Donia Jessop swore she would never go back.
It was the place that threatened to tear her family apart.
The place where evil cult leader Warren Jeffs committed horrific sex crimes against children and banished anyone who spoke against him.
Yet not only did Donia return to the town she fled in 2013, she now runs it.
Today, she sits in the mayor’s office in Hildale, Utah, once the headquarters of one of America’s most extreme religious sects – the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints (FLDS).
Donia Jessop swore she would never go back to Hildale, the town she fled after polygamous cult leader Warren Jeffs terrorized the community and threatened to tear her family apart. She is now spearheading its regeneration as its first ever female mayor
Jessop hopes to transform a community once isolated from the outside world into a tourist hotspot. She talked enthusiastically about creating a wedding venue at Maxwell Park (above)
Jeffs is serving life in jail after being convicted of two counts of child sexual assault in 2011
Barely a decade ago, around 9,000 people lived in the community of Short Creek – made up of Hildale and neighboring Colorado City.
Almost all of them were members of Jeffs’ church, which owned their houses, controlled the police force and divided families at will.
The sadistic leader ran an austere polygamous theocracy and commanded at least 78 wives, of whom 24 were under the age of 17.
But Jeffs is now set to spend the rest of his life in a Texan jail after his 2011 conviction for two counts of child sexual assault.
And the women and children he tormented are back.
When DailyMail.com visited last weekend, it saw a community unrecognizable from the ‘hellscape’ that the polygamist left behind.
Yet, a specter still hangs over Hildale.
Mothers who have returned to the town have found their children have been ‘disappeared’, allegedly at the behest of Jeffs’ revelations from prison.
And the few cult loyalists who remain in the town now claim they are the victims of the new regime.
A community divided
Short Creek’s turnaround is laden with symbolism.
Jeffs’ once used his sprawling 44-bedroom mansion to tell families they were being expelled from the community to ‘repent’ for their sins.
It is now a recovery center that rehomes those very same people.
The publishing house where the pedophile printed his revelations is now a social services center for women from polygamous backgrounds.
The old bishop’s storehouse is a brand new public school and – perhaps most bizarrely of all – a former church building now plays host to regular Ayahuasca retreats, frequented by ex-FLDS women seeking to overcome their trauma.
Even Donia’s bedraggled arrival for our Sunday morning interview at Hildale City Hall shows she has thrown off the shackles of her past.
She arrives in her slippers and freely admits she is nursing a hangover from a friend’s birthday party the night before.
Her life now is a far cry from the one she left behind just over ten years ago, when she abandoned the FLDS cult.
Donia, 53, who had already been shunned by the community after marrying for love, left Short Creek for good in 2013 when she was told her then nine-year-old daughter was to be separated from her.
Jeffs, by this time pulling the strings from jail, had issued edicts carried on by brother Lyle to split families into the chosen and unchosen, tearing the community apart.
Shirlee Draper, 52, left Short Creek – the FLDS community made up of Hildale and neighboring Colorado City – with her four children in 2004 after Jeffs started to impose his authoritarian rule on the community, which included closing the public schools
Shirlee back in her FLDS days, with boys AJ, John and Joshua Draper (left to right)
Shirlee says Jeffs ‘abused the entire community’ by destroying families and social structures
The sadistic cult leader ran an austere polygamous theocracy and commanded at least 78 wives, of whom 24 were under the age of 17
FLDS women had been abandoning the church ever since Jeffs took over from his father, Rulon, in 2002.
A paranoid leader, he demanded absolute obedience and banned holidays, games and toys.
Shirlee Draper, one of 11 siblings, realized she had to escape with her four children after Jeffs started closing the public schools.
The 52-year-old says that while Jeffs physically abused a handful of minors, he psychologically ‘abused the entire community’.
‘He tore down our social structures or physical structures, he stopped the health services,’ she says. ‘As a class, Warren Jeffs abused everyone.’
Shirlee fled to St George in 2004, about 40 miles west of Short Creek.
Donia and her now ex-husband resettled in Santa Clara, California.
She had wanted to go farther, to New Zealand or New York, to ‘somewhere they didn’t know there was a state of Utah, let alone that there was a Warren Jeffs’, she says.
‘I never wanted to hear his name. I never want to see this community again.’
Rebuilding a ‘hellscape’
Neither had any designs on ever returning.
Even after Jeffs’ imprisonment, his brother Lyle continued to terrorize families in the years that followed.
But things began to change when the state of Utah seized the United Effort Plan (UEP), the trust that held the church’s real estate assets.
In 2015, management of the trust was passed to a local board made up almost entirely of former FLDS members.
Shirlee became its president. She still lives in St George, but spends much of her time in Short Creek working for Cherish Families, a nonprofit that helps people from polygamous backgrounds, run out of Jeffs’ old printing house.
The new trust then began selling off church assets and private homeowners and businesses began trickling into Short Creek for the first time.
Yet Donia was still reluctant to return.
‘Joe [her then husband] came to me and said: “The mountains are calling me home, I need to go back and help rebuild”.’
‘I told him “have fun with divorce, because I will never go back”.’
Donia says it was ‘extremely hard to come home’, but ultimately the allure of being ‘a part of the change’ was too much to turn down.
Barely a decade ago, around 9,000 people lived in Short Creek. Almost all of them were members of the FLDS, which owned their houses, controlled the police force, and divided families at will
Private homeownership has only been allowed in Short Creek since the FLDS were ousted from power in the last decade. Pictured: A brand new 96-apartment development in Colorado City
Short Creek’s transformation is laden with symbolism. The old bishop’s storehouse has been transformed into an impressive new high school
The old meeting house, where Jeffs would deliver his fearsome sermons, has been transformed into a community arts center
And the old publishing house that would publish Jeffs’ revelations has been turned into a social services center for women from polygamous backgrounds
By the time she returned to Hildale in 2017, there was still much to do.
Jeffs had by now declared the land ‘cursed’ and his followers had scattered across the country, resettling everywhere from nearby Cedar City to North Dakota and Colorado.
The town’s population had crumbled along with its public services.
‘It was a desolate, lonely desert,’ says Donia. ‘It was overgrown with weeds. People had moved out.
‘There were still a lot of FLDS, but there was no sense of community.’
Shirlee says it had turned into a ‘hellscape’.
Donia started working with the Short Creek Community Alliance, which promoted political engagement for non-church members.
Her first task was to purge the voter registry of FLDS members who had moved out of Hildale, which would clear the way for her run for mayor later that year.
Still, it came as a shock to all when she beat the church incumbent to become the first non-FLDS member and woman to hold the office.
Donia overhauled the police department, which had been controlled by the FLDS, and enacted zoning laws.
Slowly, property values began catching up with the surrounding areas.
She secured funding for new public schools, including $13million for the impressive Water Canyon High School in 2022, and a 96-apartment housing development called Cottonwood Village.
She speaks excitedly about creating a new wedding venue at the stunning Maxwell Park.
But her first act was simply to declare Hildale ‘open for business’.
A tourist hotspot and haven for Ayahuasca retreats
One of the first to move in was Shane Tooke.
He bought an acre lot in 2018, when land was still cheap, and built a 1,500-square-foot ranch with breathtaking mountain views.
With its proximity to Zion National Park, Shane, 47, saw its potential and opened Water Canyon Resort in 2020, which boasts 20 rental cabins, and the Water Canyon Winery.
‘People thought it was crazy that we were purchasing land here, just because of the history’ Shane says. ‘But it’s absolutely beautiful here. We told them they should, too.’
The winery has only been open a year, but already it has had around 8,000 visitors.
Others have followed suit.
Short Creek now boasts a Mexican restaurant, a craft brewery, and a boutique cafe that serves French toast, pumpkin rolls and crepes.
It is still very much a small town, but any of this would have been unthinkable just a decade ago.
‘It’s changed so dramatically,’ says Donia. ‘It’s so diverse.’
Maeleene Jessop, 36, left Short Creek and the FLDS after she was abused. She now attends Ayahuasca retreats in Hildale to conquer her demons
The venue for the retreats is hired out by a ‘psychedelic church’, which holds Ayahuasca ceremonies multiple times a year
The venue itself was formerly owned by the FLDS, signified by the lettering UEP (United Effort Plan), which controlled all the buildings in Short Creek
Shane Tooke moved to Hildale in 2018 and soon set up a cabin resort and winery as he spotted the town’s potential as a tourist hotspot
Shane said others thought he was crazy for purchasing property in Hildale due to its history, but the 47-year-old said he was captured by its beautiful surroundings
Nowhere is this more evident than at a three-day Ayahuasca retreat taking place in an old FLDS building just yards away from City Hall.
Attendees come from far and wide, but for Maelene Jessop it is home from home.
The 36-year-old was born and raised in Hildale among nine siblings.
She left Short Creek in 2010 after she was sexually abused and lived in North Dakota and Colorado, before moving to St George.
But she has never felt settled since leaving the structure of the FLDS.
Maeleene, who today cradles her eight-day old son, Jabari, her third child, turned to Ayahuasca around a year ago in search of answers.
She is not participating in this weekend’s ceremony, but has attended previous retreats in Hildale – there are two or three a year.
‘It’s weird doing it here,’ she says, adding that the retreat’s proximity to her home in St George was why she came.
‘I don’t know if I would have chosen to do it here otherwise, just because I’m scared of everything.
‘But ultimately I think it was the best because it really did put me right where I needed to be.
‘The demons that I need to face are out here.’
Whose home is it anyway?
‘A what?!’ cries Norma Richter, 57, one of the few FLDS loyalists who remain in Short Creek, when she is told there is a ‘psychedelic church’ in town.
It is explained that some of those who take Ayahuasca, which also requires explanation, view it as a religious sacrament.
‘Oh, wow,’ she responds.
‘It’s shocking,’ says her friend and fellow FLDS member Esther Bistline, 46, a mother of 11.
‘But so many things like that have happened in the last few years,’ Norma adds.
When the FLDS was in power, around 99 per cent of those living in Short Creek were members.
Now it is less than 10 per cent.
Unsurprisingly, they do not share the positive view of the changes that have taken place.
‘We mourn the loss of what our town was,’ Norma says. ‘It was by far more beautiful than it is now.’
She claims there has been a rise in smoking, alcohol and drugs.
‘We don’t feel safe here,’ she adds.
Esther Bistline, 46, and Norma Richter, 57, are among the few remaining FLDS members in Short Creek. They claim they are being forcibly evicted from their homes by the new regime
The sorest point is the selling off of church assets, which has meant FLDS members have either had to buy the land they once lived on for free, or leave.
Most have chosen the latter, due to their belief that it is God’s chosen land and should not be privately owned.
Esther and Norma are among the few that have stayed, thanks to a workaround that means they have not yet had to purchase deeds to their land.
But within five years the UEP will be wound down and they will be forced to choose.
Part of the reason behind the sell off is to prevent another Jeffs – it was the church’s ownership of the land that allowed him to tell families where they could or could not live, dividing and expelling them at will.
But Esther and Norma do not see it that way.
They see it as a forcible eviction.
‘That’s their ultimate goal, to kick us out,’ says Norma. ‘These are people that couldn’t make it in the FLDS for whatever reason.’
She insists families were never ordered apart and that this was always the ‘parents’ choice’.
The pair refuse to answer questions on Jeffs’ convictions for child sexual assault.
‘Our experience with him or any of the leaders in the church has always been positive,’ Norma says.
Changing subject, Hildale’s new slogan, ‘Welcome Home’, is raised.
Donia chose it when she became mayor.
‘If you’re going to welcome everyone home, why did you change the home so badly, so drastically?’ asks Norma.
‘So many of the pivotal things that remind you of the pioneers of this community have been deleted.
‘As FLDS we don’t feel welcome here.’
Although they now look like they come from different worlds, Norma and Donia went to high school together.
Norma says Donia was always ‘fun to be around’ and ‘wishes her the best’.
‘She made a different choice to me,’ she adds. ‘I know she says now that we are still her people…’ she trails off.
‘We don’t feel like her people,’ Esther concludes.
Scars of history
Warren Jeffs’ sprawling 44-bedroom mansion is now a recovery center for women from polygamous backgrounds called the Short Creek Dream Center
The words ‘Pray and Obey’ still adorn the side of the building, a reminder of Jeffs’ strict rule
The refurbished waiting room at the center is also the spot where families would wait for Jeffs to decide whether they had been expelled from the community or not
Jeffs old bedroom has been converted into an office space at the center
The center has kept the intercom in Jeffs’ room that connected into all rooms of the house
A refurbished downstairs bedroom where Jeffs would keep his less favored wives. It is now used as a room and board for families in need before they can get back on their feet
A full scale surveillance operation was found in this room after Jeffs’ mansion was raided
‘I know why they feel that way,’ says Donia. ‘I understand it, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
‘We’re not going to move out so that they are comfortable.
‘They don’t even see it as I was raised here, too. I love this land. I love this community.
‘We all had to buy our own home back.’
But the tensions are a reminder that history has left its scars on Hildale.
Sarah Johnson, 37, knows this better than most.
She sits in the Short Creek Dream Center, the site that has been converted from Warren Jeffs’ old mansion into a rehabilitation clinic, where she now works.
Johnson, a mother-of-four, was born and raised in Short Creek, before she was sent away to Cedar City in 2017 to repent for her ‘sins’.
It was here that she chose modern life over the FLDS, becoming an ‘apostate’.
She returned to Hildale in 2020, where she was given room-and-board at the Dream Center to help her get back on her feet.
But now she is missing her son, Salome, 15. She has not seen him for three years, since he ‘ran away’ on the day his father – to whom Sarah was a fourth wife – was supposed to hand him back to his mother following a court order.
It is feared that the FLDS are hiding Salome in order to keep him away from his mother.
‘They believe he is in danger of losing his entire soul and salvation if he is anywhere near me,’ Sarah explains.
The sight of FLDS loyalists still wandering around town wreaks havoc in her mind.
‘I want to get their attention, to help them realize the truth,’ she says.
‘For a while, I would be very angry every time I saw them. Because, honestly, they might know where my son is.
‘I wanted to ask every single one of them. ‘Do you know where he is? Do you know where Salome is?’
‘I felt like I would almost go insane.
‘I would pass them on the street or see them in a car. I would think he could be in it, just driving away, getting farther and farther from me.’
Sarah Johnson, 37, has not seen her son, Salome, 15, for more than three years. She fears he is being harbored by FLDS loyalists
Salome on his 12th birthday, the last one that he was with his mother for
Back in City Hall, Donia fights back tears as she defends her slogan.
‘It used to be Hildale City, Southern Utah’s desert. The logo was a hand drawn pioneer out in the farm. That’s not who we were anymore.
‘So ‘Welcome Home’ is for anyone that was kicked out and you want to come back. Those who left I want to come back.
‘It’s also for those who never left here, that live here still, but are here in a different community. It’s your home, too.
‘And all the new people that have never had anything to do with this place, and are finding refuge or finding safety in a community that they want to be a part of, welcome home.’
Maybe one day, Salome will be welcomed home, too.