Toquerville has deep, well-drained soils and temperatures ideal for growing grapes. The Mormon Wine Mission had no formal call but was ancillary to the Cotton Mission of 1861. Wine of their own make was important to the Mormons because Joseph Smith, the church's founder, had a revelation that they were to use water in the sacrament, unless they had wine of their own make. Master vintner John C. Naegle was called by Brigham Young to establish and operate a winery in Toquerville and to instruct the people in the process of making wine. Naegle built a big rock house with a wine cellar underneath large enough to accommodate a wagon and a team of horses and allow them to turn around. He installed vats, presses, and other paraphernalia for fermenting wine. The product was stored in 500-gallon casks and shipped to ZCMI in 40-gallon casks. Not only was the wine paid as tithing but large amounts went to Pioche, Silver Reef, and to the settlements north. It became a major industry.

In mid-January 1867 the Deseret State Telegraph line opened between Salt Lake City and Toquerville. The town was incorporated in 1917 and bonded to build a closed culinary water system. Electric lights were installed that same year. During the prosperous years of Silver Reef, water from Toquerville springs was used to run a stamp mill where ore from the reef was brought in and made into bars of silver.