After Brigham Young shut down the iron facilities, two-thirds of Cedar City's residents left for other settlements.

After Brigham Young established Salt Lake City in northern Utah Territory, he sent out groups of Mormon families to colonize new lands.

Young sent one hundred and sixty-one people led by Danish settler Jens Nielson to start the city of Parowan in 1851 to reap the nearby iron deposits.

Following a series of mishaps, including the Mountain Meadows massacre, Young ordered the iron works to shut down in 1858.

Sheep ranching became a lucrative business for the settlers, enabling several to build two-story, brick Victorian houses.

Though the city struggled through The Great Depression, new iron mines opened after World War II prompted further economic growth.