Grafton, Washington County, Utah Genealogy

United States Utah  Washington  Grafton

History
Grafton is a ghost town in Washington County on the South side of the Virgin River. Originally called Wheeler, it was settled in 1859. Forty days of straight rain flooded washed away much of the original farm lands and town was reestablished on Jan 1862. Residents of Virgin saw the houses of Grafton go floating by. Grafton was resettled but suffered from floods, difficult irrigation and Indian attacks. By 1920 it was down to 3 families.

Grafton is famous as the site where part of the movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was filmed.


 * History of Grafton - Online Utah
 * The Virgin River Doused Cotton Mission Settlers' Hopes
 * Grafton Ghost Town

Location
Grafton is located across the Virgin River from present day Rockville, which is at the South entrance to Zion's National Park.
 * GPS Location: 37°10′02″N 113°04′48″W
 * Wiki Map

Time Line

 * 1859, December: First Settled, assigned to plant cotton
 * 1862, January 8: Settlement completely flooded after 40 days of rain
 * 1862: Rebuilt 1.5 miles north from original site and renamed Grafton after Grafton Massachusetts
 * 1866 to 1867: County seat of Kane County
 * 1866: Removed to Rockville, Indian concerns
 * 1882: Boundary realignment put Grafton in Washington County
 * 1890: Resettlement was sparse due to flooding and irrigation problems; 20 families remained
 * 1921: Town was nearly abandoned; LDS church branch discontinued
 * 1944: No known residents

Neighboring Communities
Rockville | Springdale | Virgin | Dalton | Duncan's Retreat, Utah

Biography and Genealogies

 * Early Latter Day Saints - An Mormon Trail Pioneer Database

Cemeteries
Indian attacks were evidence of the Old West in Grafton. Multiple pioneer men died in these attacks as did the attackers. The South East corner of the cemetery holds the nameless graves of the Native Americans killed in the same battles buried by the dutiful pioneers. Check cemeteries in neighboring communities
 * Photo Grafton Cemetery
 * Grafton Utah Gravestone Photo Project
 * Historical Grafton Cemetery Findagrave.com
 * Grafton (ghost town) [cemetery], Washington County, Utah
 * Tombstones in Grafton, Utah
 * Springdale, Rockville, Grafton and Shonesburg cemetery card file; Washington County, Utah 
 * Rockville Cemetery Utah Gravestone Photo Project
 * Rockvillel Cemetery - Findagrave.com
 * Duncan's Retreat Findagrave.com
 * Hilltop Cemetery Springdale - Findagrave.com
 * Virgin Cemetery also known as the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery - Findagrave.com

LDS

 * Record of members, [1877]-1907

Historical Newspapers

 * Washington County News

Marriages

 * Marriage information may be located at the Western States Marriage Database searchable by bride or groom.

Death

 * Utah Department of Archives 1903 to 50 years ago Choices of search types - name, date of death (year, month, day, or any combination) and county. Images of actual death certificates.
 * Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed on the Family Search Historical Records. Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed. A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence. For information on death prior to 1904 you can search the Utah State Burial Index.

Suggested Reading

 * The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns.
 * Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures
 * Brigham Young's Dixie of the desert; exploration and settlement
 * A history of Washington County : from isolation to destination 
 * Grafton ghost town on the Rio Virgin

Websites

 * Grafton
 * Grafton and Zions Canyon
 * Grafton Gallery
 * Grafton Photography Collection
 * Grafton - Virgin River Ghost Town
 * Grafton - Zions
 * Utah Ghost Towns