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Tag Archives: Leeds

Civilian Conservation Corps, Leeds, Utah

03 Tuesday Jan 2023

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CCC, Historic Markers, Leeds, utah, Washington County

Civilian Conservation Corps, Leeds, Utah

The Leeds CCC camp opened in October 1933 under the direction of the Dixie National Forest Service on the site of an existing ranger station. Leeds, a town of less than 200, more than doubled with the opening of the camp. Two hundred young men from all over the country now resided and worked at Camp #585. Townspeople were relunctant at first about the impact the camp would have on local life, but support grew as the CCC camp clearly provided a boon to the struggling economy of Leeds. The community became even more accepting as the men worked on local projects, like a swimming pool, in their off-duty hours.

Related:

  • Leeds CCC Camp
  • The CCC

This historic marker is located on the northwest corner of Mulberry Lane and Main Street in Leeds, Utah

Leeds CCC Camp

03 Tuesday Jan 2023

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CCC, Eagle Projects, historic, Leeds, New Deal Funded, NRHP, utah, Washington County

Leeds CCC Camp

Built in 1933, the Leeds Civilian Conservation Corps Camp is significant as perhaps the best remaining example of a CCC camp in Utah. These camps were typically built of relatively temporary frame construction, and the surviving buildings and features such as the stone terraces at the Leeds camp present a unique, if somewhat limited, view of these important facilities. The economic impact of the Great Depression was especially severe in Utah where unemployment averaged 25 percent during the 1930s and was once as high as 36 percent. Because of the pressing need for conservation work, such as flood control, water resource development, etc., in the arid climate of southern Utah, the CCC work projects were of great importance locally.

Approximately 250 men were housed in frame barracks that were located to the southwest with other buildings such as a mess hall, library, and showers. The remaining stone structures are but a few of those originally built. The men were typically from out-of-state and served in the CCC for 9 to 12 months. Temporary remote “spike” camps were established near many of the actual construction projects. The Leeds CCC Camp was closed in 1942, and most of the frame buildings were removed before 1950.

Related:

  • CCC Camps
  • Civilian Conservation Corps, Leeds, Utah
  • New Deal Funded Projects in Utah
  • “They Were Poor, Hungry, and They Built to Last”

Located at 90 West Mulberry Lane in Leeds, Utah and added to the National Historic Register (#93000062) March 4, 1993.

Leeds Historic CCC Camp

In the depression year of 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the Civilian Conservation Corps. This program provided much needed employment for the nation’s youth 18-25 years old. The men had to complete the 8th grade, and have 3-4 family members dependent on their paycheck. The men received $30.00/month of which $25.00 was sent home to their family.

The men at this base camp developed the Oak Grove Campground, built bridges and constructed roads from Leeds to St. George. They were instrumental in preserving and protecting forests, waterways and other natural resources. But the real benefit was that it gave these young men hope, self respect, and a new start in life.

Our task today is to preserve and restore this Utah CCC camp site. Your donations will be used wisely. For more information on other local CCC camps: www.wchsutah.org

2011 by Eagle Scout Project by Kody Allen.

Leeds Town Hall

22 Monday Mar 2021

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City Hall Buildings, Leeds, utah, Washington County

The building to your left was originally built as a schoolhouse in 1880 in nearby Silver Reef. It also served in the mining boomtown as a place for community dances and other gatherings.

Soon after the schoolhouse was built, Silver Reef began to decline in population, and by the early 1900s the building was no longer in use. At that time, the building was divided into two parts and moved on logs pulled by horses along the road, 2 miles from Silver Reef to its present site in Leeds. For more than five decades, until 1956, it served as the Leeds Schoolhouse. During most of that time, its two classrooms housed students in eight different grades.

After the school closed, the building was leased to and used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a recreation center. Eventually it was remodeled and turned into a town hall and community gathering place for Leeds. The old school was reroofed and the small porch on the original building was expanded across the full length of the new town hall’s front.

LEEDS PEACHES: DID YOU KNOW? In the 30s, 40s, and 50s when the peach farming was booming in Leeds, peaches from the community were shipped throughout the West via rail from Cedar City. The local people working in the orchards and packing the bushel baskets with ripening peaches became curious about the cost consumer’s were paying for their peaches. So they began writing notes in the bottom of the baskets asking for people to write them back and let them know what they were paying. It was common to receive replies from as far away as Texas and Michigan. Compliments about how good the peaches tasted were often included with the replies.

There are two historic markers out front:

  • A Tale of Three Towns
  • Schoolhouse to Town Hall: A Building on the Move

Located at 218 North Main Street in Leeds, Utah.

Leeds’ Letter L

16 Tuesday Mar 2021

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Hillside Letters, Leeds, utah

Just a placeholder until I can hike up and get some better documentation of the L above Leeds, Utah.

Check out my collection of hillside/mountainside letters and words.

Leeds Little Roadside Library

05 Thursday Nov 2020

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Leeds, LittleLibraries

Located on the roadside on the main highway in Leeds, Utah – this little free book exchange/library is a cool looking one.

Related:

  • Other Book Exchange/Little Libraries

Leeds Cemetery

03 Monday Aug 2020

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Cemeteries, Leeds, utah, Washington County

The cemetery in Leeds, Utah.

From Native American Trail to Interstate Exit

22 Thursday Jun 2017

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historic, Historic Markers, Leeds, utah, Washington County

2017-05-13 17.48.38

From Native American Trail to Interstate Exit

A local history of passage

The earliest desert routes in the West followed water. Having drinking water for person or pack animal was critical in negotiating the extreme heat and rugged terrain. Springs of water are located near where you stand and elsewhere in the vicinity of Leeds. Until the 1900s, these springs were significant features in defining early travel routes for travelers in this part of the West.

Native Americans, the Paiutes or Pah-utes, lived in the Leeds area along Leeds Creek. Pah is the native word for water. The Paiutes were somewhat nomadic, traveling along routes where life-giving water was available. The earliest pathways in the Leeds area were those of the Paiutes and their ancestors.

Fur traders, trappers, and explorers used the trails as well. In the 1860s, as the Mormons began settling southern Utah, the area that would eventually become Leeds was known as Road Valley. The springs were the site of a wagon rest stop. After Leeds was settled in
the 1860s, its main street became part of the route connecting Salt Lake to St. George and other Mormon settlements in southern Utah.

When silver was discovered in the early 1870s at nearby Silver Reef, a symbiotic  relationship between the new little farming community and the mining town was born.
Farmers sold their produce to the residents of Silver Reef. Residences, a church, dance
hall, mercantile, boarding house, and other businesses sprang up along the main road in Leeds. For several decades, the economy of southwestern Utah thrived as a result of this
interdependence of farming and mining.

With the advent of the automobile in the early 1900s, long-distance travel became more common. In the early days of the automobile, the road through Leeds became part of a route known as the Arrowhead Trail. In 1926 the federal system of numbered highways was initiated, and the Arrowhead Trail became known as U.S. Highway 91. In 1931 the final stretch of Highway 91 from Harrisburg through Leeds to Toquerville Junction was paved. The highway became the major route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Well into the 1950s, travelers continued to pass through Leeds. The small Main Street businesses were utilized by residents and travelers alike.

In 1956, with a good paved highway and faster automobile travel, the residents of Leeds started sending their children to St. George to school. Many Leeds residents worked and shopped in St. George as well. In 1964 the section of Interstate Highway 15 was completed parallel to Leeds, officially retiring Highway 91 as the major route. Leeds was reduced to just another interstate exit. The change brought more residential tranquility to the center of town but produced an economic coma for the local businesses. Over the
next several years, Main Street became almost exclusively a residential street with only a few businesses.

2017-05-13 17.49.15

2017-05-13 17.48.48

The Leeds Tithing Office

22 Thursday Jun 2017

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historic, Historic Buildings, Historic Markers, LDS Church, Leeds, utah, Washington County

2017-05-13 17.47.35

This building, built in 1891-92, was the Leeds Tithing Office. The building was most likely constructed by the renowned stone masons of the era, Willard McMullin and Sons.

The settlers of Leeds were almost exclusively members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons. Tithing, a pivotal expression of Mormon religious devotion, consists of donating 10 percent of a family’s income to the church.

In pioneer times, a settler’s wealth was not typically interpreted in terms of cash. For tithing purposes, wealth was commonly measured in terms of produce, products, or even service. Many families paid tithing “in kind” with peaches, corn, figs, apricots, bottled meat, etc. In many communities a tithing office was established to collect, store, and redistribute the donated goods to those in need. The Leeds Tithing Office was equipped
with bins and barrels for storage and a set of scales for weighing produce.

Of the several early tithing offices built in the region, the Leeds building is the only remaining example of a stone tithing office that still stands with its original stone walls.

The in-kind tithing system was retired in the early 1900s.

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2017-05-13 17.48.13

2017-05-13 17.47.51

From Ditches to Pipes

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Jacob Barlow in Uncategorized

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historic, Historic Markers, Leeds, utah, Washington County

2017-05-13 17.46.58

Water is life… The shovel is divine

From Ditches to Pipes

The use and control of water controls the future

The earliest settlers in Leeds used innovation and hard work to divert water from Leeds Creek to their homes, fields, and industry. The town pioneers carefully studied the lay of the land between the creek and the settlement and selected a route that would transport the water to Leeds. The lowly hand shovel was their “divine tool.” Digging ditches with pick and shovel and teams of work horses across the rocky terrain was hard and seemingly endless work. Ingenuity was required in keeping the path of the ditch in a
downhill direction to maintain water flow. Building a good ditch system took clever minds, strong backs, and great determination.

The Leeds Water Company was established in the late 1800s to legally secure and organize rights to use local water, a historically controversial and difficult task in the arid West.

The main ditch carried Leeds Creek water to the northeastern edge of the town. From that point, ditches conveyed the water to town lots and beyond to the nearby agricultural fields. Prized lots in Leeds were those that fronted the ditch, especially lots that were closest to the beginning of the ditch, where pollutants from upstream use of the water were fewer.

2017-05-13 17.47.02

Stirling Home

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Jacob Barlow in Uncategorized

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historic, Historic Homes, Historic Markers, Leeds, NRHP, utah, Washington County

2017-05-13 17.44.56Stiring Home

Built c. 1876 of red brick by Samuel Worthen and sons for William Stirling, one of the first settlers of Leeds.  Fine example of “Dixie Dormers” unique to Southern Utah.  Marker placed 1973 by Mrs. David Stirling and Family.

2017-05-13 17.45.19

William Stirling, a prominent and early settler of Leeds, came into what seemed, for
the times, a fortune. Stirling, a farmer and winemaker, was also the chief executive
officer for the Leeds Water Company. In 1872, on a cold winter day while riding his
horse through Silver Reef, he observed that the Christy Mill, a five-stamp silver ore
processing mill, was overheating as a result of the routine water supply freezing solid.
An explosion was inevitable. He moved swiftly into action, opening head gates which
directed water from the Leeds ditch system to cool the overheating mill. A disaster was
averted. The owners of the Christy Mill demonstrated their gratitude to Stirling by placing him on the payroll with a handsome salary for a year with no expectation that he
work for the wage. Stirling used the wage to build this two-story brick home.

The Stirling home was built in 1876 by Samuel Worthen and Sons at a cost of
about $5,000. The house exemplifies well the “Dixie Dormer” upper floor
windows, which were a popular architectural design of the day. Eldon Stirling,
grandson of Sarah Ann and William Stirling, lived in the home during the latter
part of the twentieth century. He updated the woodwork on the porch and
balconies in the early 1980s, hand turning on a lathe all the balusters for the
railings

William Stirling played an important role in the history of early Leeds and the
short existence of Silver Reef (1875 to 1889). After the silver boom declined,
Stirling realized that many of the empty wooden buildings still standing in
Silver Reef could be “mined.” In 1895 he purchased and moved the vacant St.
John’s Catholic Church of Silver Reef to Leeds. He converted the building into
the Leeds Social Hall or “Old Stirling Hall.” Plays, variety shows, dances, and
many festive activities took place in the building. People came from a wide
area to enjoy the performances. The building, which was located on Main
Street, no longer stands today.(*)

2017-05-13 17.45.51

2017-05-13 17.45.56

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