Utah Heritage Foundation

Parowan is a “can do” community proud to be known as the Mother Town of Southern Utah.  It was settled in 1851, the first Mormon colonial village in the southern part of the Utah territory, and boasts an abundance of historic buildings from the pioneer era, as-well-as a fair share of interesting 20^th century architecture, including a unique Prairie Style Mormon church (left).

Volunteers were out in force early on Saturday, August 6, 2011 to help with the inaugural Yankee Meadow Half Marathon.  Racers were bused to the start at the Yankee Meadow Reservoir.  Besides spectacular mountain and red rock canyon scenery, the race course went past Parowan’s historic cemetery with its beautifully-constructed WPA rock wall, and took runners on a two-mile plus loop past historic buildings in the heart of town before finishing at the Iron County Fairgrounds.



Mayor Donald Landes presented goody bags to the top three runners in each age group that included two books promoting Parowan’s heritage, Images of Parowan’s Past and Heritage Cookbook III, which is illustrated with photos of Parowan’s historic buildings.

The race expo was another stroke of marketing genius, featuring local businesses rather than the usual entourage of oustide running gear vendors.  Parowan is definitely winning the race to promote its economy and its heritage with the inaugural Yankee Meadows Half Marathon. 

UHF members, trustees, and staff will be headed to Cedar City and beyond this year to experience preservation in Iron County on our 2011 Road Trip on Saturday, June 25.  We hope you'll consider joining us for this one-of-a-kind, behind-the-scenes guided tour of some of the renowned and lesser known historic sites.  We've got a full day lined up along with some fun surprises and special guests.

It's also a BIG weekend in "Festival City USA" (Cedar City's moniker) with the opening of the Utah Shakespeare Festival on Friday, June 24, and a weekend-long music festival, Groovefest. 

So if you're a fan of live music, live theater, and preservation, this trip is for you.  "To be or not to be" on our Road Trip?  That is the question.  If you want to be, check out the full line-up on our website and register today.  For the first time, we are offering a children's rate so we hope you'll make it a family outing!