The Meadeau View Institute was a conservative organization that operated in
Duck Creek, Utah
Duck Creek Village is an unincorporated community in Kane County, Utah, United States.
Description
The community is located on the edge of Cedar Mountain, with an elevation of . Duck Creek Village has a post office
A post office is a publ ...
, from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
The institute was notable for seeking to build a Utopian community of alternative-lifestyle conservatives in Southern Utah. The community collapsed in 1994 due to financial problems incident to the loss of property in an accidental explosion.
Founding
William H. Doughty, the institute's founder and money manager, accepted over $1 million in donations and loans from backers in an attempt to build a conservative Utopia in
Duck Creek and
Mammoth Valley Mammoth Valley is a depression in Southern 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 no ...
,
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 ...
(near
Hatch). In December 1986, Doughty purchased a vacant lodge in Duck Creek from Harry and Gabrielle Moyer, who carried the note for him. He later moved his
Institute for Constitutional Education (ICE) from
Cedar City
Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...
to the lodge. Contributors include
W. Cleon Skousen
Willard Cleon Skousen (; January 20, 1913 – January 9, 2006) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative author with the John Birch Society and a faith-based conspiracy theorist. A notable anti-communist and suppor ...
,
Glenn Kimber, and
Donald N. Sills.
Collapse
During the winter of 1993, snow build-up from a record snowfall led to a propane explosion at the Meadeau View lodge. The investment which had been made in this asset was lost, as well as the income from seminars and conferences. As a result, donations and other fundraising efforts also failed, leading to the demise of the organization. On January 25, 1994, the Utah Division of Real Estate issued a cease-and-desist order to Doughty, ordering him to stop marketing the Mammoth land and timeshares at Liberty Village, because the offerings weren't registered with the division. At least 72 families and individuals were promised land at Mammoth with "donations" ranging from $2,000 to $14,000.
The fledgeling
George Wythe College, which had been holding classes in the lodge, moved to Cedar City, and those who sought to build the community, including Shanon Brooks (who later became president of George Wythe University), left.
As of 2004, Doughty still maintained a ranch in Mammoth Valley.
Aftermath
The ''
Deseret News
The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
'' reported that participants who lost money were reluctant to come forward to authorities, due to their inherent distrust for the government.
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References
External sources
Letters to the Deseret News
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Utopian movements
Organizations based in Utah
Conservative organizations in the United States
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