In April of 1857, Brigham Young sent 10 families from the Adair clan to settle and grow cotton in Southern Utah, which would become Washington City. Additionally in May of that same year, another 28 families were sent to settle the area. The first year here was tough, with many living in wagon boxes or dugouts on the hillside. Their drinking water came from the same irrigation ditches that were used by their cattle. Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid fever swept through the community.
The pioneers attempted to tame the desert by building a dam on the Virgin River, but floods destroyed it twice in 1857, twice in 1858, three times in 1859, and at least once a year until 1891. The struggles in Washington City led many to up and leave the area. It was sadly joked about that “the ones who remained were too poor to leave.” Food was also scarce which added greatly to the hardship. In 1861, 300 more families were sent to St. George. As the incoming pioneers passed through the early settlement they saw the sunken faces of those who had come before them; they began to wonder if this might be their fate. One pioneer noted, “Seeing the Washington saints tried me more than anything I have seen in my Mormon experience. Thinking that my wife and children, from the nature of the climate, would have to look as sickly as those now around me.”
The struggles were severe, but many strong women were determined to provide relief to the suffering in their community. One such woman was Eliza Adair Price. Eliza was a well known midwife in the settlement and delivered more than 300 babies. Not only did she care for those within her own community of Washington and St. George, but her independent spirit and determination to help those in need extended much further. Eliza would drive her buggy alone to Nevada, as far as Pioche to help women deliver babies. Eliza also tended to the sick and poor throughout Southern Utah, as did many women in Washington City, as a part of their Relief Society organization.
Once the Relief Society Hall was completed in 1875, the women wisely began to charge rent for the use of their building. The money then went to help the sick and needy within Washington City. The building was later used as a co-op store, post office, the first volunteer Fire Department, and was often used to hold bazaars for fundraising efforts. It was also used as a mortuary and funeral home for a time. Local women would take shifts day-and-night to keep ice on the body until it was buried. The women of Washington City truly lived up to their organization’s name and brought relief to all within Southern Utah. They kept their community afloat with their dedication during these desperate times.
Relief was given by the first women in Washington City to their community and even though the Relief Society Hall has had renovations throughout the years, it still continues to serve the community today. It is used for receptions, weddings, family reunions, and community gatherings. The Relief Society Hall even served the children of Washington in the early 1990's as a ceramic shop, where kids could paint their afternoons away.
The oldest Relief Society Hall in Utah stands as a testament to the strength and sacrifice of the early women in Southern Utah. These influential women saw a need to help their fellow humans and they fulfilled that need one hundred times over.