Iosepa, Utah

Now just a ranch along a remote highway, Iosepa was a community of over 200 Polynesians, who settled in this desert valley in 1889, to be closer to the center of the Mormon church. A few years later, leprosy broke out in the community, leading to the formation of Utah's only known leper colony. By 1917, the remains of the community returned to Hawaii. Almost all of the structures are now gone, though several foundations at the old townsite are visible. A cemetary near the townsite contains the graves of many of the settlers, and a large stone monument to the community. Since 1989, it has been the site of an annual Memorial Day luau, which celebrates the history of Polynesians in Utah.