(4/18/99)
A plan to rescue Utah's best-known and most-picturesque ghost town has
received a big shot in the arm.
To help preserve the town of Grafton, the Eccles Foundation is contributing
a third-of-a-million dollars in mathching funds.
Environment Specialist John Hollenhorst tells us the world-famous ghost
town is trapped between the forces of decay and the forces of development.
The early settlers of Grafton, in Washington County, were blessed with
incredible scenery created by the Virgin River.
And they were cursed by it's flooding.
Doug Alder, the fund-raising chairman, says, "They were never able to get
enough land in production because the river kept stealing it from them."
Early in this century they abandoned the picturesque town. And after that,
it's biggest claim to fame was when a certain movie star came here. With a
bicycle.
Paul Newman wasn't even a twinkle in a cameraman's eye when LuWayne Wood
lived in Grafton. His parents were married in 1910.
He was born right here, in a house built by his great-grandfather. Wood
moved away at the age of three. His only clear memory of Grafton is the time he
pulled a tablecloth off the kitchen table.
"And the dishes went on the floor. And I distinctly remember it. I was somewhat
reprimanded, hah, hah, hah," he recalls.
Doug Alder says, "We're trying to preserve this place, and it's just about to
go."
Now Wood and a partnership of preservationists are mounting a major rescue
effort. They've already started shoring up the buildings.
"I think we would have had things falling down this year if we hadn't gotten
done what's been done," Alder says.
Once the buildings are saved they hope to build a bridge over the Virgin,
replacing the swaying bridge that disappeared decades ago.
Wood hopes a restored Grafton will stand as a monument to the courage of
those early settlers.
"The hardships they had, and just realizing the closeness that there must have
been here," he says.
The most ambitious part of the plan is to buy land and protect the
historic town from development.
Alder says, "There have been several developers who would like to turn this
into golf courses and condominiums."
Preservation doesn't come cheap.
That picturesque church- school was built in 1886 at a cost of $600.
It will cost more than $100,000 to fix it up.
The overall goal is to raise about $1.3-million. They're about halfway
there.
