What Once Was: Forgotten History of Southern Utah

Grafton, Utah — today it’s one of the most photographed ghost towns in the West. But in the mid to late 1800s, it was a community clinging to the banks of the Virgin River, where floods, fears and faith tested every family who lived there. From the Marvelous Flood Tenney’s unforgettable birth to the tragedies in the cemetery, to the violence of the Black Hawk War and the final blow of the Hurricane Canal, this episode dives into th...

On St. Patrick’s Day 1935, Enterprise, Utah was alive with music, dancing, and laughter. By morning, rancher Thomas “Penny” Reed had vanished. For years, the town whispered — had he left his family, or had something darker happened that night?

Nearly three years later, a new sheriff uncovered a secret buried in the desert — and set the stage for one of southern Utah’s most sensational trials.

*This story is based on almost entirely...

This isn’t a ghost town story. It’s the story of a town that survived. This episode follows this town from its beginning to the end of WW2.

Born from Hebron’s collapse and carved into the high desert by pioneers, Enterprise weathered floods, blizzards, epidemics, and the losses of two world wars. It was a place where children danced on reservoir banks, telephones carried the weight of war, and the dam wasn’t just a wall — it was a ...

In the shadowed sagebrush country west of Enterprise, Utah, lies a forgotten ghost town with a history as dark as it is captivating. Founded by pioneers answering Brigham Young’s call, Hebron promised prosperity but instead faced relentless trials—natural disasters, fires, drought, and even whispers of supernatural possession.

From cattle rustlers and telegraph fires, to the eerie claims of spiritual hauntings that tore at the fabr...

Beneath the blistering sun of Southern Utah lies a forgotten stagecoach station where fact and folklore blur—Desert Springs. Once an infamous outpost, now nothing remains, but whispers on the wind.

In this episode of What Once Was, we explore the chilling legends passed down through generations—stories of murders, outlaw gangs, and the mysterious lives of those who lived here. 

Through immersive soundscapes and historical storytell...

Straddling the dusty edge of Utah and Nevada once stood a town built on gold, silver, and second chances—Stateline. For a moment at the turn of the 19th century, it boomed with promise: saloons rang with laughter, miners dreamed of fortune, and the frontier pulsed with life. But like so many Wild West towns, its glory was short-lived.

In this episode of What Once Was, we journey into Stateline’s heyday and explore its downfall down...

In the far southwestern corner of Utah, where the desert flattens and the railroad once ruled, lies a quiet town with a loud past—Modena. It was built on the promise of progress, a bustling depot where trains stopped, sheep sheared by the thousands, and families that kept trying.

In this episode of What Once Was, we step into the dust and echoes of Modena’s heyday. Hear the clang of hammers on steel as tracks are laid. Bleats of sh...