Hebron, Utah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hebron
Ghost town
Hebron Location in Utah Show map of Utah Hebron Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Washington
Settled	1862 (1862)
Abandoned	1902 (1902)
Named for	Hebron
Elevation	5,476 ft (1,669 m)
GNIS feature ID	1455698

Hebron is a ghost town located in Washington County, in the southwestern part of Utah, United States. It was a small community that existed from 1862 until 1902. The town slowly declined and was eventually destroyed by a strong earthquake. Many people who lived in Hebron later moved to the nearby city of Enterprise, which is about 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east.

The Story of Hebron, Utah

How Hebron Was Founded

In 1862, a group of men led by John and Charles Pulsipher explored this area. They were looking for good places to graze livestock owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They really liked the Shoal Creek area and thought it would be a great spot for their families to settle.

With encouragement from the local Paiute people, the pioneers brought their families. They started a ranching community and called it Shoal Creek. John and Charles's father, Zera Pulsipher, who was an important leader in the Church, moved there in the fall of 1862. He became the local leader for the community.

Building a Fort and Growing the Town

In 1866, a small fort was built in Shoal Creek. This happened because people were worried about attacks during the Black Hawk War. Residents from a larger community called Clover Valley in Nevada moved to the Shoal Creek fort for safety.

The settlement started to do well. Gardens grew, and there was plenty of fodder (food for animals). Shoal Creek became an important place for providing supplies to silver mining towns in eastern Nevada, like Pioche. Later, it also supplied the nearby town of Silver Reef, Utah. A schoolhouse was built in 1867.

In 1868, a Church leader named Erastus Snow came to organize a formal congregation. The population was 75 people. Snow helped plan out a proper town layout. John Pulsipher named the new town Hebron, after the ancient city of Hebron mentioned in the Bible. Shoal Creek had been spread out, but Hebron quickly grew into a busy town. It soon had a hotel, several stores, offices for shipping goods, and by 1872, even a telegraph office.

Why Hebron Declined

Like many early towns in southern Utah, Hebron faced big challenges with water. The town was first planned for ranching, but it didn't have enough water to grow large farms. A wooden flume (a channel for water) was built to bring water from a nearby spring to the farms. However, it broke apart in 1885 because of too much wet weather.

The Idea of a New Reservoir

A former farmer from Clover Valley named Orson Huntsman suggested building a large reservoir on Shoal Creek. But many people in Hebron didn't support his idea. In 1891, Huntsman had a 320-acre (1.3 km²) townsite surveyed below where he wanted to build the reservoir. He then claimed the land, calling it Enterprise.

After looking for investors for about three years, Huntsman started a company in 1893 to build the reservoir. The leaders in Hebron tried to keep their water and residents. They built a new, longer aqueduct with more dams, ditches, and roads. But families began to move to Enterprise, where the farming opportunities seemed much better.

The End of Hebron

On November 17, 1902, a strong earthquake hit Hebron. It was centered near Pine Valley and was very powerful. Most of the stone homes in Hebron were so badly damaged that they couldn't be fixed. This made even more people move to Enterprise.

The remaining residents of Hebron left, selling their water rights (permission to use water) to the Enterprise Reservoir Company. By 1904, what was left of Hebron had sold all its remaining water rights. The people who left tore down the damaged buildings to reuse the materials. This left behind only rubble and a small cemetery.