RonnieAdventure #0091 - Harrisburg and Leeds, Washington County, Utah

In 1859 Moses Harris settled along the Virgin River in southern Utah and called the settlement Harrisville. Over the next few years, he was joined by several other families and the town’s name was changed to Harrisburg. By 1868 there were over 200 people living in Harrisburg; but then following several floods, Native American raids, and a grasshopper plague, people started moving “up-river” to the settlement of Leeds. By 1895 the town of Harrisburg was abandoned.

However, history tends to repeat itself, so real estate investors are now developing “Harrisburg Estates” on the old town site. But, investors should not worry because western United States is having a drought and the Virgin River hasn’t flooded in years!

 

In 1867 a group of immigrants from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, moved to the area and named the settlement “Leeds” after their homeland. The area around Leeds has the longest growing season in Utah and is well known for its abundant production of fruit and sorghum. There are still numerous buildings in Leeds dating from the 1800s, including 15 houses still standing and in use along Main Street.

The Sarah Ann and William Stirling house is a good example of the period architecture and exemplifies the “Dixie Dormer” upper floor windows, which were popular during that time period. The house was constructed in 1876 at a cost of about $5,000.

 

In 1933 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC Camp #585) opened a facility in Leeds and more than doubled the community’s population of 200. The CCC nation-wide employed about three million young men in a “peacetime army” to work in our public lands. They were often referred to as the “Pick and Shovel Soldiers” because these were the primary tool that they used in the CCC construction projects.

The CCC men earned $30 per day, of which $25 was sent back to their family. In addition to their wage, they were provided three meals a day, a bed, medical care, and vocational training. It is estimated that about 40,000 illiterate men learned to read and write through this program.

Work projects were primarily located in western United States, which is where most of the public lands are located. The Departments of Agriculture and Interior planned and organized the work projects and the U.S. Army was responsible for transporting the workers and provided their training. In the10 years that the CCC was in operation, the men planted millions of trees, built miles of roads and trails, fire towers, campgrounds, and bridges. Many of the facilities that they constructed are still in use today.

At first the residents of Leeds were not certain that they wanted a CCC camp located in their community, but the workers were well received after the Leeds residents had the opportunity to meet some of the young men. The workers had a positive impact on the town’s struggling economy and the young men not only contributed monetarily to the local economy, but in their off-duty hours they worked on a number of local projects, including a community swimming pool.

Today, you can visit the Leeds Historic CCC camp and view a few of the remaining stone structures. The frame buildings were destroyed or moved after the camp closed, but some of the buildings may be reconstructed in the future to show how the men lived while they were in camp.