver Reef, Utah
Silver Reef, Utah
Silver Reef is a ghost town in Washington County, Utah, United States, about northeast of St. George and west of Leeds. Silver Reef was established after John Kemple, a prospector from Nevada, discovered a vein of silver in a sandstone formation in 1866. At first, geologists were uncertain about...
. In 1867 a schoolhouse was built.
In 1868, LDS Apostle Erastus Snow
Erastus Snow
Erastus Fairbanks Snow , born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1849 to 1888. Snow was also a leading figure in Mormon colonization of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.Snow Canyon State Park Erastus...
came to form a congregation. The population was 75. Snow directed the surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of a formal townsite, which John Pulsipher named for the biblical Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
. Shoal Creek had been a scattered, loosely-organized settlement, but Hebron became a fast-growing town. Soon it had a hotel, several stores, freight offices, and in 1872 a telegraph office.
Decline
In common with other early settlements of Utah's Dixie, Hebron's greatest obstacles had to do with water. Originally planned as a ranching community, it lacked sufficient water for the irrigationIrrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
of substantial farms. A wooden flume
Flume
A flume is an open artificial water channel, in the form of a gravity chute, that leads water from a diversion dam or weir completely aside a natural flow. Often, the flume is an elevated box structure that follows the natural contours of the land. These have been extensively used in hydraulic...
was built to bring water from a nearby spring to water Hebron's farms, but it collapsed due to excessively wet weather in 1885. One of the former Clover Valley farmers named Orson Huntsman proposed to build a large reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
on Shoal Creek, but the plan was controversial and received little support from his neighbors. In 1891, Huntsman had a 320 acres (129.5 ha) townsite surveyed below the proposed reservoir site, then filed a desert land entry on the land, which he called Enterprise
Enterprise, Utah
Enterprise is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,711 at the 2010 census. Enterprise is home to two schools, Enterprise Elementary School and Enterprise High School .-Geography:...
. After some three years of seeking investors, he organized a formal company to construct the reservoir in 1893. Hebron's leaders responded by building a new, longer aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
with additional dams, ditches, and roads. They tried to keep water and residents from flowing from Hebron to Enterprise, but families began to move where the farming prospects were better.
Destruction
On November 17, 1902, Hebron was severely damaged by an earthquake centered at Pine ValleyPine Valley, Utah
Pine Valley, Utah is an unincorporated town in Washington County, Utah, United States that lies approximately 45 minutes north of the county seat, St. George. It is located at the head of the Santa Clara River in the Pine Valley Mountains, and was settled in 1859...
, with an estimated magnitude
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
of 6 and an intensity
Mercalli intensity scale
The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude M_w usually reported for an earthquake , which is a measure of the energy released...
of VIII. Most of the rock homes in Hebron were irreparably ruined, and the exodus to Enterprise accelerated. The rest of Hebron's residents moved, selling their water right
Water right
Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious...
s to the Enterprise Reservoir Company. In 1904, what was left of the town of Hebron sold all remaining water rights. The departing residents tore down the damaged buildings for the materials, leaving only rubble and a small cemetery.