A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks (Revised)Woodbury, Angus M. (Angus Munn)
History
A History of Southern Utah and Its National Parks (Revised)
Woodbury, Angus M. (Angus Munn)
National parks and reserves -- Utah -- History; Utah -- History
The advent of automobiles on the Kaibab and North Rim opened up new
vistas of development. Woolley began to envision the time when the
construction of good roads would permit easy access to visitors and when
the scenic features of the Grand Canyon and the deer herds of the Kaibab
would attract attention and induce many to come. His vision was to be
realized before many years had passed.
Modern Development of Zion, Bryce and North Rim
At the beginning of the second decade of the 20th century, a few
individuals here and there in the state were beginning to grasp the
potentialities of southern Utah as a scenic mecca. Throughout the United
States, agitation for better roads gained ground as the automobile
assumed a larger place in our national consciousness. The first
transcontinental auto trip was made about 1900 and much difficulty was
experienced in finding passable routes. The old pioneer wagon roads,
disused since the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869,
had fallen into disrepair and were obliterated or washed by erosion in
many of the desert and mountainous areas so that they were often
forgotten and nearly impassable.
After the first trip, however, other autoists quickly followed and there
was a loud demand for logs and guide materials during the next decade—a
demand which leading Utah newspapers attempted to supply. The first
quarter of the century may be characterized as transitional from wagon
and train to automobile. Roads had to be redesigned on the basis of
alignment instead of grade control and reconstructed into highways,
destined to become not only supplemental feeders of railroads but also
competitors.
This movement led to the establishment in 1909 of the Utah State Road
Commission, empowered to develop state roads and with the avowed
intention to build a two million dollar highway through the entire state
from Logan to St. George. It took several years for this program to
reach southern Utah and by that time road building was beginning to be
affected by modern methods of highway construction.
Occasional trips into the scenic southland continued, some primarily for
enjoyment, others for publicity or promotional purposes, all of which
served to focus public attention more and more on the area. Public
pressure was brought to bear not only on the road commission, but also
on the governor and eventually on the Federal government.
Governor William Spry of Utah (1908-1916) made at least three trips into
the region (1912, 1913, 1916). During September, 1912, he visited the
Dixie Fruit Festival at St. George, then went to Kanab and northward
through the State prospecting the route now followed by highway 89.
[Illustration: A view of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
_Courtesy Union Pacific Railroad._]
[Illustration: How earlier generations explored the Kaibab:
horseback, buggies, and automobiles.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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