Chief toquer remembered; twin falls forgotten
By D.C. Young
Twin Falls
from twin to Toquer to Toquerville
Twin Falls was improperly referred to as Toquer Falls and more recently is being (again) improperly called Toquerville Falls. That name, “Toquerville Falls”, is not historically correct.
It appears that since about 2010, the falls that are on LaVerkin creek have been called Toquerville Falls, and seem to have followed the trend of improperly referring to the main street through Toquerville as Toquerville Blvd.
Here is what I now know: For most of the early residents of Toquerville, the falls were called “Twin Falls”.
Some Toquer blvd History
By the time I arrived in Toquerville in 2007 the falls were being referred to as Toquer Falls. I assume that this was because one had to go to Toquerville and up Spring Drive to get to the falls. The access from the LaVerkin side was not well developed at the time and the road from Toquerville was passable by most vehicles.
Then the city authorized a house number standardization by a local engineering firm in 2008 or 2009. The engineer made a Toquerville City map showing standardized house numbers that was introduced as the official street map of Toquerville, but erroneously the main street through Toquerville was shown as Toquerville Boulevard. Subsequently map companies, local media and individuals began using Toquerville Blvd instead of Toquer Blvd. The city even had street signs made that called the boulevard “Toquerville” Blvd.
After this error was pointed out, the city corrected that error when Lynn Chamberlain was mayor.
Toquer Blvd as shown in this clip from theToquerville Zoning Districts Map
The street is now properly named Toquer Blvd and the signage in the city for that street is correct
Just the facts, ma'am…about the falls
Sadly, the incorrect name association of “Toquerville” Blvd spilled over into the name of the Falls on LaVerkin Creek and “Toquerville” Falls became popular. The facts are:
The Falls are not in Toquerville.
The Falls do not belong to the City.
The falls were called Twin Falls for many years before they were referred to as Toquer Falls.
To properly honor the history of the falls we need to campaign to promote the correct name on signage, maps, and into media usage.
What to do
Let’s be true to history and call the falls Twin Falls, as was done in the past.
Let’s continue to honor Chief Toquer, the Paiute Indian Chief, and use the name Toquer Blvd.
Please remember it is Twin Falls and Toquer Blvd.