Statue of Juanita Brooks unveiled at the St. George City Sculpture Garden

ST. GEORGE — On Saturday, a crowd of close to 300 people attended the unveiling and dedication of a statue honoring the late Juanita Brooks at the St. George City Sculpture Garden in the downtown area near 100 West Tabernacle Street.

Juanita Brooks’s daughter Willa Derrick and granddaughter Dana Moody were a part of the dedication program, St. George, Utah | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News

Brooks’ granddaughter, Dana Moody, said bringing things out of darkness and into the light was the theme of Brooks’s life.

The late St. George historian is best known for her book “The Mountain Meadows Massacre” published in 1950. Brooks wrote the first in-depth study of the controversial event. Brooks authored 12 books and 35 poems, articles, and essays during her lifetime. She served on the Board of the Utah Historical Society for several years. 

“She was this woman from an obscure pioneer settlement, and she is so relevant today,” Moody said. “The reason she’s relevant today is that Juanita did not fear history. Think about that in the context of our world today. She did not fear history, and she brought things out of darkness and into the light.”

Brooks was a historian whose expertise was the American West and history related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Another historian, Doug Alder, said that Brooks was remarkable because she wrote history with fidelity, and she did not add her narrative to her books.

Brooks wrote about The Mountain Meadows Massacre, a series of attacks that resulted in the mass murder of at least 120 Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train members. The massacre occurred in Southern Utah at Mountain Meadows by Mormon settlers belonging to the Utah Territorial Militia called the Nauvoo Legion and the Southern Paiute Native Americans

The wagon train, made up mostly of families from Arkansas, was bound for California on a route that passed through the Utah Territory. The perpetrators killed all the adults and older children in the group. In the end, 17 young children under the age of 7 were spared.

Juanita Brooks authored 12 books and 35 poems, articles, and essays during her lifetime, St. George, Utah, unspecified date | Photo provided by Utah Historical Quarterly, St. George News

Another theme in Brooks’ life was being a “unifier,” Moody said. Long after the Mountain Meadows Massacre book was published, she traveled to a Fancher family reunion and began a dialogue with them. This visit led to a conversation with the LDS Church and the Fancher family.

“This led to a healing and unification that was very, very beautiful and significant,” Moody said. “So Juanita’s work did not end with the writing of that book. Think about that in terms of our world today and the relevance of being a unifier, being a healer, bringing parties and people together. “

Moody said her grandmother is also relevant today because she used her voice to both preserve landmarks and encourage inclusivity and pull people together.

“I’m honored to be her granddaughter,” Moody said.

Brooks’s youngest son Antone Leavitt “Tony” Brooks also spoke at the dedication. He shared stories of his youth and climbing the red hills. He said he remembered his mother would often wake up in the middle of the night with an inspiration and write it down and then act on her hunches the next day.

Jesse Stocking, a member of the Washington County Historical Society board of directors and the special projects manager, said the life-size bronze statue of Brooks commemorates the long list of astounding achievements of her life’s work. 

Brooks was born and raised in Bunkerville, Nevada, to Henry Leavitt and Mary Hafen. She developed an interest in history at a young age. In 1919, Brooks married Ernest Pulsipher, who died of lymphoma a little more than a year later, leaving her with an infant son. She later moved to St. George, Utah, where she married William Brooks and had four more children. 

Sculptor Annette Everett, who created the bronze statue of Juanita Brooks, stands by the work in progress, St. George, Utah, unspecified date | Photo provided by the Washington Historical Society, St. George News

Brooks graduated from Brigham Young University and Columbia University. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She served on the Board of Directors for the Utah Historical Society. Brooks also wrote numerous historical articles, family narratives and a biography of her grandfather, Dudley Leavitt. She also worked as an English instructor at the Dixie College for Women, now Dixie State University. 

Moody thanked the city of St. George and people who shared resources and labors to recognize her grandmother. Moody also acknowledged her mother in the audience, Willa Nita Brooks Derrick. Derrick is the only daughter of William and Juanita Brooks. Brooks became stepmother to Williams’ four sons. Within five years the couple added a daughter, Willa Nita, and added three sons to their family; former St. George Mayor Karl Francis Brooks, Joseph Kay Brooks and Antone Leavitt “Tony” Brooks.

Her first husband, Ernest Pulsipher, died of lymphoma and together they had one son, Leonard Ernest Pulsipher.

Moody is Brooks’ only granddaughter. 

“She can be a light to all of us because of her courage and seeking the truth,” Moody said. “Some things were said about questions brought up about her as she was doing this (writing the Mountain Meadows Massacre book) and what perhaps her motivations were. But, Juanita was committed to the truth and seeking the truth. And one thing was Juanita was always true to her faith.”

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