WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Washington County, Utah

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Washington County is currently made up of 1,553,037 acres (2,426.62 square miles) in the southwest corner of Utah. About 25,000 acres are privately owned and about 66,000 acres are designated as wilderness areas. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controls about 635,000 acres in Washington County.

LOCATION

Washington County is located in the very southwest corner of Utah.

HISTORY

The Anasazi Indians inhabited this area from 200 B.C. to around 1300 A.D.

Paiute Indians arrived around 1100 to 1200 A.D. and continued until today.

The Dominguez-Escalante exploration group passed through the area in 1776. This was the first contact between Europeans and Paiutes.

The county was formed on March 3, 1852 by an act of the territorial legislature. It was named for George Washington. Harmony, one of the only settlements in the area at that time, was appointed as the first county seat. The first boundaries of Washington County stretched nearly 600 miles - the entire width of the territory. As the territory was settled the county boundaries changed several times and the county seat was later changed to St. George. The county achieved its present shape and size in 1892.

The town of Washington was made the seat of Washington County in 1859 by act of the Territorial Legislature. But on January 14, 1863, St. George was designated as the county seat and has remained so ever since.

Sheriffs of Washington County:       Check out the photos
Charles Wakeman Dalton (4/1856-4/1857)
Evan Edwards (9/1857-3/1859)
Harrison Pearce (3/1859-8/1859)
Albert Washington Collins (9/1859-8/1863)
Andrew Smith Gibbons (9/1863-3/1864)
David Henry Cannon Sr. (3/1864-8/1867)
George Henry Crosby (9/1867-8/1869)
Daniel Seegmiller (9/1869-11/1877)
Augustus P. Hardy (11/1877-8/1883)
Samuel Judd Jr. (9/1884-8/1888)
George Brooks Sr. (9/1888-12/1900)
Alex Y. Milne (1/1901-12/1904)
Frank Richard Bentley (1/1905-12/1906)
William Thomas Perkins (1/1907-12/1908)
Charles R. Worthen (1/1909-12/1920)
W. W. Cannon (1/1921-12/1922)
Wilford Goff (1/1923-12/1926)
William Brooks (1/1927-12/1934)
John H. Cottam (1/1935-12/1936)
Antone Prince (1/1937-12/1958)
Roy Ralph Renouf (1/1959-12/1962)
Evan Whitehead (1/1963-12/1978)
Eugene S. Jones (1/1979-12/1982
Kenneth Campbell (1/1983-12/1986)
Glenwood Humphries (1/1987-12/1998)
Kirk Smith (1/1999-Present)

PHOTOS

TBD

WEBSITES

Official Washington County website
Wikipedia article about Washington County
A history of Washington County
A history of Washington County
A history of Washington County
A history of Washington County
A history of Washington County
A history of Washington County
List of historic sites in Washington County
List of historic markers in Washington County
List of historic documents from Washington County
National Association of Counties information on Washington County
Washington County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
KindredTrails genealogy references for Washington County
ePodunk profile of Washington County

REFERENCES

A History of Washington County From Isolation to Destination
Book by Douglas D Alder and Karl F Brooks
Utah Centenial County History Series
Published by the Zion National History Association
http://www.zionpark.org
See the information page.

History of Washington County
Book by Anne Miller Eckman; Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 2002

I Was Called to Dixie
Book by Andrew Karl Larson
Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1961
Library Call Number 979.248

Under Dixie Sun: A History Of Washington County
Book by the Washington County Chapter, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers
Available for sale at the DUP Museum
Library call number 979.2

STATISTICS

Population

     1870      3,064
     1880      4,235
     1890      4,009
     1900      4,612
     1910      5,123
     1920      6,764
     1930      7,420
     1940      9,289
     1950      9,836
     1960      10,271
     1970      13,669
     1980      26,065
     1990      48,560
     1998      79,831 or 73,161
     2000      91,244 or 86,222 or 90,354
     2001      94,609 or 95,590
     2002      99,609 or 93,388
     2003      104,508
     2004      110,476
     2005      119,188
     2006      126,312
     2010      130,529
     2020      177,570  (projected in 2010)
     2035      400,000  (projected in 2007)
     2050      500,000  (projected in 2007)
 

Doctors in Washington County

     1980      25
     2005      150


Certified Local Governments (CLGs) in Washington County

     Enterprise
     Hurricane
     Leeds
     Rockville
     Santa Clara
     St. George
     Washington City