Hurricane dates to 1896, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #43 of 119 in Utah. What drives it
Most of Hurricane was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 81 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hurricane’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hurricane is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #43 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hurricane’s overall grade.
Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hurricane’s 37.8 sits above most of its state (81% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 86 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1896.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Hurricane’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hurricane was first settled in 1896 and received its name after a whirlwind blew the top off a buggy in which Erastus Snow was riding. Snow exclaimed, "Well, that was a Hurricane. We'll name this 'Hurricane Hill'." The community was settled as part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints's (LDS Church) President Brigham Young's "Cotton Mission", intended to establish the southern end of Utah for agricultural purposes. The town once operated a large peach and apricot orchard for the LDS Church and is historically known for small farms of peaches, pecans, and pistachio nuts.
The 1992 St. George earthquake destroyed three houses and various utilities, causing about US$1 million in damage.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1896, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hurricane’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1910 counted 336 people here.
How does Hurricane rank for history?
Hurricane is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #43 of 119 in Utah. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Hurricane?
6 listings: 4 buildings, 1 historic district, the Hurricane Historic District, with 81 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 86 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hurricane?
3% of Hurricane’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 2003.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1929
1929
1929
1929
2007
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2007
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