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History · Paragonah

Paragonah dates to 1851, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Ensign-Smith House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1860.

1851founded
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Paragonah’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Paragonah began

When was Paragonah founded?

1851

Paragonah dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 121 in 18602020 census: 536175 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓

What stands out about Paragonah’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paragonah’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paragonah’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEnsign-Smith House 1982: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Paragonah came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paragonah.

Read it all →

Paragonah was settled by residents from the nearby town of Parowan in the early 1850s. Parowan residents found meadows next to Red Creek that provided ideal locations for farming. The settlement was first known as Red Creek, but the name was later changed to Paragoonah and then Paragonah. There are conflicting sources as to the name's precise meaning, but it is of Southern Paiute origin and apparently is a reference to the red color of the water found in the area. Paragonah was incorporated as a town in 1916.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paragonah, 1851 to 1982

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingParagonah is established
  3. 1861Post officeThe Paragonah post office opens
  4. 1862BuiltEnsign-Smith House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1967Post officeThe Paragonah post office closes
  7. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1982In the archiveEnsign-Smith House 1982
By decade

Paragonah, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Ensign-Smith House 19821982Ensign-Smith House 1982
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Old Spanish Trail Placard2023Old Spanish Trail PlacardParagonah and Parowan2021Paragonah and ParowanParagonah (aerial view)2021Paragonah (aerial view)
On the map

Paragonah on the map, 1971 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Paragonah. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Paragonah on the 1971 USGS mapParagonah on the 1980 USGS map1971Paragonah sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paragonah.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ensign-Smith House 1982
Retake this viewEnsign-Smith House 1982, 1982

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Paragonah’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Paragonah

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Ensign-Smith House
Ensign-Smith House, built 1862
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Double-pen1
Square Cabin1
Ensign-Smith HouseVernacular · Built 1862

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Paragonah, census by census

0100200300400500600190019502000536

Grew from 121 people in 1860 to 536 in 2020, 4 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Paragonah’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Paragonah

Nobody well known was born in Paragonah itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Philo FarnsworthAmerican inventor · b. 1906
Betty CompsonAmerican actress · b. 1897
Alma RichardsAmerican Olympic high jump gold medalist athlet… · b. 1890
Mike LeavittAmerican politician · b. 1951
A
Ally CondieAmerican novelist · b. 1978
Celeste MaloyAmerican lawyer and Utah land rights advocate · b. 1981
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Paragonah had its own post office from 1861 to 1967.

Paragonah
1861–1967
18601940today
1cemetery inside Paragonah
Paragonah

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Paragonah’s history

What year was Paragonah founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata. Paragonah’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1860 counted 121 people here.

What is on the National Register in Paragonah?

One place: the Ensign-Smith House (listed 1983).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.