Wards and Branches of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Parowan Stake, Utah

This page includes the boundaries of wards and branches around 1930's, a timeline history, and how to obtain the records.

Source for this page:

Parowan Stake
Stake boundaries as of about 1930 See Encyclopedic History..., p. 641-643.


 * Area of the County: Iron Co., Utah
 * Headquarters in: Cedar City, Utah
 * Boundaries of stake:

Located in the south end of Little Salt Lake Valley, 19 miles northeast of Cedar City, 35 miles southeast of Beaver, and 270 miles by nearest road southeast of Salt Lake City.

Parowan Stake consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in Iron County, and a small part of Washington County, Utah. Most of the saints constituting the Parowan Stake reside in the east part of the country adjacent to the Wasatch Mountains.

History Timeline up to about 1930


 * 1851 - The first settlers arrived on the present site of Parowan Jan. 13, 1851.
 * 1869 - 1869 Parowan was divided into two wards, the Parowan 1st and the Parowan 2nd wards.
 * 1877 - Temporary stakes of Zion were organized both in Parowan and Cedar City, but the more permanent organization of a stake of Zion did not take place until July, 1877.
 * 1878 - On March 24, 1878, the Parowan Stake was more fully organized.
 * 1885 - Parowan 1st and the Parowan 2nd wards existed side by side until June 20, 1885, when they were amalgamated into one ward, which was given the old name of Parowan.
 * 1919 - From the beginning Parowan was the headquarters of the stake, until 1919, when the headquarters were moved from Parowan to Cedar City, where they now (1930) are, though stake conferences are held alternately in Cedar City and Parowan.
 * 1926 - March 14, 1926, the Parowan Ward was divided into two wards, namely, the Parowan East and the Parowan West wards.
 * 1930 - Headquarters were moved from Parowan to Cedar City, where it is presently now (1930) located.

Obtain the Records

 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Wards and Branches
Cedar 1st, Cedar 2nd, Cedar 3rd, Enoch, Harmony, Kanarra, Newcastle, Paragonah, Parowan East, Parowan West, Pinto and Summit.

Cedar City Wards
See Encyclopedic History..., p 641-643.

Boundaries: 


 * Cedar City 1st Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah (originally called Cedar City East Ward) consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the east part of Cedar City, (all east of Main Street).


 * Cedar City 2nd Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the southwest part of Cedar City, being separated from Cedar City 3rd Ward on the north by Cedar St. and from the Cedar City 1st Ward on the east by Main St.


 * Cedar City 3rd Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in that part of Cedar City lying north of Center Street and west of Main Street.

History timeline


 * 1851 - Cedar City was settled and from these two parent colonies nearly all the other settlements of the saints in Iron County are off-shoots.
 * 1877 - Temporary stakes of Zion were organized both in Parowan and Cedar City, but the more permanent organization of a stake of Zion did not take place until July of 1877.
 * 1919 - The headquarters were moved from Parowan to Cedar City, where they now (1930) are located, though stake conferences are held alternately in Cedar City and Parowan.
 * 1908 - On June 19, 1908, Cedar City 1st Ward was organized when the Cedar City Ward was disorganized and two new wards created in it's stead, namely, the Cedar City East and the Cedar City West wards.
 * 1927 - The name of the ward was changed in 1927 from the Cedar City West to the Cedar City 2nd Ward.
 * 1930 - The little settlement of Hamilton Fort belongs to this ward.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Enoch Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 643.

Boundaries: Enoch Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah was the village of Enoch. It was seven miles northeast of Cedar City and 12 miles southwest of Parowan.

History timeline


 * None given

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Harmony Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 316-317.

Boundaries: Harmony Ward, Parowan Stake, Washington Co., Utah consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the town of Harmony, which is pleasantly situated on the north side of Ash Creek, on a fine level tract of country which slopes gently towards the south and Ash Creek, while the northeast extremity of the Pine Valley Mountains rise majestically southwest of the settlement about a mile distant. The town lies in a large cove, there being mountains on the south and north, and only six miles west of the main Wasatch Range. The farming land around Harmony is plentiful, but water for irrigation purposes scarce. The place is healthy and produces good grain and all kinds of fruits of the hardier sorts. Harmony is ten miles southwest of Kanarra, 21 miles by nearest road southwest of Cedar City, and 42 miles northeast of St. George.

History timeline


 * 1852 - Fort built on Ash Creek called Harmony in December.
 * 1853 - Settlement temporarily abandoned because of Indian difficulties.
 * 1854 - Fort Harmony was built when settlers returned.It served as a branch.
 * 1862 - Fort Harmony was washed away.
 * 1864 - Harmony Branch was led by a presiding Elder.
 * 1867 - Harmony Branch was detached from Cedar City Ward and was organized as a separate ward called Harmony on August 20.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Kanarra Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 642.

Boundaries:

The Kanarra Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah is situated on the rim of the basin at the mouth of Kanarra Creek Canyon, surrounded by some good farming land, which is irrigated from Kanarra Creek.

History timeline


 * 1861 - Kanarra was first settled in the spring of 1861 and others who moved up from Fort Harmony and located on Kanarra Creek, about a mile northeast of the present location of the village. Soon afterwards other settlers moved in from Toquerville.
 * 1862 - From its beginning the settlement belonged to Cedar City Ward.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

New Castle Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.641.

Boundaries:

Newcastle Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah consists of the Latter-day Saints residing on the edge of the Escalante Desert at the mouth of Pinto Canyon, 12 miles below old Pinto, 25 miles west of Cedar City, and 20 miles southeast of Modena, the nearest railroad station on the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. Newcastle is an outgrowth of Pinto.

History timeline


 * 1897 - 1898 Some of the residents of Pinto, which is located on Pinto Creek up in the mountains southward.
 * 1907 - December, 1907 settlement was founded.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Paragonah Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p.642.

Boundaries:

Paragonah Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the little town of Paragonah, which is located on Red Creek, at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, 4 1/2 miles northeast of Parowan, 32 miles southeast of Beaver, 38 miles by nearest road west of Panguitch, and 24 miles northeast of Cedar City.

History timeline


 * 1851 - An attempt to bring the water from Red Creek to Parowan in 1851 proved a failure, and hence a new settlement was founded on Red Creek in the spring of 1852.
 * 1852 - A townsite was surveyed on Red Creek named Paragonah, this being the Piede Indian name for warm water.
 * 1853 - The settlement was temporarily vacated because of Indian troubles in 1853, the people moving to Parowan.
 * 1855 - Most of the families who had vacated the settlement in 1853 returned. A new fort was erected at Paragonah, enclosing a parcel of land 105 feet square.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Parowan Wards
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 641-643.

Boundaries:


 * Parowan East Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah boundaries are at the south limit of Parowan on 1st West St., running thence north to the center of the meeting house block, thence east through the center of said block to Main St., thence north on Main St. to the north limits of Parowan.
 * Parowan West Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah consists of the west part of the city of Parowan, including a farming district lying west and north of the town.

History timeline


 * 1926 - On March 14, the Parowan Ward was divided into two wards, namely, the Parowan East and the Parowan West wards.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Pinto Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 656-657.

Boundaries: Pinto Ward, Parowan Stake, Washington Co., Utah consisted of the Latter-day Saints residing in the village of Pinto and the smaller village of Hamblin in the Mountain Meadows. The village of Pluto is situated in a narrow valley on Pinto Creek extending from southeast to northwest and is about 1 1/2 miles wide. Pinto is six miles west of Hamblin, 13 1/2 miles northeast of Pine Valley, 15 miles west of Harmony, 42 miles northeast of St. George by nearest road, 28 miles southwest of Cedar City, and 302 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Pinto Creek rises in the Pine Valley Mountains about six miles southwest of the Rim of the Basin.

History timeline


 * 1856 - Area of Pinto Creek settled in the fall.
 * 1859 - Pinto was more fully organized as a branch of the Church on July 17.
 * 1867 - Pinto Branch was organized as Pinto Ward on Jully 11.
 * 1916 - Pinto Ward organization was discontinued, most of the settlers having moved to the new location known as Newcastle.
 * 1930 - Only two families occupied the old townsite of Pinto, one belonging the the Newcastle Ward and the other to the Cedar 1st Ward, both wards being in Iron County.

Obtain the records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.

Summit Ward
See Encyclopedic History..., p. 642.

Boundaries: Summit Ward, Parowan Stake, Iron Co., Utah consists of the Latter-day Saints residing in the village of Summit, which is pleasantly located on elevated ground on Summit Creek, seven miles southwest of Parowan and 12 miles northeast of Cedar City. It is also 2 1/2 miles east of the so-called Parley’s Pass (through a low range of mountains) and five miles south of the extreme south end of Little Salt Lake. A bench, which is crossed about four miles south of the village, is considered the dividing point between Little Salt Lake Valley and Coal Creek Valley.

History timeline


 * 1853 - It was the intention was to create a settlement on Summit Creek in the spring of 1853, could not because of Indian problem.
 * 1859 - The settlement of Summit Creek did not take place until the spring of 1859.
 * 1860 - In 1860 a post office was established, and the saints at Summit were organized as a branch of the Church.
 * 1877 - the Summit Branch was organized as a ward July 29, 1877.

Obtain the Records


 * List of church and other records at the FamilySearch Library.
 * For additional resources, see Church History Library.