Filmed on Friday, February 2 2024, I drive around the small town Richfield, UT to see what's going on.
Richfield is remote from larger cities, about 100 miles or more in any direction from more populous towns such as Salt Lake City.
Its remoteness, plus its location on major transportation corridors, makes it central Utah's de facto regional capital, a shopping and "commercial capital of a vast mountain-valley region." Many people from the region drive to Richfield to shop, bowl, golf, to attend theater, concerts, or for religious gatherings.
In early January 1864, a party of ten men under the leadership of Albert Lewis came from Sanpete County, Utah, and arrived in what is now Richfield. The Mormon settlers found fertile soil, good water, and wood in the nearby hills. They decided that it was a desirable site for a settlement. These pioneers made a dwelling place for all ten men, which they called 'The Hole in the Ground.' They carefully covered this hole with brush willows and other materials and made a crude chimney of rocks. This dugout was located on today's Main Street. These men spent the remainder of the winter in this dwelling, planning and preparing for when they could bring their families.
The early Mormon settlements were abandoned in 1867 due to the conflict known as the Black Hawk War. But, when resettled in 1871, Richfield grew to become a regional center.
As in most settled areas of rural Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays a prominent role. The Mormons were highly industrious settlers. From 1847, when they founded Salt Lake City, until 1877, they founded 360 towns.
Due largely to combined influences of conservative rural culture and the Latter-day Saints, the voters of the city and the surrounding county are predominately Republican. The Richfield area has 20 major denominational churches.
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