The Order continued in Orderville for approximately 10 years. During the early 1870s, the economic environment improved in southern Utah. The discovery of silver nearby led to railroad facilities and an influx of people to the area. Local farmers were able to find a market for their goods and gained more profit. The neighboring towns that had once bought the goods from Orderville, now found themselves able to import materials from other regions. Orderville goods became "old fashioned". The youth of Orderville envied the youth in other communities, creating a friction within the community. Due to this friction, the communal dining system was abandoned in 1880. Three years later the value system assigned to labor was adjusted, introducing a level of inequality that had not existed before. Families were also given their own spending money. These changes led to tension and much internal disruption of the Order. While these internal conflicts and changes eventually would have led to the end of the practice of the United Order in Orderville, national legislation ensured it. In 1885, the enforcement of the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 effectively ended the Order by jailing many of the Order's leaders and driving many of the others underground. Members of the community held an auction using their credits as payment. Orderville continued its tannery, wool factory, and sheep enterprise, which were overseen by the Board of Management until 1889.
