Editing Leeds, Utah (section)

==History==
Formerly known as Bennington, Leeds was formed due to flooding in the neighboring town of [[Harrisburg, Utah|Harrisburg]]. The residents in the flood-affected areas decided to move to this area in 1867. It was renamed in honor of [[Leeds]] in England, the origin of many of its settlers.<ref name=names>{{cite book|title = Utah Place Names|last=Van Cott|first=John W.|year=1990|publisher=[[University of Utah Press]]|location=Salt Lake City|page=224|isbn=0-87480-345-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sa9SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c38DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2503%2C5092871 | title=You name it - there's a town for it | work=The Deseret News | date=January 22, 1977 | access-date=October 18, 2015 | author=Van Atta, Dale | pages=W6}}</ref> In recent years, the city's proximity to the [[ghost town]] of [[Silver Reef, Utah|Silver Reef]], the [[Pine Valley Mountains]], and [[Zion National Park]] have changed the local economic base from agriculture to tourism.

On June 17, 2009, Utah police and forest rangers destroyed about 8,750 [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] plants growing in Washington County. Law enforcement reported [[Mexicans|Mexican]] [[Drug cartel|cartels]] have moved their growing operations to Utah to avoid the [[Mexico–United States border|U.S.-Mexico border]] and police pressure in [[California]]. There were no arrests made and the marijuana fields were in the Pine Valley Mountains near Leeds. Doug Roe, a special agent with the [[United States Forest Service]], said the plants were young and not ready for harvesting.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12607822|title=Another big pot field found in southern Utah|last=Carlisle|first=Nate|newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]|publisher=[[MediaNews Group]]|location=Salt Lake City|date=June 17, 2009|access-date=July 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.kcsg.com/news/regional/48304912.html] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904121246/http://www.kcsg.com/news/regional/48304912.html |date=September 4, 2015 }}</ref>