Ghosts Since Grafton has the label of being a “ghost town” we get a lot people asking about ghosts. ViloDeMille told her Grafton ghost story to musician Phillip Bimstein. He and his band Red Rock Rondo composed a song about it Back and Forthfrom one world to the other. Katherine Bailey sent us a copy…
Russell Home Thanks to funds provided by the Utah Division of State History’s matching grant program and the Town of Rockville, funds were used to complete work on the Russell Home. Repair work included new wood roof shingles on the south side of the home and lathe and plaster replacement on walls and ceilings in…
Here are some activities we accomplished this past year. Over the years there has been damage to Russell Home from the back rain gutter overflowing onto the back adobe wall. In looking at the gutter it was very small so we had a new gutter put on that is twice the size. It should handle rain coming off the roof more efficiently.
Doris Cantrell remembers a story about Franklin. She wrote: Franklin was born in 1863, son of Alonzo H. Russell and as an adult he was a friend to the Indians. When the Indians came, he would go to his attic where he had flour stored for the winter and get a fifty pound sack. Then he would put…
Yes, 1862 to 2012 makes 150 years. However, there was the prelude when Nathan Tenney led six families up the Virgin River and founded Grafton’s predecessor, only to have it washed away by the famous flood of 1861, necessitating its re-founding in 1862 up the river two miles and on higher ground. For 50 years there was a…
Grafton is Listed on the National Register of Historic Places The history of Grafton gives us many examples of dedication to hard work and sacrifice. The “Grafton Historic District” encompasses 62 acres of the historic town site settled in l862. Contributing cultural and natural resources include four residences, a schoolhouse, pastures and orchards, roads, fences, and a…
Settlers used other methods to irrigate their land besides the historic canals and ditches. This 1898 photograph shows three men working on a water wheel which raised water from a short feeder canal alongside the Virgin River up to a wooden flume about twenty feet higher than the river which provided water for crops. The picture was taken by Howard R. Driggs…
JosephWright and his second wife, Mary Ann Fryer, came Utah’s Dixie in 1862. He raised cattle and “blooded” horses and was butcher by trade. After settling at Duncan’s Retreat, three miles west of Grafton, he sent two of his sons from his first marriage, William and Joseph to California, where they purchased the first horse powered…
Today, the Grafton Cemetery is an historical monument that provides a unique opportunity for area visitors to learn about early pioneer settlement and Grafton’s human history. It serves as a cultural legacy to the many families who are descendants of Grafton settlers. The Grafton Heritage Partnership (Partnership) entered into a cooperative management agreement with the Bureau of Land…
Interpretive Signs The signs and new expanded brochure are finished. We hope you enjoy reading them the next time Victor Hall of Hurricane helped with the editing along with many others. Jim Peters of Interpretative Graphics helped fabricate and will install the signs. We will install one sign near the schoolhouse and one at the cemetery as well as two side panels in the window of…