Ever heard of Grafton, Utah? It's a town that doesn't shy away from spinnin' a ghost story or two. Founded by Nathan Tenney and a gang of Virgin settlers back in December 1859, this fella was once a bustlin' cotton patch, ordered up by none other than Prez Brigham Young. First named Wheeler, the town was flooded and moved upriver, eventually settling on the name Grafton, after the East Coast town of the same name. Things were steamin' for Grafton, attractin' around 28 families and even holdin' the county seat of Kane County from January 1866 to January 12, 1867.
But ol' Grafton had its ups and downs - isolation, floods, and those pesky dirty canals filled with mud. By 1890, only four families were hangin' on, and the town's decline was confirmed when the local church was shut down in 1921. Last residents moved out in 1944, with movie producer Harry Sherman snatchin' up the place. These days, the Grafton Heritage Partnership is workin' up a storm to preserve and restore the old church, Russell Home, Louisa Foster Home, the Berry fence in the cemetery, and John Wood home.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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