(From wchsutah.org) Gunlock is an unincorporated town in Washington County.

William Hayne Hamblin (nicknamed Will, Bill, and Gunlock; a brother of Jacob Hamblin) settled there and built a cabin in 1857. He was soon joined by his two brothers-in-law, Dudley and Jeremiah Leavitt and also Isaac Riddle.

On a visit, George A. Smith named the place Gunlock in honor of its first settler.

On Christmas day in 1861, it started to rain almost constantly for the next 30 days. Santa Clara Creek flooded and the budding community was forced to move north to the “Black Ridge” where the current town is located (the early settlement was located where the Gunlock fields are, south of the current town).

Gunlock was on the “Old California Road” or “Santa Fe Trail” so the town got frequent visitors and was able to carry on trade as people passed through.

Unlike many Utah towns, Gunlock was not laid out in blocks. Instead, it consisted of houses on each side of the main street. In 1880, the original “cow trail” through town was straightened and cottonwood trees were planted for a mile on each side of the street.

Mail service to Gunlock began in July of 1883. Prior to that time, they received mail only occasionally from St. George or Hebron. Solenda Huntsman, wife of Joseph S. Huntsman became the first postmistress with Hyrum E. Jones as the first mail carrier. Later postmasters included Elizabeth Vaughan Hunt, James S. P. Bowler, Josepth L. Bowler, and Olive Holt.

In 1913, the people of Gunlock and their neighbors in the surrounding areas felt a need for a telephone system. They formed a company, later know as the “People’s Progressive Telephone and Telegraph Company”. It put up telephone lines that served the areas from Moapa to Enterprise, including Moapa, Bunkerville, Mesquite, Santa Clara, Gunlock, Enterprise, New Castle, Pine Valley, Central, and Veyo. They eventually included some lines into St. George. The telephone system was eventually taken over by Mountain Bell. Telephone booths were provided on the streets. By 1960, everyone in town had a telephone but they were on 8-party lines through the 1960s and 1970s.