‘D’ on Black Hill now listed on National Register of Historic Places

ST. GEORGE — The hillside “D” that has looked down upon St. George for over 100 years recently was recognized with a listing on the National Parks Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

The “D” on the Black Hill as seen the Red Hill in St. George, Utah, June 3, 2o22 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The landmark’s newfound status became the topic of a plethora of social media posts by area residents and officials about a year ago as they applauded a move set into motion by Utah Tech University about a year ago.

“Thank you Utah Tech University, formerly Dixie State University, for taking the lead on protecting the D on the Hill,” St. George Mayor Michele Randall posted on Facebook last Wednesday.

The hillside D was created in 1915 and has been owned by the university through its alumni association since 1949.

The D was created by students of then-Dixie Academy as a way to honor the school’s founders. This and other events led to the creation of D-Week, which continues at the university. The site is outfitted with a system that lights up the D at night and also changes colors on occasion in relation to events at the university or the community at large.

As the university owns the property on which the D sits, concerns were had among the community that it would disappear as a part of the university replacing its original name – Dixie State University – with Utah Tech University.

While an unpopular move among parts of the community, university officials argued the name needed to be changed in order to appeal to prospective students and faculty beyond Washington County and Utah. They also argued that association with the Dixie name also was damaging to students’ future employment opportunities.

It was repeatedly said that newcomers may see “Dixie” in a negative light due to its association with the Confederacy, slavery and hate in general.  On the other hand, supporters of the Dixie name have argued that locals do not directly associate Dixie with the American South, but a sense of cooperation, community, belonging and perseverance born of the area’s pioneer history.

While the university eventually would change its name, work already was underway to secure the future of the hillside D.

The “D” on the Black Hill as seen from downtown St. George, Utah, June 3, 2o22 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“It was an initiative from Utah Tech to preserve and protect the heritage of this community,” College of Business Dean Kyle Wells told St. George News last week.

The original idea to add the hillside D to the national registry came out of a conversation Wells said he had with Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, during summer 2021. He recounted how Brooks’ grandmother, Juanita Brooks, had been able to save her cottonwood trees from being cut down for a proposed street widening project by submitting them to the national registry as a historical landmark.

The effort was successful and therefore spawned the idea to do the same with not only the hillside D, but the Dixie Rock/Sugarloaf at Pioneer Park in St. George as well.

Wells took the idea to the city where it received financial support to help with the paperwork side of the process.

“We have been working together to add both areas to the National Register of Historic Places,” Randall wrote on social media. “Special thanks to College of Business Dean Kyle Wells for writing the proposal and seeing this through to the end.”

However, due to the sensitive nature of the term the D was associated with, Wells said he was repeatedly warned it may not pass the State Preservation Office. The office’s approval was needed to help recommend the site to the national registry.

The D on the Black Hill as seen from downtown St. George in the late 1910s, St. George, Utah, 1918 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Historical Society, St. George News

“On April 21, 2022, I defended the proposal before the Utah State Historic Preservation board,” Wells said in an email. “There were dissenting voices in the group that opposed the proposal based on the name Dixie and its historical tie to the antebellum south … The vote was not unanimous, but it passed. It was then passed on to the federal government. On May 27, 2022, we received an email notification that the proposal was accepted and would be listed on the National Historic Registry.”

Wells is working on the paperwork needed for the Dixie Rock/Sugarloaf’s submission for consideration. The Sugarloaf itself is owned and maintained by the city and holds more significance to Dixie High School than the university, Wells said.

Members of the community who pushed to keep the university’s original name said they were pleased that both landmarks were in the process of being preserved and protected.

“We’re thrilled,” said Ilene Hacker of the group Defending Southwest Utah Heritage Coalition. “We’re really happy about it.”

The Sugarloaf, also known as the Dixie Rock, as seen from downtown St. George, Utah, June 3, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Despite being happy with the outcome, there are some among the coalition who believe the process to register the hillside D was held back until the official name change of the university took hold, Hacker said.

Others have expressed over social media that getting the D and Sugarloaf on the registry is merely a token gesture on the university’s part to those who vehemently opposed the name change.

There also remains the segment of society that claim the local use and view of Dixie will never be able to rise above the negativity and hatred they say it promotes and should be abandoned outright. This view was shared by some of the attendees to last week’s St. George City Council meeting following the general comment period.

Noting the conflicting opinions over the Dixie name and its legacy on the local and national level, Wells wrote the following:

Utah Tech University recognizes and honors the history of the great men and women that built this great institution. However, we recognize that the word Dixie means something different to individuals that do not live or are not from this area. We are committed to supporting businesses and community organizations with the word ‘Dixie’ in their title. We honor the history the “D” on the hill represents. If you are here, you know what that history is. Unfortunately, our friends from other places do not. So here is the litmus test, if any organization has influence that is contained within Washington County and the surrounding area, we can support and honor the Dixie name. But we must recognize that when that influence extends beyond our local area, the name Dixie has a different and often confusing meaning.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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