Toquerville

The town kept the Paiute name for the place. Southern Paiute people living here called it Toquer — "black," for the dark volcanic rock nearby — and when eight families arrived from New Harmony in 1858 to settle, they made it Toquerville. It grew into the Dixie cotton economy, raising cotton, cane, grapes, and fruit, and claimed a couple of firsts: the first cotton-gin mill in Utah and the first furniture shop in the southern settlements. For a time it served as the county seat. The old building that held the cotton gin is still standing.

What the plaque says

In 1854 President Brigham Young sent scouts to locate sites for settlement. Indians living here called it Toquer (Meaning Black). In 1858 eight families were sent from New Harmony to colonize here. They named it Toquerville, which became the county seat of Kane County. Its principal industries were cotton, cane, grapes and fruit. They built the first cotton-gin mill in Utah and the first furniture shop in Dixie. The building that held the mill still stands.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hurricane Canal Trail — 5.2 mi
  The hand-dug canal that built Hurricane, now a walking trail blasted into the Virgin River gorge
• Grafton Ghost Town — 13 mi
  A photogenic ghost town used in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Zion National Park — 15 mi
  Towering sandstone cliffs that glow like fire at sunset
• Kolob Canyons — 15 mi
  The quiet, uncrowded back door to Zion National Park

More markers nearby

• Toquerville Veterans Memorial — steps away
• The Southern Exploring Company — 3.7 mi
• LaVerkin Pioneers — 3.9 mi
• Southern Exploring Company 1849 Parley P. Pratt Southern Utah Expedition — 4.1 mi