Update on Creepy Polygamy Town in Southern Utah
Okay, I've finally had some time to sit down and do some googling, and I have discovered why my hotel in Hildale, Utah, the Zion Suites of Hilldale, was such a strange place. Hildale and its sister city, Colorado City, Arizona, (they are physically like one city straddling the Utah/Arizona border) are home to the Fundamentalist LDS church headquarters and most of the FLDS members.
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| Hildale and Colorado City just south of Zion National Park |
The larger homes that I saw in Hildale, the ones surrounded by very large walls, were in fact polygamy compounds at one time. (Some may still be; I don't know.)
The large compound sharing the block with my hotel was, in fact, Warren Jeffs' compound. His 79 wives and 65 children lived in the large house while Warren had the private residence to himself.
The larger compound next door that I stayed in belonged to Lyle Jeffs, Warren's brother. Lyle was known as 'Uncle Lyle' and was a bishop in the FLDS church. I believe Lyle ran things after Warren went to prison in 2011, and Lyle himself later went to prison for violations of child labor laws and fraudulent public assistance claims. I believe he's due to be released soon.
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| Polygamy Compounds that are now in the hospitality business |
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| I randomly snapped a pic of this place while driving in town. A former polygamy compound that is now Zion's Most Wanted Bed & Breakfast. Honestly. |
And now I know why my hotel didn't seem anything like a hotel, and what's up with Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona... towns with very sad and strange histories.
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