History of St. George Utah Stake
- Oldest Stake in Washington County (1869)
- 9th Oldest Continually Active Stake in the Church
Contents
LDS Pioneer History Sites
LDS History Sites in Southwest Utah:
- LDS Church History Map of St George Utah - Interactive Map: Latter-day Saint Places of Interest, St. George and Santa Clara.
- Encampment Mall Memorial - Tribute to LDS Church Pioneers that settled St. George in 1861-62.
- Jacob Hamblin Home LDS Church History Site. The Hamblin Home in Santa Clara, Utah, is the place where Jacob Hamblin, Southern Utah Indian Mission president, lived with his family from 1863 to 1868. Because of Hamblin’s service among the American Indians in the region, the home functioned as the headquarters for the mission. Today it is a historic site and is open for public tours. The home and furnishings have been restored to reflect their 1860s appearance.
- Temple Quarry Trail - Hike St. George): From 1871 to 1877, Latter-day Saints used local materials to build the St. George Utah Temple. They hauled volcanic rock from this nearby hill for the temple’s foundation. Today an out-and-back hiking trail curves around the hill. In total, it is a 2.2-mile hike.
- Sandstone Quarry Trail (Hike St. George): From 1863 to 1877, Latter-day Saints used local materials to build the St. George Tabernacle and St. George Utah Temple. They quarried sandstone from this nearby hill for the exterior walls of those buildings. Today an out-and-back hiking trail takes visitors to the site of the quarry next to the Red Hill Golf Course in downtown St. George. In total, it is a 0.6-mile hike.
- Brigham Young Winter Home and Office - LDS Church History Site. From 1870 to 1877, President Brigham Young lived in St. George, Utah, during the winter months. Beginning in 1872, he and members of his family lived in the place that is now called the Brigham Young Winter Home. From this home, he directed the affairs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Today this historic site is open to the public year-round. The home and adjacent office have been restored and furnished to reflect their 1870s appearance. Tours tell about Brigham Young’s family life in St. George and about his role in directing the settlement of southern Utah, including the construction of the St. George Utah Temple.
- St. George Tabernacle LDS Church History Site. The St. George Tabernacle is a historic meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has functioned as a place for worship and community gatherings since 1869—before its completion in 1876. In addition to Latter-day Saint worship, the tabernacle has also been used on occasion by other faiths.
- St. George Temple Visitors Center LDS Church History Site. In 1871, President Young announced that a temple would be built in St. George, Utah. Latter-day Saints completed the temple in 1877. The St. George Utah Temple became the first temple to be completed since the Saints left Nauvoo in 1846 and the first where endowments for the dead were performed.
- Pine Valley Chapel- LDS Church History Site: The Pine Valley Chapel is located in Pine Valley, Utah, about a 45-minute drive north from St. George, Utah. This historic meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was built by settlers of the valley in 1873. Tours daily during summer months.
- Mountain Meadows Massacre Memorial - site of the September 7, 1857 attack on the Baker-Farcher pioneer party haeding to California.
1865 Church Leaders
- Robert Gardner (1819-1906) - In 1862 he was set apart as Bishop of St. George by President Erastus Snow. He was later set apart as first councilor to Joseph W. Young, President of the St. George Stake. President Young died in 1875 and Robert Gardner with A.F. McDonald as second councilor, presided over the Stake until J.D.T. McAllister was put in as President.
- John D.T. McAllister - Missionary, Wagon Pioneer, Stake President and then Temple President in St. George.
- David Henry Cannon (1838-1924) - LDS Missionary to California (1857) and England (1869), led a 1861 Wagon train leader to Utah and was part of the Dixie Mission that same year where he became originated the Sego Lily Story. Member of St. George Stake high council, stake presidency and the served nearly 30 years as president of the St. George Utah Temple.
20th Century
- Bruce Clark Hafen (1940)|Bruce C. Hafen (1940) - President of Rick's College (1978-85) and President of St. George Utah Temple (2010-13), and General Authority Seventy of LDS Church (1996-2010). Also a counselor of the local stake presidency.
- Orval Hafen (1903-1964) was a Utah State Senator and president of the Utah Bar Association. He was a key figure in the long process that by the start of the 21st-century had made St. George a key center of retirement and growing community. Also a counselor of the local stake presidency.
1961 East Stake Creation
- Rudger Clawson Atkin (1904-1989) - held several leadership positions in the LDS Church in St. George, Utah including as stake president of the St. George Utah Stake. In 1961 that stake was split and he became president of the newly formed St. George Utah East Stake. He also served as St. George Utah Temple president for nearly eight years (1963-1970).
2019 Stake Center Fire

Fire guts new stake center on 26 Jan 2019
- 26-Jan-2019 : The new St. George Utah East Stake Center Building which was shortly to be dedicated and occupied was totally destroyed by a suspicious fire in the early morning hours.
Stakes of Washington County
Washington County
# | LDS # | Title | Found Date | Temple District | scope-"col" width="140px" | 1st president | Notes | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
001 | 1690 | Bloomington Utah Stake | 06 Mar 1988 | St. George | Steven H. Peterson | ||
002 | 0134 | Enterprise Utah Stake | 15 Dec 1940 | St. George | Daniel J. Ronnow | FKA: Uvada Stake | |
003 | 0871 | Hurricane Utah Stake | 23 Oct 1977 | St. George | Ira Wallace Hatch | ||
004 | xxxx | Hurricane Utah North Stake | 06 Jan 2019 | St. George | |||
005 | 2180 | Hurricane Utah West Stake | 10 Mar 1996 | St. George | Scott W. Colton | ||
006 | 2165 | Ivins Utah Stake | 11 Feb 1996 | St. George | Bruce Lynn Gubler | ||
007 | 1294 | La Verkin Utah Stake | 11 Oct 1981 | St. George | Floyd Leon Lewis | FKA: Hurricane North Stake | |
008 | 1361 | Santa Clara Utah Stake | 29 Aug 1982 | St. George | Dale Gubler | ||
009 | 2942 | Santa Clara Utah Heights Stake | 13 Nov 2011 | St. George | Richard G. Harris | ||
010 | 0009a | St. George Utah Stake | 07 Nov 1869 | St. George | Joseph W. Young | Oldest Stake in Washington County | |
011 | 1623 | St. George Utah Bloomington Hills Stake | 04 Jan 1987 | St. George | James Grey Larkin | FKA: Bloomington Hills Stake | |
012 | xxxx | St. George Utah Boulder Ridge Stake | 15 Dec 2013 | St. George | |||
013 | xxxx | St. George Utah Crimson Ridge Stake | 06 Nov 2016 | St. George | |||
014 | 3461 | St. George Utah Crimson Ridge West Stake | 15 Nov 2020 | St. George | |||
015 | 0322 | St. George Utah East Stake | 05 Feb 1961 | St. George | Rudger C. Atkin | ||
016 | 1813 | St. George Utah Green Valley Stake | 25 Aug 1991 | St. George | La Rell David Muir | ||
017 | 2688 | St. George Utah Little Valley Stake | 28 Aug 2005 | St. George | Marshall R. Topham | ||
018 | 1999 | St. George Utah Morningside Stake | 20 Nov 1994 | St. George | James Grey Larkin | ||
019 | xxxx | St. George Utah North Stake | date | St. George | |||
020 | 1625 | St. George Utah Pine View Stake | 18 Jan 1987 | St. George | H. Carlyle Stirling | FKA: Washington Utah West Stake | |
021 | 2737 | St. George Utah Red Cliffs Stake | 28 Oct 2006 | St. George | R. Daren Barney | ||
022 | 1814 | St. George Utah Snow Canyon Stake | 25 Aug 1991 | St. George | Thomas Randy Judd | FKA: St. George Utah Dixie Downs Stake | |
023 | xxxx | St. George Utah Southgate Stake | 15 Nov 2015 | St. George | |||
024 | 2605c | St. George Utah Sunset Stake | 26 Sep 2002 | St. George | Lon E. Henderson | ||
025 | 2565 | St. George Utah Washington Fields Stake | 25 Jun 2000 | St. George | Terry L. Wade | ||
026 | xxxx | St. George Utah Washington Fields North Stake | 29 Jan 2017 | St. George | |||
027 | 0759 | St. George Utah YSA 1st Stake | 30 May 1976 | St. George | Peter A. Nyberg | FKA: St. George College Stake | |
028 | 2492 | St. George Utah YSA 2nd Stake | 16 Aug 1998 | St. George | Charles Jeffrey Morby | FKA: St. George College 2nd Stake | |
029 | 0991 | Washington Utah Stake | 07 Jan 1979 | St. George | Lorel Wynn Turek | ||
030 | 2368 | Washington Utah Buena Vista Stake | 01 Jun 1997 | St. George | Leo G. Richardson | ||
031 | 2805 | Washington Utah East Stake | 21 Jun 2008 | St. George | Randon Brant Jones |
- Missing St. George West Stake
- Missing: #102: ZionPark Stake - From 1929, Claudius Hirschi.
See Also :
- Utah List of Stakes of the Church
- St. George Utah Stake - Early Stake History
- St. George Utah Stake member Members of St George Stake
- St. Georege Pioneers of 1861-62 - Encampment Mall Memorial
- First Families of St. George, Utah
- Notable people of St. George, Utah
- St. George Family Activities - Local landmarks and history groups. ScoutHut.
- Jacob Hamblin
- Washington County Historical Society (Utah) -
- Notable People of St. George UT -
- First Families of St. George UT -
- Churches of St. George Utah -
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