Laninga's Travel Blog

Not far from Zion NP is an old town named Grafton. It was originally started by Brigham Young grow cotton. It was a small but busy little town in the 1800, but suffered from floods, Indian reprisals, and Virgin river flooding. And, the ground was silty, making crop growths difficult. Eventually, the resident moved away, and the town was abandoned.

An attempt to revitalize the town was made in the 1930’s, especially to house road crews who were building the nearby highway. But the biggest use was in the 50’s and 60’s as a setting for Western movies. Many were made here, the most memorable being “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. Now, it is a tourist attraction, if you don’t mind the bumpy road to get there.

We passed a sign that said “do not enter when wet” and once we were at the town rain threatened, but we didn’t have any difficulty. Nice trip!

Headstone of a family killed in Indian raids

Church

House

Old shed

Rear view

Wagon

Oops!