Hildale, Utah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hildale, Utah
City
Approaching Hildale in the evening from the northwest on Utah State Route 59
Location in Washington County and the U.S. state of Utah
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Washington
Founded	1913
Incorporated (town)	December 9, 1963
Incorporated (city)	March 20, 1990
Area
• Total	9.053 sq mi (23.447 km2)
• Land	9.053 sq mi (23.447 km2)
• Water	0.000 sq mi (0.000 km2)
Elevation	5,128 ft (1,563 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,127
• Estimate  (2022)	1,184
• Density	211.3/sq mi (81.57/km2)
Time zone	UTC–7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC–6 (MDT)
ZIP Code	84784
Area code(s)	435
FIPS code	49-35300
GNIS feature ID	2410763
Sales tax	6.45%

Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2020 census.

Hildale is located on the border of Utah and Arizona.

History

Hildale, formerly known as Short Creek Community, was founded in 1913 by members of the Council of Friends, a breakaway group from the Salt Lake City–based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Hildale and its border city of Colorado City, Arizona, have an interwoven history with their shared claims of "Short Creek."

Early years

In 1914 a small school was built, followed by a post office. Much of Hildale's history is wrapped up in its association with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), and two additional polygamist breakoffs. Throughout the majority of its history, community members faced scrutiny and government intervention. In 1953 Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle ordered a raid of the surrounding community which lead to many arrests. The following year, the Utah government attempted the same. The two events are collectively known as The Short Creek raids. Utah continued its enforcement by separating children from Families, starting with the family of Vera Black.

The FLDS church's private trust, which evolved into a charitable trust, was the United Effort Plan. A major component of that trust included members of the church "consecrating", or donating, their property to the trust, with the understanding it would be put to its best use. Because of this practice, and increasing wealth that the trust purchased property, a vast majority of the real property in Hildale was controlled by single legal entity which wielded quite a bit of power, and influenced land-use decisions. The majority of the area was developed as very low-density, with large homes to accommodate complex family structures, and a great deal of agricultural land. After the trust's control was taken by Utah in 2005, then transitioned back to a board, the large square footage homes that originally housed multiple families, has complicated the homes being transitioned back for private use.

Hildale eventually incorporated as a town in 1963, and a city in 1990.

Flash flood

During a flash flood on September 14, 2015, at least 12 members of two related families from the community were killed while stopped in a low water crossing at the mouth of Maxwell Canyon in Hildale. A thirteenth person was still missing as of March 16, 2021. The flooding resulted from the moisture from Hurricane Linda.

Religious discrimination charges

In 2016, in United States V. Town of Colorado City Arizona, of which Hildale was also a defendant, the jury found that both cities, and associated corporations had violated various provisions of the Policing Act, The Fair Housing Act, and had multiple violations of discrimination against people who were not in good favor of the FLDS church, and its leaders.

“engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violated the federal Fair Housing Act by:” making housing unavailable or denying housing opportunities to individuals because of religion[;] discriminating against non-FLDS individuals in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of religion[; and] coercing, intimidating, threatening, or interfering with an individual in the exercise or enjoyment of the right to equal housing opportunities or the right to equal treatment in the terms, conditions, privileges, and services in connection with housing, or on account of that individual having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of those rights.

Post-Warren Jeffs leadership

The Hildale land held by the UEP, under government oversight, was being offered to beneficiaries who could prove they had possessed the land, or otherwise had valid claims to it. Distrust of government officials left much of the land unclaimed. People who had left the FLDS church in previous decades, including some "lost boys," began returning to accept these claims which has led to a major population shift.

In 2017, Donia Jessop who had left the church and returned just the year before to Hildale, ran successfully for mayor. This was the first time in the community's history that both a woman had been elected, and the first time a non-member of the FLDS faith had been elected. The election received major pushback, with the current serving government initially locking her out of the offices and refusing her entry. 15 employees and board members would go on to resign before she was sworn in, refusing to work with her. In 2018, on the day of her swearing in, in an act of protest, all the remaining city council members who were within the FLDS church resigned. Combined with the few newly sworn in City council members who were not FLDS, the result was a new mayor with a completely replaced city council following special elections to fill the vacated seats.

While the population decreased significantly between 2010 and 2015, since this transition of leadership, efforts have been made to both welcome and provide resources to people who leave the faith, but also invite all who have moved away to return to the community. This has included working alongside Colorado City leaders, who have made similar efforts to make their community more open to outsiders, including a large branch of Mohave Community college, and the opening of the communities' first bars.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.053 square miles (23.45 km²), all land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hildale has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Demographics

Education

Hildale is within the Washington County School District.

The earliest school, when the city was founded in 1914 was across the border, funded by Mohave County, Arizona. Various schools were built and used, by 1998, the city's elementary-age students attended the Phelps School in Hildale while many older students attended school in Colorado City Unified School District in Arizona. In early 2000, local religious leaders encouraged families to withdraw their children from public schools, with over a thousand students transitioning to homeschool across all grades, similarly, the schools saw major teacher resignations which effectively led to their closures. Utah contracted with Arizona for remaining public school students to attend schools across the border.

In 2014 Washington County School District purchased the old Phelps Elementary Building and a building next to it. After a quick remodel, the old Phelps Elementary School was reopened as Water Canyon School, which originally served K-12. Two years later, the building next to Phelps was completed, and opened as Water Canyon High School. The completion of the high school allowed Water Canyon School to become K-8. By 2020 Enrollment had increased significantly and the school expanded with a new Career and technical education building and athletic facilities. In 2021, Utah Tech University opened an extension campus within the high school.

See also

In Spanish: Hildale (Utah) para niños