Serving as the gateway to Kodachrome Basin State Park, Cannonville is located in the upper Paria Valley at almost 6,000 feet. The first group to use the land for grazing livestock was in 1874 when 2 people arrived to establish homes in the vicinity of where Henrieville Creek empties into the Paria. The following year other settlers came to the area. The residents called the town Clifton (Cliff Town) because of the view of the pink cliffs and other rock formations.The uncertain water supply made it difficult for the early settlers to survive. During July and August 1877 water came down the stream bed only at night in the upper Paria Valley. The people scooped the water from small pools into barrels for the next days use. They hauled water from the Bryce Spring also.
In 1877 the residents still in Clifton decided to relocate their town site about 1.5 miles upstream. Settlers dismantled their homes (basically ten log cabins) and their school/meetinghouse and reassembled them at the new location.They named the new community Cannonville after LDS apostle George Q. Cannon. Some have said that the town should have been called "Gunshot" because it was to small for a cannon.
The following families, Littlefield, Bliss, Bryce, Thompson, Brigham, Orson, Samuel, Packer, Spencer, William Jasper Henderson Sr, Ingram, Dickson, Clayton, Mecham and Laramie were living in Cannonville.
Altho the new town site proved more promising than the first site, the pioneers still faced obstacles over and above those normally associated with establishing settlements in Virgin Territory's. After the drought conditions they had previously known, the water they were able to bring from the Paria River was plentiful but the soil in the upper valley washed out easily.
It would be a decade before the residents of Cannonville would have a more dependable water supply.
A rumored gold rush within Cannonville's first two years presented residents with another challenge. Prospector's came to the region in large numbers and an early winter caught them unprepared and they were without food. The Church instituted a program to which the residents contributed from their already meager stores. William Jasper Henderson Sr. seen the need for a store. He built a one room structure of sawed logs from the saw mill Joel Hills Johnson had established in Hillsdale and used stone for the foundation. He made pine shakes for the roof. After completing his store, he drove a wagon pulled by four-horse team to Parowan for supplies. The journey took 8 days to complete. Without banks nearby, William formed his own coins from a set of dies he owned. (I have one of these coins I found when I moved here)When residents could build their permanent houses they used limestone and sand for their mortar by burning the plentiful limestone in adobe kilns the settlers had a ready supply of lime for the mixture. The early settlers made their own nails from hard wire or square metal bar stock. They also used wooden pegs and dowels to hold the buildings together. The key to survival in Cannonville was self-sufficiency.In addition to dances, the settlers amused themselves with horse racing, horse shoe pitching, and marbles. Some settlers would go to Seaton's still located down river in one of the canyons where Seaton had built a dugout. He grew hops, barley, corn and rye for his beer.
Clifton became a branch of the Panguitch Ward in 1876, with Jonathan T. Packer as branch president. The following year, Cannonville Ward was organized and Packer served as its first bishop. Henrieville, Tropic and Georgetown became branches of the Cannonville ward.
When Drucilla Johnson married William Jasper Henderson and set up housekeeping in Cannonville, summer days dictated that she rise very early and went to the fields to plant corn, potatoes, or whatever else was necessary. 11 o'clock brought her back home to prepare the noon meal, after which she again returned to the fields. At night she stayed home to catch up on household duties.
Life in Cannonville was not easy but the people mustered the energy to do what had to be done and still find time to enjoy themselves.
