Old County Courthouse

WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY     (Washington County, Utah)


VIDEOS OF HISTORICAL INTEREST

The following videos deal with the history of Washington County.
Movies made in the county have been listed in a separate list.


A Guided Tour of the Washington County Historical Society Website with George Cannon on 2/12/2019

A view of some of the major features of the WCHS website. (The introductory part is missing.)

To watch, click here.


A Million Dreams (The Greatest "African" Showman)

A music video by Alex Boyé filmed at 15 different locations in Washington County
in cooperation with the Dixie State University.

It was released to the public on 4/5/2018. To watch it, click here.

For related news articles, click here, and here, and here.


A Temple Dressed in White - St George

VHS (2001) and DVD (2003) from Temple Hill Videos
P O Box 900134, Sandy UT 84090-0134

Part 1 of 6 on YouTube
Part 2 of 6 on YouTube
Part 3 of 6 on YouTube
Part 4 of 6 on YouTube
Part 5 of 6 on YouTube
Part 6 of 6 on YouTube


Ancient Navigation: The Tools & The Methods

On this DVD, Al Matheson explains the tools & methods used by people to navigate before we had
modern technology.

See the information page.


Armijo's Old Spanish Trail Class Lectures by Bruce Vandre

This was an Institute for Continued Learing (ICL) class taught by Bruce Vandre.
Steven Heath was the guest lecturer for the 3/4/2019 class.

To watch the class videos, click on the class date: 1/7/2019, 1/14/2019, 1/28/2019, 2/4/2019, 2/11/2019,
2/25/2019, 3/4/2019, and 3/18/2019.


Atomic Tests In Nevada: The Story of AEC's Continental Proving Ground

This 25-minute film was produced in 1955 by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
It talks about the AEC's atomic testing in Nevada and the expected effects on St. George.

To watch the video, click here.


Cottonwood Canal Water 1879-1898

This 72-minute Silver Reef 4th Saturday lecture was given by architect and WCHS president, Richard Kohler,
on July 28, 2018 in the old Cosmopolitan Restaurant building at Silver Reef.

For the flyer with more information about this event, click here.

The video was made and donated by Mike Gardner.

To watch, click here.


Cowboys of Santa Clara

This 2 hour and 35-minute video is a recording of stories told by Murry Gubler, Ward Gubler, Dwight Gubler,
Jan Graf, Paul Graf, LeGrand Hafen, and Lee Ence on April 15, 2021. Their families have been cattle ranchers
in Dixie for generations.

The video was made by the Washington County Historical Society in cooperation with the Santa Clara Museum.

To watch, click here.


Death Valley Days: Sego Lilies

This 26-minute episode of the Death Valley Days TV series first aired on April 28, 1953.
Robert Hutton played David H. Cannon and Sally Mansfield played Wilhelmina "Willie" Cannon as they adapted
to their new life in St. George.

To watch the full episode, click here.
See the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) listing.


Death Valley Days: The Mormon's Grindstone

This 26-minute episode of the Death Valley Days TV series first aired on April 28, 1955.
This is a dramatization of the story of "Metaliferrous" Murphy, the assayer in Pioche who found silver in
a grindstone from Silver Reef.

To watch the full episode, click here.
See the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) listing.


From Depression to Destiny, The CCC in Southern Utah and the Arizona Strip

Produced by D/ASIA and Dixie State College of Utah.

See the information page for the DVD.
To watch, click here.


History of Healthcare in Washington County

A 34-minute interview with Elwood Harrison
Recorded on November 29, 2012

To watch, click here.


Juanita Brooks Lecture by Richard Saunders on 3/28/2019

"Dear Dale, Dear Juanita: Two Friends and the Contest for Truth, Fact, and Perspective in Mormon History"

To watch, click here.


Liquid Desert

An overview story of water in Washington County.

Produced in 2011 by the Center for Media Innovation
for the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD).
Executive Producer: Phil Tuckett
Director: Ian Crowe
Director of Photography: Luke Draper

To watch, click here.


My Father's Highway: Building I-15 Through the Virgin River Gorge

This video debuted at the DocUtah Film Festival in September of 2014.
It is a documentary about the construction of I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge.
It is the epic story of an impossible road built on an improbable route and the people
who overcame every obstacle, even death, to make sure it happened.

To watch, click here.

To purchase the DVD, click here.


My Great, Greats in Washington County 1854-1863: A Talk by Ron Bracken

All eight of Ron Bracken's great, great grandfathers settled in Washington County between 1854 and 1863.
In this 58-minute talk, he focuses on one from each of four major groups that settled in the county. Included are
Jacob Hamblin (3:53), Johannes Reber (24:44), James B. Bracken Sr. (35:10), and Samuel Adams (41:37).

This lecture was given at the Washington City Historical Society Meeting at the old
Washington Relief Society Building in Washington, Utah on September 20, 2018.

The video was made and donated by Mike Gardner.

To watch, click here.


Preservation and Progress: The Story of Utah's Dixie

This 1-hour video directed by Phil Tuckett chronicles the unique history of Southern Utah. The Paiute people, pioneer settlers, Utah Tech University founders, and today’s Trailblazers all overcame significant hardships while dedicating relentless efforts to building this special region into the amazing community it is today.

To watch, click here.


Ranger Bart Anderson Presents:
    Ghost Towns of Southern Utah
    History of St George Utah
    Indian Troubles


DVD from the Utah Humanities Council, 2004

To watch "Ghost Towns of Southern Utah", click here.
To watch "History of St George Utah", click here.
To watch "Indian Troubles", click here.


Rebels Forever

The story of football at Dixie State College of Utah.

Produced by the Dick Nourse Center for Media Innovation for the Dixie State College of Utah.
Written, Directed, and Edited by Phil Tuckett
Director of Photography: Ben Braten

To watch, click here.


Remembering Juanita Brooks

A 1-hour and 32-minute video of people sharing their rememberances of Juanita Brooks at a fundraiser event
for the Juanita Brooks Statue Project. The event was at the DiFiore Center in St. George on February 27, 2020.

To watch, click here.


Shanandoah "Shannon" Martineau Anderson Oral History Interview on 11/13/2018

Shannon talks about her father, LaVan Martineau, and his life long interaction with Shivwits Band of Paiutes.
Shannon, a member of the tribe, also shares information on the history of her tribe.

To watch, click here.


Skywatchers and Rock Art Solstice Markers

A hour long lecture is about Karen's findings of sun and shadow petroglyphs and her insights.
by Karen L. Monsen, who has studied Native American rock art solstice markers in Southern Utah.

This lecture was given at the Santa Clara Branch of the Washington County Library on February 22, 2018.

The video was made and donated by Mike Gardner.

To watch, click here.


Southern Utah Historical Building Models

A lecture about and demonstration of southern Utah historical building models
by Brian Rasmussen, the model builder.

This lecture was given at the Washington City Historical Society meeting on November 16, 2017
in the old Washington Relief Society House..

The video was made and donated by Mike Gardner.

To watch, click here.


Swiss Paper Cutting with Loretta Frei Adams

Loretta is the last surviving Swiss descendant paper cutter in Santa Clara. She talks about early people
who knew the art and demonstrates how it is done.

This video was recorded at the Santa Clara History Museum on 2/11/2020.

To watch this 2 hour and 14 minute video, click here.


The 2005 Santa Clara - Virgin River Flood
Images of Loss and Home


DVD produced by Hal Hilburn and Bryce Hunt

http://www.utahfloodrelief.com


The Dixie Cotton Mission

A VHS video by Brigham Young University, 1996

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/53394720&referer=brief_results


The Hurricane Canal

Video by the Sons of Utah Pioneers, Hurricane Chapter, 2006

To watch, click here.


The Mountain Meadows Massacre

A 55-minute video about the Mountain Meadows Massacre
including interviews with Dixie historians Karl Brooks and Lyman Hafen.

To watch, click here.


The Spanish Trail

On this DVD, Al Matheson gives an information packed talk on The Spanish Trail.


This Is St. George, Utah

A nostalgic walk around downtown St. George with Jeremy Larkin interviewing his father, local legend Dale Larkin. Runs just over 9 minutes.

To watch, click here.


Utah in the 50's: St George / Cedar City

DVD from KUED 7 in Salt Lake City UT


Weird Tales III: The Pioneer's Lost Trunk

A Ted Faye documentary about a group of 1849 pioneers who took off from the Old Spanish Trail
at Enterprise and headed west in an attempt to find a shortcut to California.

This video was filmed in northwest Washington County and released on DVD in 2009.

For information and clips, see http://www.goldcreekfilms.com.


100 Years of Caring in St. George Utah

A brief history of the hospitals in St. George by the Dixie Regional Medical Center.

To watch, click here.