Elizabeth Hood Hill Park: Granger’s Beloved Midwife and Frontier Healer
Elizabeth Hood Hill Park: Granger’s Tireless Midwife and Community Healer
Elizabeth Hood Hill Park was born in 1840 in Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Alexander Hill. When she was just two years old, her family left Canada for Nauvoo, Illinois, where her father helped build the Nauvoo Temple. In 1849, they crossed the plains with the Allred Company, settling first in Millcreek, Utah.
At age sixteen, Elizabeth married her neighbor and childhood friend, John Park, in 1856. Together, they built a life in Millcreek, raising their growing family of 7 and working the land for over twenty years. In 1879, they sold their Millcreek home and homesteaded a farm on the west side of the Jordan River along what is now Redwood Road. There, they were among the early settlers who helped establish the Granger Ward in 1884 — a community that would grow to be part of today’s West Valley City.
Early on, Elizabeth’s remarkable compassion and skill led her to study under Dr. Ellis Shipp, one of Utah’s first women physicians. Under Dr. Shipp’s guidance, Elizabeth trained as a midwife and learned the crucial medical skills needed on the frontier — especially how to set broken bones properly when plaster casts were not yet used. She received her Territorial Diploma and State Medical License, which was rare for a woman of her time.
Day or night, Elizabeth Park’s door was always open. Neighbors in Granger knew they could knock at any hour for help with childbirth, injuries, or any emergency. She carried a well-worn leather doctor’s bag, bedding for new mothers, and fresh sets for babies. After each call, she carefully sterilized all her tools — baking them in her oven for hours — and stored them in a special room, ready for the next urgent knock at her door.
She often charged little or nothing for her services, though the grateful families she served knew how much they owed her. Elizabeth became renowned for her gentle care, skillful hands, and unwavering dedication. She was called “blessed” by many for the countless lives she saved and the suffering she eased.
Her Granger home was more than a family farmhouse — it was a place of refuge, a gathering place for neighbors, friends, and travelers alike. Wise, hardworking, and always prepared, Elizabeth Hood Hill Park gave everything she had to make life better for those around her.
She passed away in her beloved Granger home in 1911 at the age of 68 — leaving behind a legacy of kindness, service, and healing that helped shape an entire community.
