Why does Santa Clara celebrate Swiss Days?

SANTA CLARA — The desert southwest is about as different from Switzerland as you could get. Swap the high snowy mountains, waterfalls, and green meadows for red sandstone canyons, sagebrush, and dry desert.

In 1861, the first Swiss settlers of the Santa Clara area experienced just that. As faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Swiss immigrants had been baptized in their homeland and made the trek westward, for their new faith and for their prophet.

Brigham Young assigned 15 Swiss families to settle the Santa Clara area. They made their way south from Salt Lake City, many of them hitching rides as they went. The early immigrants barely had enough to make the journey, and could not afford their own wagons.

The new land was tough and wild. Less than six months after arriving, the flood of 1862 swept through their tiny settlement and wrought massive destruction. There was no water in the summer, no shade, and no agriculture.

Nevertheless, the settlers were too stubborn to be defeated by some tough land and carved a home out of the desert anyway.

The early settlers grew cotton and fruit, including grapes for sacramental wine.

The Swiss Days festival began as a way to raise money for the city to preserve several historic buildings, but evolved into a way to preserve the city’s Swiss heritage, and have fun.

The Swiss legacy in Southern Utah persists today. Family names like Stucki, Staheli, Hafen, Ence, and Frei show up everywhere down here, a testament to their ancestor’s commitment to thrive in the desert.

The spirit of those early Swiss pioneers lives on in everyone else who has decided to make this desert their home. In the more than 150 years since, Santa Clara and St. George have grown far beyond what the early settlers could have imagined.

A thorough yet little-known collection of history and memorabilia exists, sitting beneath the Santa Clara city hall building. In the Samuel R. Knight – Santa Clara History Museum, visitors can find exhibits containing items belonging to the first settler families to set up shop in Santa Clara, as well as exhibits on the history of the area. You can learn more about the museum here.