A few good men

Several young men, just starting their families, desired to obtain farmland across the river and resettle Mesquite, because Bunkerville no longer had available farmland.

Leaving their families in Bunkerville, this group of men settled along a portion of the old Mesquite irrigation canal at the old townsite and began the work of reclaiming the farmland and the irrigation canal. This group of men were:

Over the next few months, more young men joined this original group and “The Dream” was alive once more.

Mesquite rebirth

In 1897, Nephi Johnson and his wife, Bodil Margarethe Anderson Jensen, moved from Fredonia, Arizona to Mesquite, Nevada. They created the Johnson Ranch, located two miles east of Mesquite, just over the Arizona line. Their family included six children.

In 1897 the family of James E and Carmelia Burgess Hughes moved from Bunkerville to Mesquite. The Hughes family was a large, hard-working family with eight children.  Some of the children were married, so the Hughes family numbered 18 people. Together, these families numbered 26, and were large enough to become a Branch of the Bunkerville Ward.

On November 11, 1897, the Mesquite Branch of the Bunkerville Ward was created. Nephi Johnson was called as the Presiding Elder and his wife, Bodil, as Relief Society president. In 1900, John David Pulsipher and his wife, Ann Elizabeth Bowler Pulsipher, with their six children moved to Mesquite.

On November 17, 1901, William E. Abbott was called to move from Bunkerville to serve as bishop to the newly organized Mesquite Ward. Nephi Johnson served as first counselor and James Elmer Hughes, as second counselor.

The night before this organization occurred, St. George Stake President John D. T. McAllister made an encouraging promise. He told the people, “Brothers and sisters, the day will come when there will be one mile and a half of paved road right down through this flat.”

That promise expanded the view of their potential. They began to envision themselves as residing on the way to somewhere. Travelers would be coming through. Their goals broadened to the creation of businesses to serve this possibility. Little by little, they no longer thought of themselves as farmers only. It was the beginning of the transition of Mesquite as a business community.

A Mysterious Trio

One day, while the young men from Bunkerville were working on the Mesquite Irrigation canal, three men rode up to them and identified themselves as Captain James Smith, Brother Cody, and Brother Ceatork or Seatork. Captain Smith told the workers that they were riding through the area looking things over and asked them if they needed help.

The young men told Captain Smith that they were just about ready to fence off the land but did not have the necessary funds for wire or to purchase the land from the state of Nevada. Nevada law at this time allowed land to be purchased for $1.25 an acre. A fee of $.25 an acre was required for a down payment.

Captain Smith agreed to front the money for the wire and the down payment for 340 acres. The agreement was accepted, and Heber Hardy was sent to Milford, Utah, with a team and wagon to purchase the wire. The remainder of the men went to work cutting fence posts obtained up the slope of the Bunkerville Mountains.

Upon receipt of purchase by Captain Smith, the men drew lots for which portion of the land would be theirs. Captain Smith was given first choice of the fields. The question arose regarding deeds to the land for individual ownership. Captain Smith was not planning on staying in the area so he agreed that each man would receive a deed for his land at the time he repaid his share to Captain Smith.

Bishop Edward Bunker Jr, of the Bunkerville Ward was asked if he would be the agent responsible to hold all the Mesquite land and to deed each man his land upon payment to Bishop Bunker for the agreed amount owed to Captain Smith. All the land was deeded to Bishop Bunker from Captain Smith.

Captain Smith and his two campions stayed in a small one room shanty on the corner of what is known today as Willow Street and First North Street. Captain Smith stayed in Mesquite for a few months then he decided to move on. He said if someone would take them to the train at Moapa, they would let him have all they had accumulated here. John Hancock bought them out and took them to the train depot in Moapa and they went away on the train.