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WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY     (Washington County, Utah)

TOQUERVILLE, UTAH

Miscellaneous

 
Histories

In early June 1854, eight members of the Southern Indian Mission, led by Rufus C. Allen, left Harmony to visit Toquer, chief of the Paiute Indian band on lower Ash Creek. Their primary objectives were to learn the natives' language and convert some of the tribe to Mormonism. In response to Toquer's friendly reception, the missionaries promised to return, live among the Indians, and teach them how to farm the white man's way. In 1858, several families built log cabins near Chief Toquer's Paiute village along Ash Creek. In 1859, nineteen families were living in Toquerville and by 1864 the community had grown to forty-one families.


LOCATION

TBD


HISTORY

The town of Toquerville was established in the spring of 1858 under the direction of Joshua T. Willis. The area had been explored in 1852 and again in 1857 to determine possibilities of settlement in the area. Willis led a group of settlers from Fort Harmony and settled in the area. The town was named after Chief Toquer, who befriended the early settlers and resided in the area. The word "toquer11 meaning black, adequately fit the name of the new town in that it was located at the foot of a large volcanic rock mountain. The town included the first cotton gin in the state and the area was also noted for its ideal climate for growing fruits and vegetables.

Population
259 in 1864


HISTORIC SITES

Toquerville Homes

Toquerville Church & Town Hall

Naegle Winery


PHOTOS

Photos on the web:
6/8/1979 photo of the springs north of Toquerville
6/22/1915 photo of the Toquerville Bridge under construction
1885 photo of the home of David and Annie Spilsbury and baby Josephine with unknown children in the foreground
9/3/1949 photo of Toquerville LDS bishops on the steps of the old church
1949 photo of Mrs. Dick Higbee and William R. Palmer with pioneer and Indian relics at the Toquerville Homecoming
1949 photo of Mrs. Dick Higbee at the Toquerville Homecoming
1949 photo Mrs. Dick Higbee showing pioneer relics to William R. Palmer at the Toquerville Homecoming
Photo of the Fannie Burke Cottage in Toquerville
Photo of Fannie Burke by her Cottage in Toquerville
Photo of a very young Frances Rosilla Burke, a Presbyterian missionary in Toquerville
Photo of Frances Rosilla Burke of Toquerville
Photo of Frances R. Burke as a little girl
Photo of Frances Burke, a Presbyterian teacher
Photo of Frances Burke as an older woman
Photo of the headstone of Frances Rosalie Burke


REFERENCES

Wikipedia article about Toquerville
A history of Toquerville
A history of Toquerville
Toquerville genealogy

"A Gazetteer History of Toquerville, Volume III Revised"
A book by Wesley P. Larsen
Toquerville: Privately printed by Wesley P. Larsen, 1999

"A History of Toquerville, Volume 2"
By Wesley Pratt Larsen
In the Larsen papers in Special Collections at the Marriott Library of the University of Utah

"Toquerville, Oasis in the Desert - A History of Toquerville and the Area"
Book compiled and written by Cherrie Gubler Naegle

Washington County Chapter, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, " Under Dixie Sun".
1950 with 1978 Supplement.
Pages 255-266, Supplement Page 47.