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Photograph of Washington Cotton Factory
Photograph by Delos H. Smith, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Washington Cotton Factory

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

From the record

“The Washington Cotton Factory was built in 1865-67 on Mill Creek near Washington, Utah by Mormon settlers to process locally grown cotton for use by the settlers. The region of the Virgin River valley became known among Mormons as the "Cotton Mission," a project envisioned by Brigham Young to establish Mormon self-sufficiency.”

Wikipedia article Washington Cotton Factory, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 93 National Register listings published here for Washington County · listed in 1971 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. On U.S. 91 (Frontage Rd. West), Washington, 84780
  • When was it listed? April 1971
  • Category. building
  • Census division. St. George
  • National Register reference number. 71000864 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

179 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 179 fires within 5 miles of Washington Cotton Factory between 1992 and 2020, burning about 24,624 acres in total. 13 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined86
Debris and open burning21
Equipment and vehicle use21
Fireworks16
Misuse of fire by a minor14
Natural13
Smoking3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Recreation and ceremony2
Firearms and explosives use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2003Naturalunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsMM 17
8 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresCedar City Field OfficeWASHINGTON ASSIST 02
8 September 1999Natural4.0 acresCedar City Field OfficePARKWAY
6 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSouthwest AreaWASHINGTON DAM
6 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouthwest AreaCOUNTRY WAY
6 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouthwest AreaMILL WASH
5 September 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsGREEN SPRINGS
28 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsWASHINGTON CITY ASSIST 3

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 40 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 40 workings within 5 miles of Washington Cotton Factory: 17 prospects, 14 past producers, 5 occurrences, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Volcanic Materials, Pumice, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Llama GroupUranium, VanadiumOccurrence
Llama GroupVanadium, UraniumOccurrence
Clay PitBentonitePast ProducerSedimentary
Clay PitBentonitePast Producer
Picture Stone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast ProducerSedimentary
Unknown ProspectUraniumProspect
Unknown ProspectSilver, CopperOccurrenceCerargyrite, Malachite
Unknown ProspectUraniumProspect
Unknown ProspectSilver, CopperProspect

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this property

9 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Washington, the town this property stands in, in 9 storm reports between 2011 and 2024: 5 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2018Flash FloodWashington$75,000Heavy rain fell in the city of Washington, flooding approximately six homes.
August 2014Flash FloodWashington$75,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Washington City, including road flooding along Main Street. At least 6 homes were damaged by flood waters, and flooding also occurred in a grocery store.
August 2024Flash FloodWashington$50,000Time is estimated. St. George Police reported standing water on I-15 at Washington, milepost 10, that likely led to a rollover accident.
February 2011Thunderstorm WindWashington$35,000Strong thunderstorm winds caused significant damage to a barn near Washington, Utah. Parts of the barn blew across the road, damaging power lines along the way.
July 2013Flash FloodWashington$20,000Flash flooding occurred in the town of Washington, with flooding beginning along Washington Drive and Interstate 15, and then spreading into the Coral Canyon subdivision. Two homes were especially impacted, with flood waters moving into their backyards. Using water pumps, the fire department was able to keep the flooding from entering one of the homes, but they were unable to keep waters from flowing into the second home. Water and mud as deep as two inches made it into the majority of the home, with interior damages estimated to be as high as $15,000.
July 2013Flash FloodWashington$10,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Washington, resulting in the evacuation of two homes. The homes experienced minor damage from the flood waters, and most of the damage across town was to yards and other outdoor areas.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWashington$5,000Power lines were reported down in Washington.
August 2022HailWashington-A storm produced hail 1 inch in diameter in St. George. The time of the report is estimated.
March 2020Heavy RainWashington-Washington county officials received a report of 1.41 inches of rain.

Every storm recorded in Washington County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Washington Relief Society Hallunder 500 feet1980
Robert D. Covington House0.6 miles1978
Washington School1.4 miles1980
Sugarloaf Hillside Sign3.6 miles2023
Old Washington County Courthouse3.8 miles1970
St. George Social Hall3.9 miles1991

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 71000864 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Washington CountyAll 93 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.