Paria, Utah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paria, Utah
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Site of Paria, October 2011
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 Paria, Utah
Location in Utah
Paria, Utah
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Kane |
| Established | 1870 |
| Abandoned | 1929 |
| Named for | Paria River |
| Elevation | 4,747 ft (1,447 m) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1455097 |
Paria (pronounced pah-REE-uh) is a ghost town in Utah. It sits near the Paria River in the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument. A ghost town is a place where everyone has left. Paria was a real town from 1870 to 1929. Later, it became a popular spot for making movies.
Contents
The Story of Paria: A Pioneer Town
Early Settlers and Challenges
The Paria area was first settled in 1865. A group of Mormon pioneers, led by Peter Shirts, arrived. They called their first settlement Rockhouse. This was because Peter Shirts built a very strong house from sandstone.
After a conflict called the Black Hawk War ended in 1867, more settlers came. For a few years, farming was good. However, getting water to the crops was very hard. Each spring, the water from melting snow would sink into the dry desert soil too quickly. It didn't water the fields enough.
In 1870, the people decided to move their town. They split into two groups. Half of them moved about 5 miles (8 km) upstream. There, they started a new town called Pahreah.
Building and Battling the River
In 1871, a man named John D. Lee came to the Paria area. He helped build a dam and ditches to bring water for farming. Many local people and even some explorers helped him.
Paria grew steadily during the 1870s. It got a general store, a church, and more sandstone houses. But the town faced big problems in the 1880s. The Paria River flooded every year from 1883 to 1888. These floods washed away farm fields and even some buildings.
The Town's Decline and End
Because of the floods, people started to leave Paria. By 1892, only eight families remained. Strangely, the town was given a post office that year. It was officially named Paria.
Not much changed until 1911, when a small gold mining operation started there. But within a year, another flood destroyed the mining efforts. The post office closed in 1914. One last person, a gold prospector, stayed until 1929. After he left, Paria became a true ghost town.
Paria: A Star on the Silver Screen
A Perfect Backdrop for Westerns
Years later, filmmakers discovered Paria. They loved the old ghost town and its beautiful canyon views. It was a perfect spot for making Western movies.
In 1943, parts of the movie Buffalo Bill were filmed here. But the film crews had to constantly fight against the flooding Paria River. Other movies and TV shows used Paria throughout the 1950s.
The Famous Movie Set
In 1961, Paria was a major filming location for the movie Sergeants 3. This was one of the biggest Westerns ever filmed in Kane County. The filmmakers wanted more than just the old town. So, they built a new, fake Old West town about a mile (1.6 km) away.
Many visitors thought this movie set was the real Paria. The set was used for other films, like The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976. After that, it wasn't used much.
Damage, Rebuilding, and Fire
In 1998, a big flash flood badly damaged the movie set. A group of volunteers and workers from the Bureau of Land Management helped. They took apart the damaged parts and rebuilt the set between 1999 and 2001. New signs were put up to explain the movie set's history. They also helped people tell the difference between the set and the actual ghost town of Paria.
Sadly, in 2006, the rebuilt movie set was destroyed by a suspicious fire. In 2007, Paria was used for an independent film called The Attic Door. A house front was built there, but it was later moved to the nearby town of Kanab.
Images for kids
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A historical marker at the former site of Pariah, Utah.
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Rugged and rocky landscape near Pariah, Utah.
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Paria, Utah, landscape, ghost town and filming location.
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Inside the Pariah, Utah ghost town cemetery.
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