Deseret News | Ghost town reunion: Grafton, Utah

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Ghost town reunion: Grafton, Utah – LDS Church News

Bill Stay | 6:51 a.m. Oct. 24, 2009

My Paternal Grandmother's, Mary Cornlia Woodbury, family resided there in Grafton with her father Thomas Woodbury. The last time we were there I noted that one of her sisters had died as a result of a swing accident alon with another young lady. Is there any one that might fill me in on this?

Bill Stay

Thanks | 10:39 a.m. Oct. 24, 2009

I have a great, great, great grandparent buried in Grafton, Utah, in the unique, little, pioneer cemetery. Grafton is a beautiful place visit.

The Sun Dance Kid? | 3:52 p.m. Oct. 24, 2009

I heard that Brigham Young and some well known out laws like hanging out in Grafton. Is this true?

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You bet cha! | 4:56 p.m. Oct. 24, 2009

Yes, it is true. Butch Cassidy was known to romp around through those parts of Grafton Utah. I have no idea if Butch Cassidy and Brigham Young were buddy's or not?? I know they use to make western movies there.

Tori | 7:32 p.m. Oct. 24, 2009

WOW, Grafton looks like a beautiful place. The photographs are beautiful.

Charlie | 5:04 p.m. Oct. 25, 2009

I'm heading down there this week. I gotta see this town for myself. The pictures are very inviting. I love old Mormon pioneer towns like this. Thanks Deseret News for adding this to my adventures.

Boyd G Deans | 12:46 p.m. Oct. 27, 2009

A real nice aricle. I have several ancestors buried in Grafton and several that lived there. John Wood and his family. George Washington Gibson and his family.

A nice book on Grafton "Grafton Ghost Town on the Rio Virgin" by Lyman D. Platt & L. Karen Platt.

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Erin Askar

Grafton is situated in southern Utah just west of Zion National Park. Featured is a side view of the Alonzo and Nancy Russell Home juxtaposed against the scenic backdrop of Mt. Kenisava in Zion National Park. Following the death of his father, Alonzo Russell, in 1910, Frank Russell bought the house for $200 and a cow. He stayed in the home until 1945 when he and his wife, Mary Ellen, moved to St. George, leaving Grafton uninhabited.