USA, State of Utah, Washington County. Landscape near the ghost town of Grafton with sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Artemisia tridentata was used b


USA, State of Utah, Washington County. Landscape near the ghost town of Grafton with sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Artemisia tridentata was used by Native Americans for treating headache and colds. Grafton is a ghost town near the Zion National Park. The site was first settled in December 1859 as part of a cotton-growing project ordered by Brigham Young (president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 to 1877). After a flood of the Virgin River, that had destroyed the first town (called Wheeler), a new town, called New Grafton, was built upstream. In 1866 some settlers were killed by Navajo raiders. Besides that, more than thirty people (including many children) died of diseases such as diphtheria, scarlet fever, or accident. So a lot of Grafton's residents moved to Rockville. In 1890 only four families remained. In 1921, the local branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was discontinued. Grafton was permanently abandoned in 1944. In 1997, a restoration project started to preserve the Grafton site. The old church, some houses, and the fence of Berry's grave in the cemetery were restored. In the cemetery it's believed about 80 graves exist. In the center of the cemetery there is the restored fence of Robert Madison Berry (24 years old), his wife Mary Isabella Hales Berry (20) and his brother Joseph Smith Berry (22), killed by Indians. Grafton has been featured as a location in several films.


Size: 6971px × 5214px
Location: Utah
Photo credit: © Michele Vacchiano / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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