Utah Heritage Foundation

Superlatives and smiles abounded at the St. George Historic Homes Tour the afternoon of Saturday, January 15, 2011.  Preservation Commissioner Lynne Cobb pronounced the event “Wildly Successful,” after hosting an estimated 500+ guests at the National Register-listed William F. Butler House.

UHF Field Rep Susan Crook reported 336 guests signed in at the Arthur Miles House where she served as host, but the actual count was probably over 700.  St. George Live! actor Durrant McArthur, in period costume as his pioneer forbear Daniel McArthur, greets a guest in the parlor of the Miles House during the tour (left). 

In addition to St. George Live! actors, tour guides included preservation commissioners and staff, and Washington County Historical Society board members.  The volunteers piled into St. George Live! buses for a preview tour Friday afternoon, seen below at Green Gate Village near Judd’s Store, which has been in continuous operation for 100 years.  The iconic St. George Tabernacle is in the background.  The St. George Historic Homes Tour was one of the kick-off events for the City’s sesquicentennial celebration.

The free tour was organized by the St. George Historic Preservation Commission with coaching and assistance from UHF Central and Southern Utah Field Rep Susan Crook, who also wrote the house scripts and two feature articles for the Spectrum newspaper to promote the tour.  When told this was the first time the HPC had offered a tour, guests said, “Oh, you should do them every year!”  So maybe we will take you up on that.

Click to download (be patient – it’s a big file) City of St. George Historic Homes Tour Brochure