St. George Drivers Have Been Driving Past HISTORY Without Even Knowing!
For a lot of people in living in St. George, they use I-15 everyday. I'm one of those people. But, were you aware that we're driving past some REALLY COOL HISTORY everyday? There are some rock carvings just off I-15 that are over 165 years old! I've been able to get some details about the people that carved into the rock face almost 200 years ago, and some that I will need some help on.
Jacob Peart - 1858:
Just off I-15 headed north, if you look to the west as you cross the virgin river, you'll be able to see the carvings, but you have to look REALLY CLOSE. One of these carvings is from Jacob Peart which reads "I WAS SENT HER TO RAISE COTTEN MARCH 1858" Jacob was one of the young men who worked at the experimental cotton farm at Heberville. Heberville is now the Bloomington area.
You'll also see a carved portrait that is believed to be Jacob Peart. J.P. and R.H. are carved below it.
OTHER CARVINGS:
Chester McAllister:
This carving says Chester McAllister Born Nov. 8, 1888.
Plant / Tree:
This carving is a large plant with branches and leaves. Many people believe this is a carving of a cotton tree, the job of many men in the area in the mid 1800's.
There is also carvings of "J.C.", "C.H.P.", "Scott Prisbrey 1932", "J.E."
Yep... They're From Utah! Ways To Tell If Someone Is From The Beehive State!
Imagine you're at the happiest place on earth: Disneyland. You see a family next to you, and something about them reminds you of home. THEY HAVE TO BE FROM UTAH!
HERE ARE THE BEST WAYS TO TELL IF SOMEONE IS FROM UTAH!
They're white:
Yeah... That's a good start for the most part! Utah is a WHOPPING 88% white! Followed by 3% asian, 2% Native American and 1.5% Black.
They're wearing a BYU shirt:
Let's be honest here... If you're not from Utah, you wouldn't be caught DEAD in a BYU shirt or hat. Not a chance in hell!
Mom, Dad, and WAY TOO MANY KIDS:
Utah loves procreating! If you're from Utah, you probably know someone with at least 8 siblings! You've got two parents in the park trying to keep up with 8 kids? Seems nearly impossible!
They're blessing their Disneyland Churro or Corndog:
If you've walked past them, and they're blessing for that corndog to nourish and strengthen their body, I'm willing to bet that family is from Utah!
Mom's face:
The lips are fake and huge, the cheeks are fake and huge, the eye skin has been pulled back so far she looks like she just saw a ghost, and OTHER THINGS are very clearly huge and fake... There's a great chance they're from Utah. I mean, Utah has the SECOND MOST Plastic Surgeons per capita in the entire United States!
Those cringy matching Disneyland t-shirts:
I'm not talking about the shirts that everyone has mickey on them. I'm talking about the "JENSEN FAMILY DISNEYLAND TRIP 2023!" T-shirts... Everyone is sporting one, and they'll never wear it again. What a waste of money!
Alright St. George... Enough Is Enough!
St. George is full of construction, and for the most part... it's good! We have a lot of really cool changes coming to the area. But for some reason, St. George keeps bringing the SAME THINGS! Maveriks, Cookie Shops, Drink Shops, and now...
PARKING GARAGES!
A THIRD parking garage is coming to the SAME area in historic Downtown St. George and I'm SHOCKED about it!
We've had the Parking Garage at the Main Street Plaza for about 20 years now, and I've never seen it full. Now, a block away is the new Washington County building with... YOU GUESSED IT... another parking garage! A five floor parking garage across the street from Iceberg. With the construction of the new City Hall building on Main Street, they're building a THIRD parking garage across the street from the Main Street Plaza Parking Garage, and diagonal from the Washington County Parking Garage. WOW.
After talking to a city employee, I was told that the reason for a third parking garage in the same area is because the Washington County garage is private, and there's a chance that the Main Street Plaza garage could someday go private, but the new city one will always stay public.
Even with all that said, it still feels like overkill of parking. Is there really anything downtown that happens that we would need copious amounts of parking? I don't think so. I would love to have massive events come to Town Square though. Maybe that will come in the future.
HUGE St. George Building Being Torn Down AS WE SPEAK!
Am I the only one that sees construction and has to pull over and watch it happen?! Well, this happened this morning as I was driving down Main Street in St. George! The Wells Fargo Drive Thru on Main Street and 100 South is being torn down to make room for the new St. George City Hall at Town Square. From the renderings of the new City Hall, it appears the entire Wells Fargo building is coming down, and not just the drive thru!
The current City Hall building was built in 1980 and is 34,000 square feet. The new City Hall building will be completed in 2025, and will better help serve the 100,000+ members of St. George! It will be over 69,000 square feet and three stories tall. In addition to the City Hall building, there will be a 4-story tall parking structure.
The new address for this City Hall building will be 61 South Main Street, symbolizing the year the Pioneers Settled St. George: 1861.
Things St. George Needs Changed NOW... If I Were The Mayor!
Everyone has their own ideas of what would make Southern Utah a better place to live. We all have our ideas, right? Maybe it's things to make life easier, better, or less expensive. These are MY ideas of what I would change if I was the Mayor of St. George, Utah!
1. Buildings Taller Than The Temple:
Apparently, St. George has some law that buildings in town cannot be taller than the St. George LDS Temple. That's pretty strange, especially because the Temple isn't really THAT tall. But Imagine the affordable housing we could have if we could have buildings that were 7, 8 or 9 stories tall!
2. Public Transportation Trains:
We have the SunTran, but NO THANKS! I've never been on it, but it seems dirty and slow. But, what about a train? A quick one that could get you from Washington to Santa Clara in 10 minutes? Or Ivins to Little Valley in 10 minutes? That would be awesome, especially on Saturdays when the traffic is harsh.
3. BIG CONCERTS:
St. George, Utah has over 100,000 people here! That doesn't include Cedar City, Hurricane, Ivins, Santa Clara, or Mesquite! It's complete BS that we aren't able to get BIG concerts in St. George. It's especially crazy because we are RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. Huge groups are passing through town almost everyday. In 2021, Missoula, Montana had Guns N' Roses play in their city. Missoula was a population of 75,000 people. That's 25,000 less than St. George. LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!
4. SLIDE THE CITY DAY:
HOW COOL WOULD IT BE?! One Day EACH MONTH in the summer, we shut down a street and we slip n' slide down the city! The kids would LOVE IT! I'd vote for me!
What city things would YOU love to see changed or brought in? Let's make it happen!
BLOCKBUSTER Movie Filmed In St. George AND IT'S GORGEOUS!
Have you ever heard of the 1979 BLOCKBUSTER The Electric Horseman? Did you know it was shot ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY in St. George and surrounding areas? It's an incredible blast from the past if you grew up in St. George! It feels so familiar to watch. If you haven't seen The Electric Horseman it is currently streaming on Netflix!
A quick synopsis of the movie:
Robert Redford plays a retired 5x rodeo champion, Sonny Steele. He's now the face of a cereal brand with a $12,000,000 horse named Rising Star. When he finds out the horse is mistreated in Las Vegas, he rides away on the horse and heads for St. George, Utah. Sonny turns into a fugitive on the run. A tv reporter played by Jane Fonda finds Sonny and Rising Star in St. George and helps Sonny with his plan: Releasing Rising Star with wild mustangs.
Here are some of the AMAZING photos of old St. George!
The first scene of the movie features a football game at THIS stadium. Anyone recognize this place? That's the Dixie SunBowl!
Sonny has stolen Rising Star and they're out somewhere in Washington on the banks of the Virgin River!
Jane Fonda's Character, Hallie catches up with Sonny and Rising Star. I'm trying to put my finger on where this is. It looks like it's up near the Sugar Loaf aka Dixie Rock, somewhere in that area. You can see the mountains to the West AND Pine Valley to the North.
The police are now on the search in Washington! This shot is on Telegraph and Main Street. The empty field to the left is NOW the old Nisson's Store.
If you look down to the left, you can see the old Burger Place!
We're now on Main Street and Tabernacle! Dixie State Bank on the left is now the Main Street Plaza Parking Garage! Jolley's Western Wear is on the left. This intersection is currently a roundabout.
Hallie stepping out of her car on St. George Boulevard. You can see Dixie Realtors in the background which is where the Ocean Buffet is now.
This shot is looking East on St. George Boulevard.
There's the Sugar Loaf Cafe that was once The Gable House, Godfather's Pizza, and now Cafe Sabor.
They're on the road headed north from Bluff Street to Veyo!
Back on Main Street and Tabernacle, the police have spotted Sonny and Rising Star and a police chase is about the ensue!
This field is now the Wells Fargo on Main Street and Tabernacle, across from the Splash Bad.
There's the Tabernacle in the background during the police chase!
Hey! There's the D on the hill!
These houses are still standing, but I'm having a hard time placing exactly where they're located!
It appears they've now started shooting in Washington during this police chase!
They've escaped the police! But now they're at a small little lake or reservoir, and I'm not sure where it is. But it looks like it's in Ivins. Is it the Ivins Reservoir? You can see Kayenta in the background!
Enter Willford Brimley! This is only the 2nd movie he was ever in, and he's a farmer that helps save Sonny, Hallie, and Rising Star. He's driving a Kay A. Bundy truck!
This is definitely Snow Canyon! Right?
One of the prettiest shots in the entire film, a private jet flying into the OLD St. George Airport on the hill!
Sonny is ready to release Rising Star with the Wild Mustangs, and he's definitely up near Zion. Springdale? Rockville?
Sonny and Hallie are now set to go their separate ways and they're having lunch at Dick's Cafe which is now gone. Currently Golden West Credit Union is on that location (Across the Boulevard from Angelica's)
Sonny is headed out on his own on St. George Boulevard. The building on the right is the building where Steamroller Copies, Lazer Mania and down a bit is Urban Renewal.
Sonny is actually walking BACK to St. George in this shot, but he's on the highway between here and Veyo!
I hope you enjoyed this! It was so much fun to watch. They mention St. George a ton, Mesquite, Marysvale and Richfield. It's currently streaming on Netflix! Go watch it for yourself, besides seeing St. George a lot, it was an awesome story!
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