Editing Santa Clara, Utah (section)

==History==

In 1854, [[Jacob Hamblin]] (1819–1886), was called by Latter-day Saints Church Church patriarch [[Brigham Young]] (1801–1877), in the capital city of [[Salt Lake City]], to serve a mission to the southern [[Southern Paiute|Paiute]] native areas of the recently organized old federal [[Utah Territory]] (1850–1896), and settled in the southwestern corner then of the Territory at Santa Clara, in the vicinity of the modern city of [[St. George, Utah]]. The town is among the oldest in the area and the state.

The first settlers built '''Fort Clara''' or also known as '''Fort Santa Clara''', in the winter of 1855–1856.  In the fall of 1861, Swiss immigrant members of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] ([[Mormons]])  arrived at the new settlement. Shortly afterward, in early 1862, they were victims of a severe flood in the [[Santa Clara River (Utah)|Santa Clara River]] valley that destroyed the fort and most other buildings, along with already existing irrigation dams and ditches. This event was part of the infamous [[Great Flood of 1862]].<ref>[http://wchsutah.org/geography/fort-clara.php  FORT CLARA, (aka FORT SANTA CLARA)], from wchsutah.org accessed September 24, 2015</ref>

Hamblin's first home in Santa Clara was destroyed in the 1862 flood. His second wife Rachael saved one of their young children from drowning, but the child soon after died from exposure. Rachael never fully recovered from exposure she suffered during the flood. Swearing to avoid such a risk again, Hamblin built a new home on a hill in Santa Clara. It is owned today by [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), which operates it as a house museum. Latter-day Saint missionaries give daily tours.

19th century Santa Clara was largely inhabited by immigrants who had earlier converted to [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saints]] faith  in Switzerland of Europe and subsequently crossed the Atlantic Ocean and westward-moving across the North America continent to come to Utah.{{cn|date=November 2024}}  Among these was Daniel Bonelli, who after the 1862 flood became a pioneer colonist of [[St. Thomas, Nevada]] in the [[Moapa Valley]]. He was a farmer, salt miner, and owner of [[Bonelli's Ferry]], at nearby [[Rioville, Nevada]]. This was on the road between the old southwestern [[Utah Territory]] (1850–1896) and the old [[Arizona Territory]] (1863–1912) further south, at the confluence of the [[Virgin River]] and the [[Colorado River]].