Schedule for the Day's Events

10:00  Opening Ceremony at School House

            -Opening Song: Come Come Ye Saints

            -Invocation: President Donald Whitney

            -Remarks: President Matthew Messer

10:10  Ruth Chadburn Drama

10:20  Vicki Willard

10:30  Marva Rae Perkins Sprague Drama

10:40  Zila Johnson

10:50  One for the Muddy Drama

11:20  Bill Bunker

11:30  Emmiline Huntsman Drama

11:40  Nelson Family

11:50  Berkley Lloyd Bunker Drama

12:15  Moapa Tribal Performance

12:30  Braid the Maypole

1:00    Welcome Youth Conference

1:10    Ruth Chadburn Drama

1:20    Ken Marshall

1:30    Marva Rae Perkins Sprague Drama

1:40    Song by Youth

1:50    One for the Muddy Drama

2:20    Song by Youth

2:30    Emmiline Huntsman Drama

2:40    Nelson Family

2:50    Berkley Lloyd Bunker Drama

3:00    Closing Ceremony at School House

             -Remarks: Logan Call

             -Remarks: Susan Whipple

             -Song: God Be With You Till We Meet Again

             -Benediction: Bishop Berkley Marshall

Alive in Our Communities Today

St. Thomas, Nevada was an early pioneer settlement in what was originally believed to be the Utah Territory. This early Mormon village was settled near the confluence of the Virgin River, whose source flows from Southern Utah and the Muddy River whose waters flow from the warm springs in upper Moapa just north of the Old Spanish Trail. The water of these two rivers then joins the Colorado River, a meandering 24 miles to the south. The early years of St. Thomas were that of hardship for those early settlers. Yet, in spite of the hardship over time the settlement and exploration of the area expanded from the original settlement. Farming, Mining, ranching and the other economic and business activities that followed the early settlement period took root in the hills and valleys of this blossoming desert.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century St. Thomas was the hub for most all activities in the general area. It provided the goods and services to the farmers, ranchers, miners, townsfolk and weary traveler. Due to its location and differing modes of early transportation and routes, St. Thomas was also the main hub for most types of early travel. It was a stop along the way on the Arrowhead trail that connected Los Angeles and Salt Lake for the emerging automobile traffic. St. Thomas had a spur off the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Rail Road which provided the main means for transporting goods including ore and agricultural commodities which was vital to this budding landscape. St. Thomas was not far from the Old Spanish Trail which traversed much of the western territory. It also provided another means for the shipping of goods by ferry due to the close proximity of St. Thomas to the Colorado River.

The history and stories of St. Thomas are full of character, cultural milestones, and pioneer heritage which are still alive in our communities today. Though the chapter of St. Thomas in our history books may have seemed to draw to a close in the late 1930’s as the waters of the monumental reclamation project that was the Boulder Dam covered this once blossoming town, its legacy and cultural values are alive and well in the towns and villages where its descendants still reside.

Please join us on March 3rd, 2012 at St. Thomas for a community celebration as we bring this historic town alive for a day. We will have many of the descendants of those early pioneers as well as those who remember visiting St. Thomas there to reconnect. There will be music and dramatizations of the early days being performed live, where they would have been performed then, at the old St. Thomas School. There will be maps and displays as well as pictures taken in the early days displayed where they were taken to help visualize the then, now. If you have history or stories please contact me so we can share and make the most of your stories to help bring St. Thomas alive.

As parking space is limited, and a four-wheel drive is required, if you plan to attend please carpool with your neighbors so we can have room for as many as want to attend.

Finding St. Thomas

The following are general directions on how to find the town site of St. Thomas. If you are going here for the first time please have a good map and be prepared for the adventure. A spare tire, water and thick soled boots are a must and knowing where you are going, with the help of a map, helps.

Head south out of Overton, Nevada on Highway 169. (shortly out of Overton it turns into Northshore Road)
Drive past the Lost City Museum.
Continue driving past the turn off to Valley of Fire State Park turn off.
Shortly after the Valley of Fire turn off you will see the Park Service Toll booth.
The turn to St. Thomas is directly after the toll booth heading east.
From here it is dirt road, somewhat maintained by the park service.
Drive roughly 3.5 miles down the dirt and you will arrive at the parking area.
From here it is hiking

From the parking area to the top of main street at St. Thomas the trail is roughly 0.62 miles

From the top of main street it is up to you to see how much you want to see and how much you want to hike and fight the overgrowth. Please take the time and read the Watch Your Step post. Some of the foundations on Main Street of St. Thomas have been cut back for better accessibility but the stumps of the cut off tamarisk bushes pose somewhat of a hazard.

Above is Roxton Whitmores home on Main Street St. Thomas

The most accessible part of St. Thomas is from the top of Main Street roughly at Roxton's home down to the St. Thomas School house. From the school house you can go south to the Gentry Hotel site and loop back into the main hiking trail.

View Larger Map

Martin Bunker Home Site

This is the Martin Bunker Home site. It sits just south of the old St. Thomas School house. The foundations and the cistern as site visible 

The black and white photo can be found at the UNLV special collections libarary. It is a photo of the water first coming into St. Thomas in 1938

Traces of St. Thomas

Top of Main Street

This is a photo taken at the top of main street at St. Thomas looking East. The house to the right is Roxton Whitmore's home. To the left, you can just barely see the front part of the foundation of Albert Frehner's home.  The stumps of the once many trees that shaded St. Thomas are a dominant feature of this deserted desert town.

 

Watching Your Step

St. Thomas has been over run by the tamarisk bushes. There has been an effort to cut some of them back to reveal some of the foundations however the stubs of bushes pose somewhat of a hazard if you are not outfitted with a good pair of boots and watching where you step.

St. Thomas Alive

The Moapa Valley Progress has written an article about the St. Thomas 2012 Alive project that many people in the community are working to put together. Please read the article an send an email to either stthomasalive@gmail.com or savegoldbutte@gmail.com to help with this event:

http://mvprogress.com/2012/02/01/m-v-residents-sought-to-help-stage-%E2%80%9Cst-thomas-alive%E2%80%9D-event/

View of St. Thomas

This is a picture of St. Thomas taken from the parking area. The strip with the weeds cut back is main street.  As you can see the waters are approaching once again.