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

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

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 |

Cemeteries
Check cemeteries in neighboring communities.
 * Box Elder Utah Gravestone Photo Project
 * Findagrave.com

Historical Newspapers

 * Box Elder News
 * Corinne Reporter

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

Websites

 * Utah Ghost Towns