Iron County Utah - info, facts, communities, links on Key to the City

The first white men to pass through the area were Fathers Escalante and Dominquez on October 12, 1778. They were looking for a new route to California for their mother Spain. Jedediah Strong Smith, a fur trader, came through in 1826. He was the first American to write about what would become the state of Utah. Brigham Young sent exploration parties in December of 1849 to find new areas to colonize in Southern Utah. One of the groups found deposits of iron ore west of Cedar City. The leader of the expedition, Parley P. Pratt, named the area Little Salt Lake, but the name was never used after that day. Iron County was formed in 1850 with George A. Smith as its first chief justice. His quest was to establish and settle the area. December 1850 began the settlement of the area with 35 families and 100 armed men leaving Salt Lake City. They founded Parowan on January 13, 1851. Cedar City was begun later that same year by settlers of Parowan.

Return to top

Economy:

Agriculture plays a large part in Iron County with the growing of Alfalfa and Wheat. Livestock raising is also a major factor in the economy with many ranches in outlying areas.

Return to top

Location:

Iron County is located in Southern Utah, north of the St George and Zions National Park area. Here is a map page for the area.

Surrounding Counties to Iron County are:
Beaver County, Piute County, Garfield County, Kane County, and Washington County.

Return to top

Schools:

Iron County School District

Return to top

Genealogy:

Iron County US GenWeb page.

Return to top

Attractions and Other Information:

The Iron County Fair

Brian Head Ski Resort

Tourism pages for Iron County.

Cedar Breaks National Monument
2390 West Highway 56, Suite #11
Cedar City, Utah 84720-4151
Phone: 435-586-9451

Southern Utah Air Show - in Parowan.

The Parowan Gap Petrogylphs

Iron County Travel Council
P.O. Box 1007
Cedar City, UT 84721
435-586-5124, 800-354-4849
Fax: 435-586-4022

A Guide to Beaver and Iron Counties.

Return to top

Search Key to the City

Custom Search

or Search anywhere on the Web

Custom Search

Return to the Utah Counties page

Return to the Utah Page

Return to the Key to the City home page

Thanks for visiting Key to the City. We hope you will visit again soon. We'll leave the light on for you!!

This page was last updated on 9 May 2009 at 9:33 pm

This page was created 26 July 1999