Finally, in 1894, hearty pioneers attempted a third time to tame Mesquite Flats. In 1887, Dudley Leavitt with his wives and children tried to settle Mesquite Flats again. After a four-year struggle against the elements they, too, were forced to leave. Work began immediately to repair the damage but it was not long until the river had forced everyone out. For a community dependent on this canal, it was a devastating loss. Those first settlers found this out in June of 1882 when six miles of irrigation canals were broken in fifty different places by torrents of the afternoon thunderstorms. However, a heavy rainstorm at any time of the year can turn the Virgin River into a raging torrent. The lifeblood of this high desert community was the Virgin River. Between 18 fifteen families and a total of seventy-one people had moved to Mesquite and were successfully farming the area. That’s just the way it was for the proud families who fought to create a life for themselves in a place called Mesquite Flats.
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