Full of hope in the spring of 1883, Sadie Richardson arrived at the townsite of Wilford with her husband and four other Mormon families. They built cabins and corrals for their cattle, cleared the land, and planted corn, potatoes, wheat, squash, melons, and popcorn. Sadie called it “the prettiest place you ever dreamed of,” built in the shade of pine trees in a little cove, with large grapevines, winding paths, and a cold spring hidden by a large Button Willow. Sadie and her family remained for two more years. While her husband was frequently away on mission, Sadie, at age 17, cared for two small children, the farm, the cattle, and the family finances. Half of Wilford’s residents left two years later with the enforcement of the Edmund’s Bill, as arrests were made for plural marriages and the Mormon church in Salt Lake City urged people to move to Chihuahua, Mexico, and build a city of refuge. Gradually, Hashknife cowboys and others took over the abandoned cabins, and their large numbers of cattle stripped the once lush valley. The cowboys frightened away the remaining Mormon settlers, but Wilford was not completely abandoned until 1926.