Jacob Hamblin Home

History

Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon pioneer and missionary to the Paiute, founded Santa Clara in 1854. After a flood destroyed the settlement in 1862, missionaries built this two-story sandstone house for the Hamblin family in 1863. It was designed with matching rooms at opposite ends to accommodate Hamblin's two wives, and it served as an informal headquarters for the Southern Utah Indian Mission. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 1971.

The flood that moved a town

The 1862 flood is worth understanding, because it shaped the whole region. An exceptionally wet winter sent the Santa Clara and Virgin rivers far beyond their channels, destroying fields, dams and homes across the southern settlements. Several communities were rebuilt on higher ground afterwards; others were abandoned entirely. Grafton, further east, was moved upstream for the same reason in the same season. Building this house in stone, on a better site, was a direct response.

The family name locally

Hamblin's brother William — 'Gunlock Bill', a noted marksman — gave his nickname to the settlement of Gunlock north-west of here, and in turn to the reservoir and state park that now carry it.

Visiting

The church has operated the property as a historic site since the 1970s, and senior missionaries give free guided tours of the restored house and its pioneer furnishings. It is at 3325 Hamblin Drive in Santa Clara, a short drive west of St. George.

Worth reading alongside this: historic sites in St. George and Gunlock State Park.