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.