OLD ST. THOMAS

Being in the process of writing a book about Old St. Thomas, Nevada, I have been a little reluctant to place information on the internet about this old pioneer town that holds a place in our history as being under Lake Mead. However, James Perkins has donated some photos of the town as the waters were rising to create Lake Mead, at that time the largest man-made lake in the world, and photos as it looks today, sixty-five years later as the waters receded due to a long drought and the unending thirst of the Imperial Valley in California. It should be noted that the Imperial Valley refuses to conserve their need for water and take approximately four feet a year from the Las Vegas water supply.

St. Thomas was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1865 and was the only continuously occupied settlement in the “Muddy River” area until the building of Hoover Dam concluded in 1938. At that time, the government had bought up all the land and homes, etc. to make way for a manmade lake for the waters of the Colorado River.

St. Thomas was the main hub and link for freighting and later years, railroad shipments in and out to Arizona, Utah, California and other parts of the world. The local farmers provided all the wheat, oats and barley for the livestock including the mules and horses used by the freighters, as well as food and meat for the miners and other towns along the river and railroad. It also was the center to load ore from the mines as far away as the Shivwits Plateau in Arizona, and El Dorado Canyon in Nevada. There were many local mines as well delivering everything from copper, gold, silver, salt, magnasite, zinc, nickel, sand, borax, gypsum and a multitude of other ores.

These were taken by Jim Perkins last week. He said:
"Went to St Thomas last week, thought you might like to see what’s popping up.  It looks like there is still more just surfacing, but a good part of Main Street is high and dry." Copyright James Perkins

I thought some of you might be interested in an account of a Pioneer Day
Celebration in Overton in 1895. This was written by Mary Virginia Perkins (later
Lytle), daughter of Ute Warren & Sarah Laub Perkins. (For those of you who live
in Southern NV, picture how it would be in July without even swamp coolers, let
alone a/c.)
Kathy

"Between 1881 and 1895 three towns had been settled in the Moapa Valley. 
My parents, Ute Warren Perkins and Sarah Laub Perkins, lived in Overton, the
central town. Other families were the J. Jones, the Calvin Kelseys, the
Monsons and the Crosbys.  At St. Joseph  (later named Logan and still later
Logandale) lived the Logans, the Joe Huntsmans and a few bachelors. St.
Thomas was made up of the Jennings family, Harry Gentry, Edward Syphus and a few
more bachelors. Billy Sprouse is well remembered because he always danced
with his spurs on."

"In the summer of 1895, these friends held a special meeting to plan a
Pioneer Day celebration. A bowery was built and a program prepared. Our
preparation at home began on the 23rd. As our home was the gathering place of most of
the out-of-town visitors, the responsibility of feeding them fell upon my
mother.  There were pies to be made, loaves of salt-rising bread to be baked,
churning to be done while the morning was cool, chickens to be dressed and

cooked.  The house was put in order and the knives and forks scoured with red
sand, which was to be had in abundance. For the pies, Mother had us wash
the dried peaches and a pan of home-dried raisins. These were stewed together
with sugar until well done, then were seasoned with nutmeg. How I dreaded
the job of grating  the  nutmeg! My own fingers were grated along with the
task of preparing the seasoning for the pies. But what delicious pies we
baked that day! The flour was usually coarse and not too white, but at the end of
the day we had twenty-one pies nice and brown, sprinkled with sugar. The
butter had been churned and put in a bowl with a saucer over it, then wrapped
in wet cloths to keep it cool. The water barrel was washed out and filled
with fresh water the night before. Sacks had been wet and tied around it so
as to have cool drinking water on the 24th. The wood stove stood under a 
shed adjoining the house. There, where it was cooler, we did the cooking
and so avoided the extra heat in  the main house."

"At sundown the rattle of wagons could be heard.  People were coming in
so as to be there for the early morning celebration. The first arrival was
Helen J. Stewart of the famed Stewart Ranch at Las Vegas. Ed Kyle came from
his ranch near Las Vegas.  Mrs. Stewart brought her two sons, Will and Hi, and
her two daughters, Tiza and Eava. Mother rushed to welcome them while
father went out to help take care of the weary team. It had taken them three
days to cover the sixty miles over the dry desert road. A little later Mrs.
Daniel Bonelli and her son George and daughter Alice came  in  a light vehicle
we called a buggy. They had come from Rioville on the Colorado River,
twenty-five miles down the Virgin.  Among others who came were the Frehners 

From Littlefield, Arizona. All were tired from the long hot journey. We used all of
the beds available and made many more on the floors and on the haystack."

"Early on the 24th the celebration took full swing.  The martial band led
us to the bowery for the program. At noon a picnic was served to all comers.
There were fried chickens, pies, cakes and coffee made in five-gallon cans
set over a rock grate under the trees.  The afternoon was spent in races for
young and old.  A dance at night lasted until the roosters crowed.  At 
midnight another picnic was served and songs were enjoyed during the
intermission.  At daylight the weary, pleasure-filled families departed for

home. Those who lived too far to make the return journey in a day, stayed

with us for a day or two until their teams were rested. In the meantime,
wagons were greased, barrels were soaked and made ready for the water that must
be hauled to supply man and beast over the dry desert road. Our special treat

for this day was some brown sugar broken from a solid chunk. This was a part
of the foodstuff Father had hauled from Milford, Utah, over two hundred
miles away and, at the time, the end of the railroad.  By wagon and team it
took twenty-one days to make the roundtrip to Milford. The sugar had become 

damp with Virgin River water, as that stream had to be crossed many times,
and had hardened  in  the sacks. What a delicious bit as a change from
molasses candy!  A dance in the evening completed the day for young and old."