Southwestern Utah is one of the most exciting and fastest growing areas in the nation. The two counties of Iron and Washington are profiled here. The descriptions do not begin to describe the multicolored lands of mountains, canyons, arches and rivers which draw millions of visitors from around the world each year. Harmony Mountain Ranch borders both Iron and Washington Counties.

Iron County Profile:

Area: 3,300 square miles; population: 35,000+ (2001) county seat: Parowan; origin of county name: from iron deposits in the area; principal cities/towns: Cedar City, Parowan, Enoch; economy: government (including education), wholesale and retail trade, services, light manufacturing, and construction; points of interest: Cedar Breaks National Monument, Iron Mission State Historic Park in Cedar City, Old Iron Town, Southern Utah University (Utah Shakespearean Festival), Brian Head ski resort, old rock church, and Jesse N. Smith adobe house in Parowan. 
Iron County is a study in contrasts--from its arid western reaches of the Escalante Desert and Great Basin ranges to the meadows and forests of the high plateaus on the east. The Markagunt Plateau is creased by the colorful formations of Cedar Breaks National Monument, a kind of miniature Bryce Canyon. Brian Head (11,307 feet), named for a profile resembling that of William Jennings Bryan, rises abruptly behind Iron County's major string of settlements and extracts a toll of precipitation from passing westerlies to help feed the headwaters of the Sevier River. 

Parowan Valley was home to prehistoric Anasazi and Sevier people who constructed granaries and pithouses, dating from about A.D. 750 to 1250. Petroglyphs of unusual variety from different periods were pecked into the stone of Parowan Gap about twelve miles northwest of Parowan. Cedar City is the tribal headquarters of the modern Southern Paiute Indians, whose ancestors used the plants and animals of the basin/plateau environment in a complex seasonal pattern. 

The Dominguez-Escalante expedition passed through the area on 12 October 1776 on its unsuccessful search for a route to central California. The Catholic fathers followed the Old Spanish Trail long used by Native Americans to southern California. Fur trapper Jedediah Smith was the first American to use the route on his amazing journey of 1826.

Mormon settlers dispatched by Brigham Young established Parowan in January 1851 as the mother colony of the southern frontier. Cedar City (originally Coal Creek) was founded the same year. Several pioneer log homes as well as some English two-bay log barns now very rare in the state remain in the county. 

Coal in the canyons east of Cedar City and iron ore in the mountains west of the town inspired the early Iron Mission that proved marginally successful as a pioneer attempt at self-sufficiency. Modern mining methods and transportation made iron more befitting as the county name. Old Iron Town still has a fine beehive cooking oven among its ruins. The west end of the county also has some historic and current precious metal mining. The Escalante Desert had its name changed to Escalante Valley, reflecting the rich irrigation agriculture of hay, small grains, and potatoes. 

Iron County has a more balanced and broadly based economy than most of rural Utah. It has continued to remain steady in spite of the recent recessions. Located on Interstate 15, Cedar City is 500 miles from Los Angeles, 180 miles from Las Vegas, and 260 miles from Salt Lake City, and about midway between Los Angeles and Denver via I-70. Its location and size have made it a regional trade center and supplier of services. The concessionaire for nearby national parks (an edge of Zion is in the county) headquarters here as do regional offices of the Bureau of Land Management, Dixie National Forest, and Utah Wildlife Resources. A railroad spur and regional airline serve the city as well. Southern Utah University, combined with the peerless Utah Shakespearean Festival, makes Iron County an attractive stop for some of the more than one million people who annually pass through. Southern Utah University has a current enrollment of over 5,000 students. The population of Iron County has seen significant increases over the past decade and is estimated to be approximately 50,000 in 2010.

Cedar City has a local airport with a runway of 7,500 feet and has connections through Delta Airlines. There is a local hospital with a 48-bed full service, primary care facility and with some secondary level medical care facilities.

Washington County Profile:

Area: 2,422 square miles; population: 108,000 (in 2002); county seat: St. George; origin of county name: after President George Washington; principal cities/towns: St. George, Washington, Bloomington, Hurricane, Santa Clara, La Verkin, Hildale; economy: tourism, education, services, trade; points of interest: Zion National Park, Snow Canyon State Park, Gunlock Reservoir, Red Cliffs Recreation Site, St. George Temple and Tabernacle, Pine Valley chapel, Well Fargo & Co. express building in Silver Reef, Washington Cotton Factory, Jacob Hamblin home in Santa Clara, Brigham Young home and Dixie College in St. George. 

Washington County in the southwest corner of the state includes a large area around St. George in the valley of the Virgin River and its tributaries; it has the highest average temperatures in the state and very mild winters. The eastern third of the county, including spectacular Zion National Park, is part of the Colorado Plateau province. The western two-thirds lies in the Basin and Range geographic province. The lowest point in the state, along Beaver Dam Wash (2,350 feet), is near the county's southwest corner, while the Pine Valley Mountains in the north top 10,000 feet. 

The Anasazi Indians were the first known inhabitants of southwestern Utah.  They entered this area around 200 BC and left about 1200 A.D. The reason for their sudden departure is unknown, but they left their dwellings, rock art and other evidence of their 1000 years of living in this desert community. 

The Paiute Indians entered this region between 1100 and 1200 A D.  The Paiute Indians were a relatively small tribe and were made up of smaller bands of only a few hundred people in each group.   The Paiutes hunted for deer, rabbits, mountain sheep and other animals.  They ate seeds, roots, berries and nuts.  Later they raised crops along the rivers, through irrigation.   They planted corn, wheat, melons, squash and various other vegetables.  
The first known contact of Europeans and Paiutes was recorded by the Spanish Dominguez-Escalante group who passed through southwestern Utah in 1776.  There is an historical monument of their crossing located past the dinosaur tracks in Warner Valley.  

In an attempt to establish an overland route to the Pacific and southern California (the so-called Mormon Corridor), the Mormons founded a string of settlements running southwest from the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young sent small groups into southwestern Utah as early as 1852 to test the agricultural potential of the warm climate. Fort Harmony was established in 1852; Santa Clara in 1854; Washington in 1857; Toquerville in 1858; Grafton in 1859; and Adventure (Rockville) in 1860. But until 1861--when several hundred families were called by church leaders to go to the area to raise cotton, figs, olives, grapes, sugar, almonds, and tobacco--colonization remained chiefly an experiment. St. George, settled in 1861, became the center of the area, nicknamed Dixie because of its southern location, climate and agricultural produce, and the colonists succeeded in producing sizable amounts of cotton, wine, and molasses. The demand for cotton lasted until after the Civil War. The wine industry also grew during this period, as did mining, but when mining decreased so did the demand for wine. From 1875 to 1880 Silver Reef, northwest of Leeds, was a booming mining town, and Wells Fargo reportedly shipped more than $8,000,000 in bullion from the mines there. The boundaries of Washington County, formed in 1852 by the territorial legislature, stretched the entire width of the territory (at that time some 600 miles). After several changes, the county achieved its present size and shape in 1892. 

The economic base of the county has changed significantly over the years from its agricultural foundation to a much more diversified mix. Zion National Park (established in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument) has always been one of the state's premier tourist attractions and is the most visited park in the United States. The trade and service industries have grown steadily to accommodate not only increasing numbers of tourists but the development of the area as a major retirement center. Several thousand "snow-birds" winter in the area, and continue to drive development of leisure, lifestyle, and retirement communities. Four-year Dixie College with some 7,000 students is a major employer as well as a cultural and sport focal point in the area. The Dixie Regional Medical Center is a 137-bed facility staffed by approximately 130 doctors. A cancer center is located on the hospital premises. Heliport facilities are available to transport patients to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City when necessary.

During the past three decades, Washington County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the state. In 1970 the population stood at 13,669; during the 1970s it nearly doubled to 26,065 in 1980. It nearly doubled again during the next ten years hitting 48,560 in 1990 and more than doubled again by 2000, reaching nearly 110,000 residents. Population in 2010 is estimated to be 140,000. 

The county is host to several outstanding events each year, including conferences and conventions, art festivals and art shows, rodeos, bike races, golf tournaments, the Dixie Rotary Bowl Football Game, the St. George Marathon, and the World Senior Games. The county has eleven high quality golf courses and a state-of-the-art airport is currently under construction.