Hildale, Utah

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Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. As of the 2004 census, the city population was 1,980.

Approaching Hildale from the north on Highway 59

Hildale is a twin city to the more well-known Colorado City, Arizona. The two cities 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 polygamy. In fact, since most government officials, including the police force are FLDS members, the community is known to be a prison-like atmosphere for any women attempting to leave the polygamous lifestyle.^{[citation needed]}

In January of 2004, the local religious leader, Warren Jeffs, expelled a group of 20 men, including the mayor, and gave their wives and children to other men. 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 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.

Most of the property in the town is owned by the United Effort Plan, an arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

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 Jessup and John Yeates Barlow; at least half the double community's roughly 8,000 inhabitants are descended from one or both.^[1]

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Education
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Hildale is located at 37°0′10″N, 112°59′14″W (37.002845, -112.987315)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.6 km² (2.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,895 people, 232 households, and 215 families residing in the city. The population density was 248.9/km² (644.2/mi²). There were 243 housing units at an average density of 31.9/km² (82.6/mi²). 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. At 66.9% English, Hildale is the most English city in the United States.

There were 232 households out of which 76.7% had children under the age of 18 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 65 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 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 18.4% from 25 to 44, 6.3% from 45 to 64, and 2.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 13 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city 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 the city 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 18 and 31.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] 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 15 men. In 1953, law enforcement officials again raided Colorado City, arresting 23 men. Hildale resident Warren Jeffs was charged by the FBI with arranging marriages of underage girls. He was finally captured in August of 2006. According to the Associated Press, Jeffs is rumored to have numerous wives and children.

[edit] 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, students attended a school in Hildale called the Phelps School for elementary school, while many older students attended school in Colorado City Unified School District in Arizona [1]. Thats all.