Gunlock is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in western Washington County

Washington County, Utah

As of the census of 2000, there were 90,354 people, 29,939 households, and 23,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 36,478 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...

, 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, north of Gunlock State Park

Gunlock State Park

Gunlock State Park is a state park of Utah, USA, adjoining a reservoir. The park is located approximately northwest of St George. The reservoir dam was constructed in 1970 for irrigation water and flood control....

. It lies along local roads northwest of the city of St. George

St. George, Utah

St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Washington County. Its elevation is 3,658 feet (1,115 m). Although Gunlock is unincorporated, it has a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

, with the ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 of 84733.

History

A plaque posted in the town of Gunlock describes the origin of the name of the town.

William Haynes (Gunlock) Hamblin, Born Oct. 28, 1830 Salem Ohio. Married Mary A., and Betsy Leavitt. Died May 8, 1872 at Clover Valley, Nevada from efforts of poison given to him before he could testify concerning a Silver mine he had discovered and was selling.

But Truth crushed to Earth shall rise again, so we anxiously await for that day when men shall stand before the bar of justice and account for every word and deed.

He was the father of 17 children, and was given the nickname "Gunlock" by George A. Smith, Apostle for whom he drove wagon across the plains. He also worked for him as a gunsmith. Gunlock, Utah was named in his honor.

He got his fame for his great marksmanship. At 50 paces, he shot the bottom from a pipe bowl without touching the rim. He won a $50.00 bet.

Pipe Springs, Arizona is in honor of that feat. He was an Elder in the LDS Church and served a mission to the Hopi Indians in 1855. He was a great hunter and scout for the church.

Buried at Clover Valley, Nevada

William Hamblin was the brother of Jacob Hamblin

Jacob Hamblin

Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...

. "Gunlock" Hamblin settled Gunlock in 1857.

Events

Gunlock, Utah is the site of the Annual Gunlock Rodeo. The Rodeo is held traditionally on or around the 4th of July. This event has been held in Gunlock annually since 1945.