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Show History Of Cotton Industry In South Utah Is Related i First Cotton Grown In Utah In Summer of 1855 By Indian Missionaries By H. L. REID (Editor's Note With the great interest being taken in the settling sett-ling of St. George at this time, the following story on the growing grow-ing of cotton in this section is of particular interest. Mr. Reid has made a thorough study of the early history of this region and is therefore in a position to present a true picture of the ' growing of cotton in this section.) The valley of the Rio Virgin1 below Zion National Park has 1 been, for many yearsj known as ' Utah's Dixie. The name was af-1 fectionately applied by the early settlers who, under the direction of Brigiiam Young, entered the 1 valley for the purpose of raising 1 cotton. The . first cotton was grown during the summer of 1855, by a small group of Indian missionaries mission-aries who had been sent into the region during the winter of 1854-55 in an effort to keep the Indians from attacking the gold-seekers, gold-seekers, enroute to California over the Old Spanish Trail. In an effort to teach the Indians to produce their own supplies, instead in-stead of stealing them from the whitemen, this little group of missionaries, aided by the Redman, Red-man, constructed a canal and undertook to teach the Indians the art of irrigation. Almost by chance a small quantity of cotton seed was obtained ob-tained from a Mrs. Anderson of Parowan, Utah, a former resi-I resi-I dent of the southern states. This ' seed was planted and the crop I husbanded with care. Sufficient i.iint was secured to produce some thirty-five yards of cloth, spun by the wives of the misionaries. I The raising of this cotton and I the production of the cloth was fully reported to Brig-ham Young at Salt Lake City and a small I (Continued on Page 10) History Of. Cotton Industry In South Utah Is Related By Prof. H. L. Reid ...ASwrs is? .rtu-au' Soon this bit of cloth became the object of considerable comment Men of experience In the production produc-tion of cotton, and especially one Dr. Garland Hurt of the United States Indian Service, but formerly form-erly a cotton producer of the south, were enthusiastic in their praise of the quality of this cloth, and as a result Brigham Young and his co-laborers began to dream of the possibilities of southern Utah as a possible cotton cot-ton producing region. This small sample of cloth, produced at Santa Clara, Utah, was next sent to Messrs. Bully and Raffles, cotton cot-ton brokers, Liverpool, England, with the request that they submit sub-mit a report as to the quality and possibilities. The report was favorable. fav-orable. They expresssed them selves as considering "it quite ' worth while to turn attention to its growth as a probable source of future profit". Being thus encouraged, . Brig-ham Brig-ham Young now proceeded to strengthen the struggling settlements settle-ments of southern Utah. Additional Addi-tional families were called to go south, and a fort, as a protection protec-tion against possible Indian attacks, at-tacks, was built at Santa Clara, j Utah, during the winter of 1856-57. 1856-57. In order to test more thoroughly thor-oughly the possibilities of the region, a small colony of twenty-eight twenty-eight families, mostly former residents resi-dents of the cotton producing states of the old South, were sent into the Rio Virgin in the spring of 1857. This company settled at Washington, Utah, under the leadership of Bishop Robert D. Covington, but in view of the fact that many of them became discouraged because of the excessive ex-cessive heat and hard work, a number .of them leaving, the test was of little practical value. Being encouraged and yet not fully satisfied, a hand-picked company of nineteen men was now equipped and sent to the Rio Virgin in January 1858, to I psta.Wisti themselves on what is now known as the Price bench, some five miles south of St. George. The experiment was continued con-tinued during two seasons, 1858 and 1859, and although only moderately successful it served to convince the leaders that cotton could be produced to advantage in the valley of the Rio Virgin. The American Civil War was the factor that gave a real and substantial impetus to the cotton industry in southern Utah. In November of 18 60, Abraham Lin-l Lin-l coin was elected President of the United States, and during the i following winter the States of the South seceded and established a the Confederacy. Realizing that a war between the States would I disrupt the cotton industry of 1 the Nation, the movement was watched with keen interest by 3 Brigham Young and his associ-? associ-? . . ates, and immediately upon the Outbreak of hostilities they decided de-cided that thf; time was opportune for the estoblishement of a cotton producing colony that they might be prepared to clothe their own people. On the 12 th day of April, 1861," the guns of the Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter and thus announced the opening of the Civil War. On May 1st, scarcely three weeks later, Brigham Brig-ham Young and a group of his companions were upon the Rio Virgin, scouting for a location of a cotton colony. They made a hurried survey of the region from the mouth of Zion Canyon to the site of St. .George. Plans were laid for an immediate call of settlers, and in October, 18 61, at the semi-annual Conference of the Church, famines were canea from over fifty different communities communi-ties throughout Mormondom. Three hundred and nine families responded to the call and after a hurried preparation they arrived ar-rived in Utah's Dixie during the first week of December, 1861. These families distributed themselves them-selves throughout the various communities com-munities from Springdale, at the , mouth of Zion Canyon, to St. .George, the ecclestical and commercial com-mercial head of the colony. Cotton Cot-ton production was their primary prim-ary motive. Utah's Dixie was to produce the cotton necessary to clothe the Mormon people, the surplus to be sold in the outside out-side markets. Boats of commerce were to navigate the Colorado river up to the mouth of the Virgin, and over this -route the commerce of the region , was to float to and from the world markets. In 18 63 the Rio Virgin Manufacturing company was or-ganized or-ganized with its central mill and ' its various gins. The cotton mill, 'known for many yeaTs as "Brig-' "Brig-' 'ham Young's Cotton Mill" was , built at Washington, Utah, in ,1864, the machinery for the same being drawn by ox teams over i irAQa from t.lip it.ne joiig: r"6" 'ivv ---- Missouri river to Salt Lake City and thence down to the Rio Virgin. Many difficulties were encountered, encount-ered, but in spite of these obstacles, ob-stacles, hundreds of thousands of pounds of cotton were produced and made into cloth. The greater part of cotton produced was consumed con-sumed at home although a por- ... Ac tion of it found its way mio me -world markets. During the years from 18 63 to well into the 80's the ootton industry continued as a vital part of the life of southern south-ern Utah. As the years passed, the Rio Virgin valley was found not to be so very well adapted to the production of cotton, and with the increase of transportation, transporta-tion, facilities throughout the West the industry completely disappeared, disap-peared, only the name Utah's Dixie, remaining as a memory of days gone by. |