Mesquite and the Virgin Valley

The lower Virgin River basin is located about 10 miles south of the border junction between what is now Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Early explorers told of blistering heat, disease—carrying insects, and scarce, evil—tasting water. But in 1877, the valley offered a haven to a small group of Mormon families who sought to live and practice their religious convictions, settling in Bunkerville on the south side of the Virgin River. On the north side, the struggle to establish Mesquite started in ...