Tonaquint

The Tonaquint were here first. A band of Southern Paiute — Nuwuvi — they farmed corn along the Santa Clara where it meets the Virgin, and gave the river their name. In 1855 Jacob Hamblin planted cotton in these bottoms, and settlers followed, borrowing the Tonaquint name for four log-and-willow cabins they abandoned to floods by 1862. The people fared far worse: settlers' cattle stripped the seed plants they lived on, and by 1877 a missionary counted only two Tonaquint men where hundreds had farmed a generation before.

What the plaque says

Jacob Hamblin, pioneer. missionary and friend to the Indians, planted cottonseed in the fertile river bottoms near here in 1855. A settlement was established the next year called Tonaquint, after a local band of Indians that were located there. As part of the Cotton Mission, four families built a few log cabins and willow huts. Sometimes called Lower Clara, with nicknames of Seldom Sap, Never Sweat and Lick Skillet, it was abandoned in 1862 due to a series of floods. However, some farming was continued and it was later known as Seep Ditch.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm — 3.9 mi
  Real dinosaur footprints preserved in ancient sandstone
• Snow Canyon State Park — 9.2 mi
  Red and white sandstone cliffs with ancient lava flows
• Hurricane Canal Trail — 18 mi
  The hand-dug canal that built Hurricane, now a walking trail blasted into the Virgin River gorge

More markers nearby

• Jedediah Strong Smith - St. George — steps away
• Brigham Young's Vision — steps away
• Utah is Rich in Aviation History — 1.0 mi
• The Temple Quarry — 1.9 mi