Meadeau View Institute
Encyclopedia
The Meadeau View Institute was a conservative constitutionalist organization that operated in Duck Creek, Utah, from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The institute was notable for seeking to build a Utopian community of alternative-lifestyle conservatives in Southern Utah. The community collapsed in 1994 due to financial problems incident to the loss of property in an accidental explosion and fire.

Founding

William H. Doughty
William H. Doughty
William H. Doughty wanted to start a conservative lifestyle community, the Meadeau View Institute, in Southern Utah from 1986 to the early 1990s. He was also founder of the Institute for Constitutional Education and a founder of George Wythe College. He was a close friend of Cleon Skousen...

, the institute's founder and money manager, accepted over $1 million in donations and loans from backers in an attempt to build a conservative Utopia in Duck Creek and Mammoth Valley
Mammoth Valley
Mammoth Valley is a depression in Southern Utah between Hatch and Duck Creek. The Mammoth Creek flows along its floor.-History:Mammoth Valley was the site of a planned constitutionalist community in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Investors in the project and donors to the Meadeau View Institute in...

, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 (near Hatch
Hatch, Utah
Hatch is a town in Garfield County, Utah, United States. The population was 127 at the 2000 census. It is approximately 217 miles from Salt Lake City.-Geography:...

). In December 1986, Doughty purchased a vacant lodge in Duck Creek from Harry and Gabrielle Moyer, who carried the note for him. He later moved his Institute for Constitutional Education
Institute for Constitutional Education
The Institute for Constitutional Education was a conservative constitutionalist organization operating in Southern Utah from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. It was formerly part of the National Center for Constitutional Studies and was later renamed "Families for America". The institute produced...

 (ICE) from Cedar City
Cedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...

 to the lodge. Contributors include Cleon Skousen
Cleon Skousen
Willard Cleon Skousen was an American author, conservative American Constitutionalist and faith-based political theorist. He was also a prolific popularizer among Latter-day Saints of their theology...

, Glenn Kimber
Glenn Kimber
Glenn Kimber is an American author and educator. He founded Kimber Academy, a network of private schools, and is a prominent figure among U.S. homeschooling families....

, and Donald N. Sills
Donald N. Sills
Dr. Donald N. Sills was a Baptist minister and one of the founders of George Wythe College, and previous chairman of the George Wythe Foundation Board of Trustees...

.

Timeline of collapse

During the winter of 1993, snow build-up from a record snowfall led to a propane explosion at the Meadeau View lodge. The investment which had been made in this asset was lost, as well as the income from seminars and conferences. As a result, donations and other fundraising efforts also failed, leading to the demise of the organization. The fledgeling George Wythe College
George Wythe College
George Wythe University is a non-profit classical liberal arts school in Cedar City, Utah which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the liberal arts, education and political philosophy. GWU's curriculum is centered on the Great Books of the Western World published in 1952 by Britannica...

, which had been holding classes in the lodge, moved to Cedar City, and those who sought to build the community, including Shanon Brooks (who would later serve as president of George Wythe University), left.

As of 2004, Doughty still maintained a ranch in Mammoth Valley.

Aftermath

The Deseret News reported that participants who lost money were reluctant to come forward to authorities, due to their inherent distrust for the government.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK