Clarion is a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
in
Sanpete County,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, United States, southwest of
Gunnison. Clarion was the site of an early-twentieth century experiment in Jewish rural living. The Clarion site totaled , and was five miles from north to south along the
Sevier River
The Sevier River (pronounced "severe") is a -long river in the Great Basin of southwestern Utah in the United States. Originating west of Bryce Canyon National Park, the river flows north through a chain of high farming valleys and steep canyons ...
and wide. The area today is in the
Centerfield, Utah postal district.
Origins
The
Jewish question
The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national ...
was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society pertaining to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews in society. The debate was similar to other so-called "national questions" and dealt with the civil, legal, national and political status of Jews as a minority within society. Jews in Europe were historically prohibited from purchasing real estate and excluded from many professional guilds. Consequently, many came to live in impoverished urban ghettos and villages. European Jewish reformers and Zionist nationalists argued that Jews needed to become "a normal nation" and advocated for Jewish land ownership and agriculture cultivation in a
back-to-the-land movement
A back-to-the-land movement is any of various agrarian movements across different historical periods. The common thread is a call for people to take up smallholding and to grow food from the land with an emphasis on a greater degree of self-suffic ...
. Jews would find a purer life engaged in manual labor and a great attraction to North America, South America, and Palestine with the legal possibility of land ownership.
In January 1910 in Philadelphia,
Benjamin Brown established the Jewish Agricultural and Colonial Association and listed its primary office in Philadelphia's
West Parkside neighborhood, with 250 members, branches in New York and Baltimore, and for the purpose of, "Settling on farms and mutual aid". Brown served as president and Isaac Herbst was secretary.
Brown and Herbst, as representatives of the organization, traveled in 1911 to investigate potential sites in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
,
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
, and
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
. The New Mexico option proved to be impractically expensive. As the disappointed Brown and Herbst were preparing to leave New Mexico, they received a telegram inviting them to stop in Utah. The state was engaged in a campaign to attract settlers, and planning the construction of the Piute Canal in
Sanpete County, Utah
Sanpete County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 27,822. Its county seat is Manti, and its largest city is Ephraim. The county was created in 1850.
History
The Sanpete Valley ma ...
. The canal would
irrigate
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
vast tracts of desert and Brown and Herbst were encouraged by the opportunity.
The Association was also attracted by the financially secure and politically established
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
Jewish community. Socially prominent Salt Lake City Jews
Simon Bamberger
Simon Bamberger (February 27, 1845October 6, 1926) was the fourth Governor of Utah (1917–1921) after it achieved statehood from territorial status in 1896. Bamberger retains the distinction of being the first non-Mormon, the first Democrat, ...
,
Samuel Newhouse, and attorney Daniel Alexander pledged support to the initiative with advocacy among area business and political leaders. A Utah State Board of Land Commissioners representative escorted Brown and Herbst to inspect available land. Brown and Herbst were impressed with a parcel of state-owned land in south-central Utah below the planned Piute Canal. Brown was convinced of the soil's fertility, and with the state's assurances of available water, the Association agreed to purchase the land at auction on August 7, 1911.
The Colony in Clarion (1911-1916)
After purchasing the territory in Clarion,
Benjamin Brown and twelve original colonists "chosen for their mechanical skills, experience with horses, and ‘seriousness,’” arrived at the settlement on September 10, 1911. The Clarion location offered seemingly cultivatable land that was sufficiently large enough to handle the group of incoming
colonists, and was strategically located near a railroad depot, easily connecting the territory to
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
. The original occupants of the land, however, were initially surprised to encounter land that, despite promoted as fertile, had a short growing season. But, the colonists nonetheless dug irrigation channels from the nearby canal and began to plant their crops such as
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
oats
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
, and
alfalfa. Although the settlement was small, with just 23 families, optimism was high.
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
had been advertising nationally to receive more settlers, and Governor
William Spry
William Spry (January 11, 1864 – April 21, 1929) was an American politician who was the third Governor of the State of Utah. He is the namesake of the William Spry Agriculture Building that houses the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. ...
was so pleased with the experiment that he journeyed the from the capital in order to celebrate the community's first harvest.
By May 1912, the colonists quickly began to see their investment pay off, as they were able to harvest their crops while new families frequently arrived at the site. However, the colonists were simultaneously plagued by
dust storms
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are trans ...
, heat, strong winds, flies and mosquitoes, which, when combined with a scarcity of water, doomed their harvest: six-hundred acres produced only half of their expected yield. In the fallout of the year's poor performing harvest, the colony decided that having individual control over the territory would be more beneficial. Shortly thereafter, forty-acre lots of land began to replace collective work and ownership of the property. By October 1912, there were about 150 families at the colony when the Jewish Agricultural and Colonial Association announced that one hundred and fifty additional families would join the settlement.
While the individual plots of land were not uniform in terms of soil quality, they did lead to more success in terms of crops in the Spring of 1913. Combined with the construction of a well to make water more accessible, the population of Clarion continued to grow, and the colony as a whole started to show signs of stability. However, through the Summer and Fall, severe weather frequently challenged living and planting conditions, as well as the stamina of the colonists, which, combined with a
water shortage
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is wher ...
, devastated the 1914 harvest.
By 1915, the population of Clarion had decreased by almost two-thirds, and a second consecutive poor harvest during the year led to even more residents leaving in the pursuit of industrial labor opportunities in major cities such as
New York and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Ultimately, a state order terminated the colony’s title on November 25, 1915. Shortly thereafter, in January 1916, the state of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
began to auction off the colony’s land. Although some colonists remained, as only about one-tenth of the total tract was sold, most of the Jewish residents left within three or four years of the sale of the territory.
After the colony
After the demise of the Jewish colony, others moved into the area. Japanese families settled in the Clarion area in 1921, as did Mormons of Scandinavian descent. Brown and a few of the other Jewish colonists stayed and farmed in the area until the 1920s. There were enough persons residing in Clarion in 1925 to establish the Clarion LDS Ward. Friedland observed the Japanese families when he returned to the Clarion site in 1926.
In 1932, the Clarion LDS Ward had 166 members and met in the social hall constructed by the Jewish settlers. The LDS Ward was dissolved on April 1, 1934, "on account of the shortage of water."
World War II
disrupted the Japanese settlement and the land reverted to the local citizens. By 1959 the Clarion social hall had been turned into a
granary
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
. The fence surrounding the two Jewish graves had been torn down and cows knocked down the headstones.
In 2008, the Salt Lake Tribune observed that fences had been reconstructed around the Jewish graves and noted the foundations of buildings and the walls of the broken cistern that burst the first day colonists used it. At the time of the centenary in 2011, Brown Rex Dairy abutted the Clarion site and local residents continued to refer to the area as "Clarion" although it is in the
Centerfield postal district.
Historiography
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
Professor Robert Goldberg chanced upon the Clarion remnants in 1980. A subsequent interview in Los Angeles with a descendant of one of the Clarion families led to Goldberg's writing the Jewish colony's history, ''Back to the Soil''. Goldberg placed advertisements for contacts in the Salt Lake Jewish community newsletter. He tracked down 53 families with ties to Clarion, and reconstructed the story from interviews and records. Goldberg's papers are archived and accessible through the University of Utah in the Robert Alan Goldberg papers which include diaries, monographs, and news articles by or regarding the Clarion participants, as well as interviews, research questionnaires, and correspondence with their descendants.
Clarion was featured in the play "Life, More Sweet Than Bitter" which tells the story of a Jewish family from Dubossar, Russia which came through Philadelphia to Clarion.
Beth Hatefutsoth
ANU - Museum of the Jewish People, formerly the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the center of the Tel Aviv University campus in Ramat Aviv.
ANU - Museum of the Jewish People is an institution ...
in Tel Aviv included Clarion in the 1983 exhibit, "Diaspora Farmers of the 19th and 20th Century". You can also read the book the play was based on, ''Life More Sweet than Bitter'', Maurice Warshaw with Rhoda Kelsch as author, recently republished in a Second Edition and edited by Ronald Kelsch of Vision Impact Publishing. The community was also featured in a segment in the 2007 play ''
Impossible Cities: A Utopian Experiment''. The settlement was the subject of a presentation in June 2013 at
Congregation Yeshuron-Ezras Israel in the South Philadelphia neighborhood from which many of the Clarion colonists originated as part of the "Hidden City Philadelphia Festival 2013".
In September 2011 a celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the settlement was celebrated in Salt Lake City. Tours of the site were featured.
The
Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area
The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area (MPNHA) is a federally designated National Heritage Area that recognizes and commemorates the efforts of Mormon pioneers who made the Mormon Trail, trek westward, settling Utah and the American West. Spann ...
moved forward in 2014 with placing plaques on key sites in Clarion and developing an interpretive display on Gunnison's Main in coordination with the Gunnison City Council. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area provided a grant for which it sought a fifty-percent match which was provided by the
Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation
The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP) is an American non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer historical society. The society locates sites of American and Jewish historical interest and importance. It works with local community org ...
.
The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area dedicated three interpretive panels about Clarion in Gunnison on September 25, 2015.
References
Further reading
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External links
Clarionat GhostTowns.com
Gunnison, Utahat gunnisoncity.org
Clarion, Utahat FindaGrave.com
{{Sanpete County, Utah
Ghost towns in Utah
Jews and Judaism in Utah
Utopian communities in the United States
Populated places established in 1911
Ghost towns in Sanpete County, Utah