Smith Mesa, northeast of Hurricane and nearly one-half mile higher in elevation, was named after Charles Nephi Smith, Bishop of Rockville from 1867 to 1891. He had a ranch house on Smith Creek and ran his cattle on this beautiful mesa.
Shortly after Hurricane was colonized in 1906, families from Hurricane, La Verkin and Toquerville filed on land for homesteads on Smith Mesa. These ranchers cultivated over 5000 acres of sandy loam.
Harvey and Emma Bradshaw Ballard, who helped colonize Hurricane, farmed 160 arches of land on Smith Mesa, and raised wheat, beans, corn, squash and melons on this dry farm. Their farm in Hurricane was irrigated by water from the Rio Virgin.
This wagon, which made many trips to Smith Mesa, often with a milk cow tied on the back, was donated to the Heritage Park by the Ballard Family.
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