So I was intrigued when I read about a ghost town outside Salt Lake City, Utah, that was built as an oasis for the Hawaiian followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A precise point indicates Iosepa on the map.
Google Map
resource: Atlas Camera Obscura
According to Atlas Obscura, in the 1880s, a group of 46 islanders left their homes for Utah for religious reasons. They were converts from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and relocated to the church near the Salt Lake City Temple.
One of the buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
resource: Atlas Camera Obscura
But they found that Salt Lake City wasn’t a popular place at the time. They face discrimination from “cultural differences and an unfounded fear of leprosy” from the white majority, according to an article in the Utah History Quarterly. The group was driven out of the salt lake and into the desert.
Photograph of Salt Lake City in 1895.
Print Collector/Getty Images
resource: Utah History Quarterly
The islanders moved to the desert, where they built roads called “Honolulu” and “Kura,” planted trees and built a reservoir in the arid environment, according to Atlas Obscura.
Yossipa ghost town outside Salt Lake City, Utah.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
resource: Atlas Camera Obscura
Then, less than 30 years later, a Latter-day Saint Temple was built on Oahu, Hawaii. Most of the group reportedly abandoned Iosepa to go home to help complete the temple.
The Hawaiian Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is located in Oahu, Hawaii.
Molly New Zealand/Shutterstock
resource: Atlas Camera Obscura
I got off I-80 and hopped onto a two-lane state highway into what’s known as Skull Valley. There, a rusty sign was my only indicator of getting to the right place.
A small rusted sign indicates that visitors are on the right path to Iosepa.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
After about 15 miles, I began to understand why church leaders had chosen this area. Utah has an amazing tropical feel, with the sun shining through the lush green mountains. For a split second, I forgot that I was in a place called Skull Valley.
View from the state road to the ghost town of Yosepa.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
Finally, the bright orange letters “Aloha Iosepa” on the cobalt blue logo come into view.
Sign of the entrance to Iosepa.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
The name Iosepa is the Hawaiian word for Joseph and refers to Joseph F. Smith, the then president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Joseph Smith Sixth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, circa 1918.
Paul Thompson/FPG/Getty Images
resource: Atlas Camera Obscura
I walked through a yellow gate and saw Yossipa for the first time. According to the Utah Department of History, the original community consisted of 46 Polynesians, although this was not their ideal location.
A view of Yosepa from a nearby hill.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
resource: Utah Department of History
The settlers initially moved to Salt Lake City, where they were discriminated against. In 1889, church leaders purchased a 1,920-acre remote ranch for the group and moved them to Skull Valley by horse-drawn cart, according to the Utah Historical Quarterly.
Latter-day Saints travel to Echo Canyon in Utah in 1870. (Iosepa settlers not depicted.)
Sepia Times/Universal Image Group/Getty Images
resource: Utah History Quarterly
Once in their new settlement, the group did what they could to preserve their Hawaiian language, culture and traditions in the desert, according to the Utah Historical Quarterly. They harvest algae from a nearby lake as a substitute for seaweed in traditional dishes and speak their native language during church services.
Iosepa rusty wok.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
resource: Utah History Quarterly
They built streets, built houses, and grew to 228 people, according to the Utah Humanities Institute. While they were largely successful, life in the desert was not easy. Disease and crop failure held them back, and when the first Mormon temple was planned to be built in Hawaii, most settlers returned home, abandoning Yosipah by 1917.
Rusty sign of the settlement of Iosepa.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
resource: Utah Humanities
Today, the community that once lived here no longer exists. A cemetery still exists, with graves decades later than when the town was abandoned.
Yossipa Cemetery.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
While there are no permanent residents, hundreds of Pacific Islanders visit Yossipa over Memorial Day weekend for a three-day luau celebration in the desert and honoring their ancestors, according to the Utah Department of History.
Announcement with old photos of previous luaus.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
resource: Utah Department of History
