Hildale, Utah
Approaching Hildale from the north on State Route 59
Location of Hildale, Utah
Coordinates: 37°0′10″N 112°59′14″W / 37.00278, -112.98722
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Washington
Area
- Total	2.9 sq mi (7.6 km²)
- Land	2.9 sq mi (7.6 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	5,049 ft (1,539 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,895
- Density	644.2/sq mi (248.7/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	84784
Area code(s)	435
FIPS code	49-35300[1]
GNIS feature ID	1450387[2]

Hildale is a town in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,895 at the 2000 census.

Hildale is a twin town to the more well-known Colorado City, Arizona, both of which straddle the border between the states of Utah and Arizona. Hildale is the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Many adults in the community practice plural marriage. Since most government officials — including the police force — are FLDS members, some critics have likened the community's atmosphere to that of a prison, which is the result of attempts to discourage any of the town's women from attempting to leave the polygamous lifestyle.^[3]

In January of 2004, the current FLDS leader and "prophet", Warren Jeffs, expelled a group of twenty men, including the mayor, and gave their wives and children to other men. While Jeffs stated he was acting on the orders of God, the men expelled claimed they were penalized for disagreeing with Jeffs. Observers state this is the most severe split to date within the community. Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and was eventually apprehended on August 28, 2006 in Las Vegas. On September 25, 2007, Jeffs was convicted of being an accomplice to rape for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old first cousin.

Most of the property in the town is owned by the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the FLDS.

The Colorado City/Hildale, Utah area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes severe mental retardation. Geneticists attribute this to the prevalence of cousin marriage between descendants of two of the town's founders, Joseph Smith Jessop and John Yates Barlow. At least half of the double community's roughly eight-thousand inhabitants are descended from one or both men.^[4]

Geography

Hildale is located at 37°0′10″N, 112°59′14″W (37.002845, -112.987315)^[5].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,895 people, 232 households, and 215 families residing in the town with the population density being 248.9/km² (644.2/sq mi). There were 243 housing units at an average density of 82.6/sq mi (31.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.41% White, 0.21% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.63% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population. 66.9% of people in Hildale are of English ancestry . Hildale is the most English city in the United States.[1]

There were 232 households out of which 76.7% had children under the age of eighteen living with them, 82.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 6.9% were non-families. 6.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older. The average household size was 8.17 and the average family size was 8.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 63.6% under the age of eighteen, 8.8% from eighteen to twenty-four, 18.4% from twenty-five to forty-four, 6.3% from forty-five to sixty-four, and 2.8% who were sixty-five years of age or older. The median age was thirteen years. For every one-hundred females there were 96.2 males. For every one-hundred females age eighteen and over, there were 75.8 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $32,679, and the median income for a family was $31,750. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $16,071 for females. The per capita income for Hildale was $4,782. About 37.0% of families and 41.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.0% of those under age eighteen and 31.8% of those age sixty-five or over.

History

Hildale has a history of polygamy. Mormon Church leaders reportedly sent John D. Lee to the area in 1871 to hide him away from federal authorities. The FBI raided neighboring Colorado City in 1944 to break up a local polygamy ring, arresting fifteen men. In 1953, law enforcement officials again raided Colorado City, arresting twenty-three men. Hildale resident Warren Jeffs was charged by the FBI with arranging marriages of underage girls and was captured in August of 2006. On September 25, 2007, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape. According to the Associated Press, Jeffs is rumored to have numerous wives and children.

Education

Hildale is within the Washington County School District.

Students are zoned to:

• Three Falls Elementary School
• Hurricane Intermediate School
• Hurricane Middle School
• Hurricane High School

Around 1998, the town's elementary-age students attended the Phelps School in Hilldale while many older students attended school in Colorado City Unified School District in Arizona [2].

References

External links

• Hildale, Utah is at coordinates 37°00′10″N 112°59′14″W / 37.002845, -112.987315 (Hildale, Utah)Coordinates: 37°00′10″N 112°59′14″W / 37.002845, -112.987315 (Hildale, Utah)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Utah
County seat: St. George
Cities	Hurricane | La Verkin | Santa Clara | St. George | Washington
Towns	Apple Valley | Enterprise | Hildale | Ivins | Leeds | New Harmony | Rockville | Springdale | Toquerville | Virgin
Community	Pine Valley
Ghost town	Grafton