Paragonah, UT

Paragonah is an Iron County town four miles north of Parowan and about three-quarters of a mile east of Interstate 15. The 2020 census counted 536 residents. Its story starts at Red Creek, where settlers found meadows for farming in the early 1850s. The name shifted from Red Creek to Paragoonah and finally Paragonah; local explanations connect it to water, springs, or red ground. That fits a town laid out in the Little Salt Lake Valley, close to the mountains and a network of small agricultural fields.

Paragonah's history is unusually visible in its town plan. A square adobe fort was built in 1855 at what is now Main and Center, with homes inside the walls and a large room used for church, entertainment, and school. The town was later surveyed into a nine-block square around that public center. Today Paragonah is mostly a residential community with a few local businesses, while many residents work elsewhere. Route 271, the town hall, old settlement sites, and the surrounding fields keep the place tied to both its pioneer layout and its present rural routine.