Grafton, Utah

Grafton, in southern Utah near Zion National Park, began in December 1859 as part of Brigham Young’s cotton-growing effort in Utah’s Dixie. First founded as Wheeler by Nathan Tenney’s group, it was largely destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862 and rebuilt upstream as New Grafton. The town grew with farms, irrigation canals, and orchards, but repeated flooding, silted ditches, isolation, and a temporary evacuation during the Black Hawk War undermined it. Decline continued after its brief service as Kane County seat, and it was abandoned by 1944. Preserved since 1997, Grafton is also famed as a scenic filming location.

Rockville, Utah · United States