Atkinville

Atkinville was one of the small pioneer communities established along the Virgin River during the settlement of southern Utah. William Atkin and Rachel Thompson were both raised in England. After joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they married and left Liverpool aboard the ship Siddons in February 1855. They arrived in Philadelphia several months later and eventually continued west, joining the George Rowley Handcart Company in 1859 and reaching the Salt Lake Valley that November. The family later moved to southern Utah. William worked at nearby Price City, an early United Order settlement, and became familiar with the land along the Virgin River south of St. George. In 1877, William and Rachel moved their family and possessions onto approximately 160 acres of previously unsettled agricultural land on the east bank of the Virgin River. Because the Atkins were the first family to establish themselves there, the little settlement became known as Atkinville. Creating a productive farm in Utah's desert country required an enormous amount of work. The Atkin property stood on a bench above the river, so the family constructed a ditch approximately 1½ miles long and diverted water from the Virgin River to irrigate their land. A flowing spring at the north end of the property provided another source of water. Over time, Atkinville developed into a remarkable one-family village. Three substantial limestone homes were built for members of the Atkin family. The settlement also included livestock corrals, hay and grain stack yards, a granary, pigpens, chicken coops, cultivated fields, and other structures necessary for an isolated agricultural community. Water collecting from the irrigation system and spring helped create a shallow pond. Surrounded by cottonwood trees, the pond became a local recreation destination with opportunities for picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, and hunting. Residents from the surrounding region traveled to Atkinville to enjoy it. The settlement also became connected with Wilford Woodruff, an Apostle who later became President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the period of federal prosecution of Latter-day Saint plural marriage, Woodruff periodically stayed at the remote Atkin property while avoiding federal authorities. Family and local histories describe him hiding among the reeds around the pond and in a small room in the Atkin home. He became close to the family and also enjoyed hunting and fishing there. William Atkin died on May 22, 1900, and Rachel died on June 8, 1903. Then, in 1906, a major Virgin River flood devastated Atkinville. The damage effectively ended the small settlement. Buildings were dismantled and valuable lumber was salvaged rather than allowing it to be lost. The landscape eventually became part of modern St. George development, but the Atkinville name and story survived. A three-quarter-scale representation of the Atkin family's limestone home was later constructed at This Is The Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. In 2021, the Atkinville Camp of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers erected Historical Marker #591 at Atkinville Wash Park, preserving the story of this unusual one-family pioneer village.

Southern Utah's pioneer settlements depended heavily on access to water. The Virgin River and its tributaries made agriculture possible in an otherwise arid environment, but settlers had to construct dams, canals, and irrigation ditches to move that water onto usable farmland. William Atkin became familiar with the region while working at Price City, about two miles upstream from the future Atkinville site. Price City was an experimental United Order settlement established during the 1870s. In 1877, the Atkin family established itself on approximately 160 acres along the Virgin River. Their irrigation system included a roughly 1½-mile ditch that carried diverted river water to their elevated farmland. Atkinville's isolation later made it useful during the national conflict over plural marriage. Federal laws and enforcement campaigns targeting Latter-day Saint polygamists intensified during the 1880s. Wilford Woodruff spent periods away from federal authorities and used the remote Atkin property as one of his places of refuge. Atkinville's decline also reflects one of the recurring dangers faced by Virgin River communities. Floods repeatedly damaged farms, dams, irrigation works, and settlements throughout Washington County. The major flood of 1906 caused such extensive damage at Atkinville that the settlement did not recover. Modern development has transformed the surrounding landscape, but the Atkinville name remains attached to the area, and DUP Marker #591 now interprets the former settlement near its historic setting.