Discover Last Man Out: St. Thomas’s Hugh Lord Story

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When the government purchases your property and tells you it will soon be underwater, most people tend to believe them--Hugh Lord had his doubts. In 1928, President Coolidge signed the bill authorizing the building of the Hoover Dam. Because the dam would form a lake behind it (Lake Mead), including the area where the town of St. Thomas resided, its residents were paid for their property and advised to leave. Legend has it Hugh Lord, a garage owner and resident of St. Thomas, refused to believe that the waters would ever reach St. Thomas. But on June 11, 1938, Lord waited until the water was high enough to step out of his front door and into his boat. He set his home on fire before floating away to watch it burn. He was the last citizen of St. Thomas to leave, holding on even after the post office, which closed the same day.

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