Complied by Melanie B Hammon

Editor’s note: We recognize the sensitivity of the cultural conflicts mentioned in this article, and wish to inform readers that we have done our best to stay unbiased and fair when writing about complicated people, who lived in a complicated time period, with the information available to us. Thank you for reading.

Photo by Whitnie Barlow

During the 1850s and 1860s, there was considerable trouble between the local indigenous natives of the time and the pioneer settlers in Utah and Arizona. One incident, which occurred here in the Short Creek valley, is the tragic story of the Berry brothers. Joseph S. Berry, Robert M. Berry, and Mary Isabelle Hales Berry (wife of Robert), were traveling to a settlement near Kanab when they were attacked at the foot of what we now know as Berry Knoll.

On April 2nd, 1866, the Berry family were traveling from Grafton, Utah to their settlement in Long Valley, Utah. They were warned that if they traveled through the Short Creek valley, they could be attacked by natives, but decided to take their chances. As they came upon Short Creek, they were attacked by a band of Paiutes and attempted to escape by running their wagon and mule team across the valley. They were overtaken at a deep gully running east and west. As they attempted to scramble up a steep incline, one of the mules, hit by an arrow, began to buck and rear, and the Paiutes quickly surrounded the wagon. The Berrys fought bravely but were overpowered by their attackers and killed.  

The gully in which the Berrys were attacked is the very same that now borders the north side of the new Bee’s Marketplace in Colorado City. The gully runs past a steep hill, which has been called “Berry Knoll” ever since the deaths. Berry Knoll is a beloved part of the modern Short Creek community, though not many are aware of it’s dark history. 

When these travelers failed to arrive home as expected, an alarm was spread, and a posse was organized to go out and search for them. The bodies of the three pioneers and one native were discovered near a small knoll in Short Creek valley. Joseph Berry was found face down in the wagon box, Robert’s body was astride the wagon tongue, and Isabelle was found lying on the ground, shot through the head. The brothers had been shot with both guns and arrows, but none of the bodies had been stripped or scalped.  

Historians claim that this conflict was in retaliation for the shooting of several natives by a Utah militia. The militia were attempting to apprehend the natives responsible for the killing of two white ranchers and the theft of some cattle at Pipe Springs, Arizona in January of 1866. 

Grafton is now a famous American ghost town. Photo courtesy of Nathan Atkinson

When word of the deaths reached Grafton, two men took a buggy out to Short Creek to retrieve the bodies. A funeral for the Berrys was held at Grafton that week. During the service, several Paiutes came into town in war bonnets and face paint. They peered into the windows of the old log church, laughing and taunting the mourners. Captain Andrus, of the local militia, left the church and went up the street to get his rifle, threatening the warriors. Apparently, the Paiutes knew and feared the Captain; they immediately left, went down into the thick underbrush of the river bottoms, crossed the Virgin River, and fled into the foothills north of Grafton. 

Days after the funeral, William B. Maxwell sent a letter from Pipe Springs to George A. Smith (an LDS Apostle at the time) recounting the deaths of the Berry family members. Because of this and other recent violent incidents, LDS Church President Brigham Young issued a letter to the local Bishop, directing the Saints in the area to abandon their small, outlying settlements. They were instructed to move into St. George or other nearby fortified settlements for their safety. The grave markers of Joseph, Robert, and Mary Isabelle Berry can still be seen in the old Grafton cemetery today, though the town is now a well known ghost town. They are well marked and easy to read.

Please be aware that not all of the information in this article is supported by documented records of this time period. We have linked all referenced sources. However, much of this information has been gathered through family records and stories, passed down through several generations, and does not have supporting documentation.