. COLORADO CITY POLYGAMISTS
An Inside Look for the Outsider

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Introduction   It was up to the women   The Search Goes On For Sexual Sins 

Teenage Boys Victims of the Gestapo-like Goon Squad  Ultimate Power Over Families

Introduction

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) founder Joseph Smith secretly introduced the principle of polygamy (plural marriage) as practiced in the Old Testament to a handful of his closest followers in 1843.

 Colorado City photo taken during Pioneer Day, July 24. It is celebrated each year based on the date Brigham Young brought the first group of Mormons to Utah.  Double click photo for larger image.

A select few would begin the practice and in time, it would be required for all members. Other doctrines openly taught by Smith and his followers had already created great antagonism and resentment among people living near Nauvoo, Illinois, a city that Smith had created for his followers. He reportedly married more than thirty wives, some young teenagers, so it is not surprising that the secret did not remain so.

When a newspaper exposed his secret polygamist relationships with several women, Joseph Smith ordered their printing press destroyed. This led to his arrest and incarceration in jail in Carthage, Illinois, about thirteen miles from Nauvoo. His brother Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards were put in jail with him. A mob stormed the jail killing Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. John Taylor was severely wounded and Willard Richards escaped with barely a scratch.

After the assassination of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, president of the twelve apostles of the Church, assumed the leadership position. In the winter of 1845-46 the Mormons were finally driven from Nauvoo. Crossing the Mississippi River, they began their trek westward. Finally reaching the Missouri river and following it upstream, they stopped in the area of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and established a camp along the Missouri river bottomlands, remaining there for the summer. Many of the Saints contracted malaria and cholera, resulting in many deaths among the refugees, who were scattered in the deplorable camps among the mosquito-infested willows and marshes. Brigham Young himself became a victim of malaria, coming very close to death.

In the spring of 1847 Brigham Young led a vanguard of a little over one hundred people across the great plains, toward the great Basin of the Rocky Mountains, settling around the great Salt Lake. Thousands more would follow.

Brigham Young was sustained as the second president of the Church in 1848 and by 1852 he introduced polygamy to the people as a requirement to reach the highest place in heaven. (Before he died, some say he had more than fifty wives.) In 1862 Congress passed the Morrill law prohibiting polygamy, which the Mormons resisted on the grounds that it was unlawful interference with religious belief and practices, thus unconstitutional. This law remained practically a dead letter until 1872, when Brigham Young decided to test the validity of the Morrill law. His secretary George Reynolds offered himself as a test case to go before the Supreme Court to test the constitutionality.

The Reynolds case ascended the territorial tribunals and by 1879 was argued before the United States Supreme Court, which ruled the Morrill Act to be constitutional. Church leaders and members were greatly disappointed and George Reynolds went to prison. However, because of the failure of the Morrill Act to stop the practice of polygamy, the U.S. Congress then passed the Edmunds Act in 1882 that provided imprisonment and fines for the practice of plural marriage. It also prevented polygamists from voting and serving on juries.

Meanwhile Brigham Young had died on August 29,1877, and three years later Taylor, John Taylor was sustained as president of the Church.

In 1887 Congress considered The Edmunds-Tucker Bill, which threatened to confiscate all church property (except chapels) in excess of $50,000, and to dissolve the church as a corporate entity. This law was approved in 1890 by the Supreme Court. Following that, Wilford  Woodruff, fourth president of the Mormon Church, issued the Manifesto prohibiting polygamist marriages.

Many of the Mormon people did not accept this manifesto and in defiance to these laws of the land and this rule of the Church continued in the living of polygamy. In 1926 a few of these people gravitated to a spot on the Utah/Arizona border called Short Creek (the name was changed to Colorado City in 1961) and established a society based on their beliefs in polygamy, and a United Order, where all possessions and acquisitions were owned not by the person, but by the group and were for the use of everyone participating, so there would be no rich or poor, but all would be equal. Each person would be responsible for and to all others in the group.

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Chapter Excerpt

It was up to the women. . .

Back in the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had established a camp at Short Creek.

The CCC brought a 2" water line from Jans Canyon to the camp. The water rights of the spring belonged to the Lauritzen family (not members of the Group) and when the CCC left the area, the pipe line became the property of the Lauritzen’s. This new house of Fred Jessop’s was built close to this pipe line, and he obtained permission from the Lauritzens to use the water. His house had the one luxury that few other Group members had – running water.

In the 1940s, before electricity came to Short Creek, there were only two gasoline-powered washing machines in town. Leonard Black had one on the Arizona side of town and Genevieve Stubbs had one on the Utah side of town. Interestingly, Genevieve Stubbs had taught herself to pull teeth and even had the equipment to make false teeth for people of the town.

It was up to the women to transport their laundry to one of these washers once a week. They would use whatever means of conveyance they could come up with, be it little wagon or wheelbarrow or in some cases, just carrying the many clothes in a gunny sack. They would take turns on the washers, heating the water they needed in a barrel over an open fire. When finished washing the clothes, they would haul the wet laundry back home and if they were lucky enough to have a clothesline, hang it up to dry, or just drape it over the fence. Unfortunately, Marion Hammon would chastise them in church for hanging their clothes on a fence. Several women later commented that if Hammon would provide them a clothesline, they wouldn’t have to use the fence. It was always easy for a leader to proclaim what must be done, when he himself did not have to do it and did not know the price of what he was asking.

In my short experience of living in a Polygamist home for about four years as a child, my memories of the mother in the home is one of admiration. These women would labor hard from morning until night just trying to keep the household together. The biggest chore for them was finding enough food to fix meals for the family. Breakfast was cracked wheat cereal or mush with a little milk from the small herd of about twelve milk cows. This milk was distributed throughout the whole community after the cows had been milked by two or three boys. Lunch was usually potatoes and gravy, if potatoes were available, and if not, just gravy. If lucky, the gravy would have corn or string beans in it, having been canned the summer before. We usually had bottled peaches, also canned from the summer before. Supper would be a vegetable soup, canned the summer before, or pinto beans. The only meat we ever had was venison that had been poached from the ranches at Widtsoes or Hatch, Utah.

AUNT EMMA DIGS A WELL

Much has been said about the plight of women in the polygamist community. In fact, it was the women who often held the fabric of the community together. And there were many who did unusual things. Emma was a divorcee who moved into the community in 1946, and she received a small check every month from either welfare or child support. The priesthood decided she should marry a blind man named George, a widower.

They were given a house to live in that was up on a slight ridge and about a quarter of a mile from the nearest culinary water hydrant. So to have water, she had to walk a quarter mile to get to the hydrant, fill the bucket and carry it back through the field and up the hill. Finally she asked the brethren if they would dig a well for her. They told her that because the house was on a hill, it would be unlikely they could find water, plus there would be a rock ledge to go through. So they declined.

Aunt Emma did not let them stop her. She began talking around that she intended to dig a well and needed volunteer help from boys in the community. Six teenage boys became very enthusiastic about the project. Under her direction, an A-frame was erected over the spot where they intended to dig the well, a pulley was attached to the A-frame, and a rope was run through the pulley to a five-gallon bucket that could be lowered into the hole. As the boys dug, they would empty their shovels into the bucket and when it was full, they would lift it out of the hole and empty it.

Sitting in a chair and pulling the rope, blind George was able to help. And this was the only adult help the boys received. Six weeks later, they found water at forty feet. Surprised at her tenacity, and even more shocked at her success, several adults came to help. They lowered three-foot concrete pipe sections and did the finish work for the water to gather at the bottom of the well.

Next Aunt Emma purchased a windmill. With the help of the boys, she constructed a wooden tower about thirty feet high and secured the windmill on top. The next step for the boys was to construct a holding tank to catch the water when the wind blew. By using a "go devil" (a piece of boiler plate measuring about four feet by eight feet with a chain attached to a tractor), they were able to transport sandstone from a nearby hill, to construct this holding tank.

Using the stored water in the tank, Aunt Emma was also able to grow a small garden. This was a great achievement for any woman in the male-dominated society. Few men in the community had the fortitude to dig wells for themselves. This well of Aunt Emma’s stood as a monument to her tenacity even after she had died.

Along with the chicken business, the UEP obtained a sheep herd. For summer range, the sheep were kept at a ranch in Johns Valley, near Bryce Canyon. This ranch had belonged to Newel Steed, who had donated it to the Priesthood. For winter range, the sheep were moved to Short Creek, where they could forage on the desert. A sawmill was also on the Steed Ranch at Johns Valley and the Polygamists operated this mill to supply lumber to build homes. The sawmill was moved to the Kaibab Forest, near Jacob’s Lake, Arizona, in about 1946 and lumber was sold to help bring in money for the Group. Also some agriculture ventures were acquired, not so much at Short Creek because of the lack of irrigation water, but other places such as a farm at Bloomington, and another at Widtsoe. The Widstoe Ranch was also in Johns Valley, near the Steed Ranch. Mostly it was used for raising cattle, but some crops such as potatoes and alfalfa were raised. Assets for the UEP continued to grow.

Fred Jessop was appointed to act as bishop for the United Effort Plan, his responsibilities being to look after the members. A storehouse was established at his home, located on the Utah side of the town, and the Group began living closer to the United Order principles of the United Order. Fred would purchase groceries and bring them into town. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he would pick up grocery lists of the members in the morning and in the afternoon he would deliver to the people the items the storehouse had. This was the system for the people "having all things in common," a United Order.

All income made by families was turned in to the Order and each family would receive back through Fred’s Store House what they needed to survive. Times were hard, but the people were willing and they believed progress was being made. Just as it seemed they might be experiencing a degree of success, law enforcement stepped in again.

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Chapter Excerpt

THE SEARCH GOES ON FOR SEXUAL SINS

This was only the beginning of the evictions that were to come to those whom Sam Barlow felt were not worthy to live in the community. After this successful eviction, Sam Barlow began searching for others whose "immorality" would make them suitable candidates for the same treatment. He was lucky, for it seems that a man had molested one of his daughters several years earlier. Sam somehow discovered that this crime had taken place and he set about to remove the "blot" from the society of the Saints.

In order to have him arrested and convicted, Sam would need an injured party as a complainant. The alleged victim of incest, his daughter, had grown to maturity and moved to Salt Lake City some ten years earlier. This did not deter Sam. He went to Salt Lake and began harassing the girl to sign a complaint against her father. She did not want anything to do with the matter. Sam was persistent. He convinced the girl that in order to help her father, she needed to sign the complaint so as to allow Sam to arrest him and get him into treatment for his own sake, to help him overcome his "problems."

The daughter reluctantly signed Sam’s complaint. The fact that Sam Barlow was acting completely outside of his jurisdiction by going to the girl in Salt Lake City, without working through the local law enforcement agencies there, did not even cross his mind. He was doing it for the "good of the work" and any actions on his part would be justified, regardless of the legal questions.

Armed with the complaint, Sam went back to Colorado City. He contacted the man, who was working in the Las Vegas area for a time, and convinced him to meet. They did and Sam persuaded him to be arrested and taken to jail in Kingman, the Mohave County Seat.

Sam never had any intention of doing anything to "help" the man as he had alleged to his daughter. He succeeded in having the bail set so high that it was impossible for the man’s family to bail him out. When his wives (of which he had two) went to Leroy for advice and help, he simply told them that he would not be bailed out and must be sent to the state prison. This was a real shock to them. They had known of his conduct with his daughter, but had been willing to forgive him, and were going on with their lives. Now their world was crashing down around them.

After about ten days in the county jail, he was brought before the judge for a preliminary hearing. In about five minutes time the judge learned that the "crime" was over seven years old, which was the statute of limitations on the offence. He scolded Sam severely and dismissed the case. The man and his family were ecstatic; but little did they know that their real problems had just begun. Sam was furious. He was not going to allow anyone to make a fool of him.

The arrest occurred January 1983. Two months later Steve Bailey, a newly hired deputy of the Mohave County Sheriff’s department, delivered a Notice to Vacate to the family, giving them thirty days to move.

Their home was one of the more expensive of the community. He had spent several thousands of dollars on the material alone and had never dreamed that he could ever be forced to give it up and move from the community that he had spent most of his life helping to build up. This was such a shock to his family that one of his wives suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized, where she prematurely gave birth to a child she was carrying. She would never completely recover from the trauma of this experience and died a few years later from a brain tumor.

The man pleaded with Leroy about his situation, hoping he would relent on his decision to have him evicted. Leroy showed no mercy, saying he would have to move out, but if he would change his ways, he might be allowed to move back into the community sometime in the future. With a broken heart, a wife and premature baby in the hospital, the man prepared to move. On the thirteenth of March, he moved his large family to Phoenix, where he began the struggle of surviving under the hardships that Sam Barlow and Johnson, Leroy Johnson had forced upon him and his family.

TEENAGE BOYS VICTIMS OF THE GOON SQUAD

The Goon Squad organized in the 1960s to "spiritually" police the community took on another duty in the 1970s when Ervil LeBaron of Mexico began making threats against any of the Polygamist Groups that would not acknowledge him as the rightful successor to Joseph Smith, granting him their full allegiance. Threats reached their peak with the assassination of Rulon C. Allred, leader of the Polygamist Group set up by Musser, Joseph Musser. A contingent of the Goon Squad was designated as a Night Patrol to guard against any suspicious intruders.

Guards sat at the roads coming into town, where everyone entering could be screened. The intruders would then be followed by one of these Patrol vehicles. If just being followed would not intimidate them enough that they would drive out of town in the next few minutes, they would then be stopped and checked out by these self-appointed "policemen."

Then in the 1980s, the Teenage Chastity Patrol / Goon Squad / Night Patrol became more openly aggressive within the Group and was used by Sam to clean up the town, not only of sinners, but also of excess boys.

A particular contingent of Sam’s handpicked Goon Squad was headed by Jerry Jessop, and included some of the most "self-righteous" young men, including: Stanley Jessop, Nephi Barlow, J. L. Jessop, Joe Timpson and any others they would call upon as more were needed for backup.

This group became a fear and a scourge among the boys of the community. Without warning, they would gang up on any who they judged was "out of line," fiercely beating them up. The offences of the boys were such things as wearing long hair, talking to a girl on the street or just not supporting the Priesthood. They became so bold as to storm into the homes of the boys in the middle of the night, pulling the boys from their beds and beating them up in front of their parents, who, in most cases were helpless to stop them. Read more in the book. . .

ULTIMATE POWER OVER FAMILIES

To understand the power Sam and his Goon Squad had over the people of the community, several things must be explained. Any one of the factors involved might not seem like too much of a power grip, but when added up it then becomes clear how it worked.

The first control Sam had over the people was that the homes they had built were located on property that was titled in the name of the United Effort Plan. Although all who had built these homes were listed beneficiaries of the Trust, some had been forced to leave the community. This was becoming a real threat to members of the community who were daring to stand up against the high-handed acts of Sam and his Gestapo-like Goon Squad.

To take a stand against Sam was the same as taking a stand against Leroy Johnson. Sam had become his right-hand man in such matters and it was easy for Sam to get Leroy to endorse any decision he might make regarding what action should be taken. To stay in Leroy’s good graces, no one dared displease Sam Barlow.

In the event one of their sons was singled out by Sam as one who should leave the community, the father was placed in a dilemma; he must believe Sam, standing against his own son and not even allowing the boy to tell his side of the story of whether or not he was guilty of any "crime," allowing him to be driven from the society. Or if he chose to side with his son, allowing him to tell his side of the story, then he was placing himself and his family in jeopardy of being evicted from their home and cast out of the community. Most of these family heads were polygamists with a very large family, making it almost impossible for them to go out into other communities and completely start over. Most would just swallow their pride and allow their sons to be sacrificed, consoling themselves with the reasoning that whatever the "Prophet" asked of them was right.

Sam Barlow, a Mohave County Deputy Sheriff, was the only law enforcement authority in the Colorado City area. Any complaints taken to him by the parents of the boys were simply "shelved" and the only action taken was against the boys themselves, if they refused to leave when they were warned by the vigilantes. Sam would build some kind of charges against the boys that would range from "amorously enticing a girl" to throwing eggs at his Night Patrol.

Another factor governing the non-action of the parents was polygamy itself. All polygamists believe that in order to reach the highest degree of heaven, they must live polygamy. Whether a man would get additional wives depended upon whether or not one of the Council members would allow him to do so.

In most cases it was Leroy himself who reserved the right to decide who was "worthy" to get wives. If a man was to offend him, it virtually cut off any chances of him ever becoming a polygamist. Since courting was not allowed, because all girls were "told" who they should marry, it was almost impossible for any man to go out and get a wife without Leroy’s approval.

But, in truth, if any of the Polygamists were to give an honest answer as to why they desired to enter polygamy, it would not be to gain this highest degree in heaven, but rather it was to gain the "status" of being a polygamist. In Colorado City, those who are not polygamists are looked down on as though they are not quite as good as those who are. A non-polygamist cannot "preside" over a polygamist. This does not apply to ecclesiastical positions only, but is carried throughout all aspects of the society, whether it is in the work place, the schools, or in the town governments. The school principal, the town mayor, or even a foreman on a work project has to be a polygamist.

Another advantage for those who remain in Sam’s favor are the benefits they receive from the storehouse. If Fred Jessop, who controls the storehouse, judges a person "worthy," he not only gives them commodities, but does not require them to pay their water bills, sewer bills, or health care bills. Also, Fred Jessop controls the person who is County Representative for the Arizona State Medical Assistance Program in the Colorado City area. He decides who is "worthy" to receive these benefits. Few polygamists have any kind of health care insurance, so they are dependent on staying in the good graces of Fred.

Along with all these factors is the stigma of being castigated in the community if you are an "apostate." If you turn against the Priesthood, the whole society turns against you, doing anything in their power to cause you to "get discouraged and leave." This stigma carries through from the parents to their children and it becomes very hard on the children of the "offenders" (apostates) in the schools where the other children will bring all kinds of persecution upon them.

The parents of these innocent children, when going to the school superintendent, Alvin Barlow, never got any justice from him. He would do whatever he could to "discourage them" from remaining in the community. Thus, the lives and health of people in the community are held hostage.

After a beating, some of these boys would be given warnings to leave the community with the threat that they would receive more of the same if they failed to do so. Along with the beatings, Jerry Jessop and his henchmen began dirty little tricks such as slicing tires on the cars and All Terrain Vehicles of any who they felt should be harassed out of town. This was not limited to the young boys of the community, but was also being carried out against adults who were judged as "apostates."  Read more in the book. . .
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