St. George in Washington County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Dixie Spirit

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, February 23, 2025

1. The Dixie Spirit Marker

Inscription. "Something about digging essentially with your bare hands until you find pools of water in a barren desert changes you for the better, especially when your motive for digging is to help and cooperate with your neighbor."- Orval Hafen

Origins
People began calling this area "Dixie" because of its southern location, its warm weather, and the goal to grow cotton. The name caught on and grew. Locally, it evolved to mean a remote place where people found ways to succeed despite isolation and deprivation. They only had what was here and that was mostly rock and dust. That can-do attitude, known as the "Dixie Spirit,” kept the place alive.

Growth
This outlook evolved with the growing community, which started with learning to control the water. The innovations of air-conditioning, interstate highways, and golf courses opened the region's gates to the world for growth and tourism. Zion National Park and Snow Canyon State Park now draw visitors from across the globe.

Today
For more than a hundred years, the institution now known as Utah Tech University used "Dixie" in its name. The campus, where you stand, honors this

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tradition with the "Dixie Campus" designation. Many know the combination of academic excellence, innovation, grit, responsibility, and success as the "Dixie Spirit." It has been the heart of this institution since the beginning.

For more information visit: utahtech.edu/heritage-cove

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education.

Location. 37° 6.241′ N, 113° 33.908′ W. Marker is in St. George, Utah, in Washington County. It can be reached from East 300 North. Located in the Heritage Cove just east of the Utah Tech University Gardner Student Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 975 E 300 N, Saint George UT 84770, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Color Country. It is also in the American Southwest,

in the Mountain West,

and on the Colorado Plateau.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, February 23, 2025

2. The Dixie Spirit Marker

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Water - Lifeblood of the Desert (here, next to this marker); University Growth (here, next to this marker); Black Ridge and Sugarloaf (here, next to this marker); Creating a City (here, next to this marker); Struggle to Thrive (a few steps from this marker); Poetry and Music (a few steps from this marker); Dixie Pioneers (a few steps from this marker); Manifest Destiny (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. George.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 24, 2025, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. This page has been viewed 100 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 24, 2025, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.